research

<skill name="apex:research" phase="research">

<overview>
Conduct comprehensive research by orchestrating parallel sub-agents. Outputs to `./.apex/tasks/[ID].md`.

This is the **first phase** of the APEX workflow. It gathers all intelligence needed for planning and implementation.
</overview>

<phase-model>
phase_model:
  frontmatter: [research, plan, implement, rework, complete]
  rework: enabled
  db_role: [RESEARCH, ARCHITECT, BUILDER, BUILDER_VALIDATOR, REVIEWER, DOCUMENTER]
  legacy_db_role: [VALIDATOR]
source_of_truth:
  gating: frontmatter.phase
  telemetry: db_role
</phase-model>

<phase-gate requires="none" sets="research">
  <creates-file>./.apex/tasks/[ID].md</creates-file>
  <appends-section>research</appends-section>
</phase-gate>

<initial-response>
<if-no-arguments>
I'll conduct comprehensive research to gather intelligence and explore the codebase.

Please provide:
- Task description (e.g., "implement dark mode toggle")
- Linear/JIRA ticket ID (e.g., "APE-59")
- Path to task file (e.g., "./tickets/feature.md")
- Existing APEX task ID

I'll analyze patterns, explore the codebase, find similar tasks, and create a detailed research document.
</if-no-arguments>
<if-arguments>Immediately begin research - skip this message.</if-arguments>
</initial-response>

<workflow>

<step id="1" title="Parse input and identify task">
<instructions>
Determine input type and create/find task:

**Text description**: Create a task entry with intent, inferred type, generated identifier, and tags
**Ticket ID (APE-59)**: Fetch ticket details (if available), then create a task entry with identifier set to ticket ID
**File path**: Read file fully, parse content, then create a task entry
**Database ID**: Look up existing task by ID to retrieve it

Store `taskId` and `identifier` for all subsequent operations.
</instructions>
</step>

<step id="2" title="Optimize and improve prompt">
<purpose>
Vague task briefs lead to wasted research effort. Enhance before proceeding.
</purpose