looking-up-docs · diff

git:20260630.5f501ce to git:20260716.29b4d22

6 added, 9 removed. Audit B to A.

---

- description:

- Find exact, version-correct library/API/framework docs through one lookup

- workflow. Use when the user says "look up docs", "how to use", "API for",

- "syntax for", "examples of", "show me the docs", mentions "ctx7"/"Context7",

- passes a `/org/project` library ID, or needs API signatures, config keys,

- syntax, examples, or versioned docs. NOT for comparisons, current-state or

- release-behavior questions, best-practice surveys, or recent ecosystem news —

- use researching-web.

+ description: Find exact, version-correct library/API/framework docs through one lookup

+ workflow. Use when the user says "look up docs", "how to use", "API for", "syntax

+ for", "examples of", "show me the docs", mentions "ctx7"/"Context7", passes a `/org/project`

+ library ID, or needs API signatures, config keys, syntax, examples, or versioned

+ docs. NOT for comparisons, current-state or release-behavior questions, best-practice

+ surveys, or recent ecosystem news — use researching-web.

name: looking-up-docs

---

# Documentation Lookup

Get grounded, version-correct docs for a library, framework, CLI, or API.

Never answer syntax or API questions from memory when lookup tools are available.

## Scope

Use this skill for:

- API signatures, options, config keys, syntax, and examples.

- Versioned API behavior of a known library, framework, language, CLI, or

standard library when the question is how to call or configure it.

- Context7 docs lookup, including explicit `ctx7`, `Context7`, or `/org/project`

library-ID requests.

- Confirming versioned API behavior before writing code against an external API.

Do not use this skill for:

- Comparisons, recommendations, market research, current-state questions,

release-behavior questions, or best-practice surveys; route to `researching-web`.

- Repo-specific questions; search local files first.

- External queries containing secrets, credentials, personal data, private

payloads, or proprietary code.

## Reference Files

Read only what the question needs:

- `references/context7-cli.md` — Context7 lookup commands, selection rules,

limits, and fallbacks.

- `references/official-sources.md` — primary docs and registries by ecosystem.

- `references/web-tools.md` — platform web tools, query templates, and source

quality rules.

## Lookup Chain

Run tiers in order. Stop at the first tier that yields a grounded answer. State

which tier produced the answer and whether fallback was used.

### Tier 0 — Identify Package and Version

Find the exact package, module, CLI, language version, or framework version from

local evidence.

If no local version is available, state `version unknown` and prefer latest

stable official docs. Do not invent a version.

### Tier 1 — Context7

Use `references/context7-cli.md` for Context7 library resolution and docs fetch.

Best fit: versioned library and framework docs.

Escalate when Context7 is unavailable, rate-limited, returns no useful match

after one rephrase and one alternate library name, or returns docs for the wrong

version.

### Tier 2 — Official Docs and Registries

Use `references/official-sources.md` for language standard libraries, package

registries, and canonical project docs. Prefer primary docs or registry-linked

docs for the exact version.

Use web tools only for source discovery. Ground final syntax in URL-cited primary

sources.

### Tier 3 — GitHub Releases, Tags, and Source

Use GitHub only when primary docs or registry links are missing, incomplete, or

version-mismatched. Follow `references/official-sources.md` fallback rules.

Do not treat random issues, PR comments, blogs, or generated summaries as

authoritative API docs. Use them only as clues to primary sources.

### Tier 4 — Source Discovery or Gap Report

Use broad web research only to find primary docs after focused lookup fails. If

the question becomes a comparison, trade-off, current-state, or release-behavior

task, stop and route to `researching-web`. If no grounded source exists, report

the gap, the version needed vs found, and the safest next step.

## Limits and Failure Handling

- Never send secrets, credentials, private payloads, personal data, or

proprietary code to any external tier.

- Always use a real, specific query; never use a one-word placeholder.

- Do not loop a tier indefinitely: one rephrase and one alternate name per tier,

then escalate.

- If docs are version-mismatched, state the mismatch and escalate to exact-version

registry docs, release notes, or matching GitHub tag/source.

- If all tiers fail, report the gap and do not fabricate syntax.

- If external lookup would expose private data, refuse the external query and

answer from local context only, noting the limitation.

## Response Contract

Return a concise answer, not a workflow transcript, unless the user asks for the

lookup process.

Include:

1. Library/framework/API and version, or `version unknown`.

2. Tier that produced the answer, and fallback used if any.

3. Syntax or example guidance grounded in the source.

4. Source URL, Context7 library ID, or GitHub tag/source path for each claim.

5. Boundary note when the request is actually comparison, current-state,

release-behavior, or broad research.

If the user asks to describe the workflow, describe the tiers and escalation

rules instead of answering from memory.