cf-research

# $cf-research > **CLI Requirement:** OPTIONAL — Uses the memory MCP from `coding-friend-cli` for fast indexed search and storage. Without the CLI: falls back to grep over `docs/memory/` and direct file writes. Full functionality preserved, slower memory recall. See [CLI requirements](../../../docs/cli-requirements.md). Research in depth: **$ARGUMENTS** ## Purpose Deep research on a topic — a git repo, a library, an architecture pattern, a technology, etc. Results are saved as structured markdown docs in `docs/research/` so they can be referenced later by other skills (e.g. `$cf-plan`). Unlike `$cf-plan`, this skill does NOT plan implementation. It only **researches and documents findings**. ## Folder Output goes to `{docsDir}/research/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>/` (default: `docs/research/`). Check `.coding-friend/config.json` for custom `docsDir` if it exists. **Folder name**: `YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>` where `<slug>` is a short kebab-case descriptor derived from the topic (e.g. `2026-07-05-react-server-components`). Use today's date. ## Workflow ### Step 0: Custom Guide Custom guide — auto-loaded below (if the raw command shows instead of its output, run it yourself): ```! bash "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/lib/load-custom-guide.sh" cf-research ``` If output is not empty, integrate returned sections: `## Before` → before first step, `## Rules` → apply throughout, `## After` → after final step. ### Step 0.5: Context Budget Check Research is token-intensive due to web fetches and parallel s...