/research

Deep research before PRD generation. Produces a structured research.md with competitive analysis, user pain points, SEO/ASO keywords, naming/domain options, and market sizing.

MCP Tools (use if available)

If MCP tools are available, prefer them over CLI:

• kb_search(query, n_results) — search knowledge base for related docs
• web_search(query, engines, include_raw_content) — web search with engine routing
• session_search(query, project) — find how similar research was done before
• project_info(name) — check project details and stacks
• codegraph_explain(project) — architecture overview of an existing project (stack, patterns, deps)
• codegraph_query(query) — raw Cypher queries against code graph (find shared packages, dependencies)
• project_code_search(query, project) — semantic search over project source code

MCP web_search supports engine override: engines="reddit", engines="youtube", etc. If MCP tools are not available, use WebSearch/WebFetch as primary. If MCP web_search tool is available, use it for better results.

Reddit Search Best Practices

• Max 3 keywords in reddit queries — more keywords = fewer results
• Good: "product hunt outreach launch" — Bad: "product hunt scraper maker profiles linkedin outreach launch strategy"
• include_raw_content=true rarely works for Reddit — use fallback chain below

Reddit Content Access — Fallback Chain

When a search finds a relevant Reddit post, reading its full content requires a fallback chain:

1. MCP Playwright (old.reddit.com)     ← BEST: bypasses CAPTCHA, full post + comments
2. PullPush API (api.pullpush.io)      ← search by query/subreddit/author/score/date
3. MCP web_search include_raw_content   ← sometimes works, often truncated
4. WebFetch / WebSearch snippets        ← last resort, partial data only

Method 1: MCP Playwright (recommended for full post content)

• Use browser_navigate("https://old.reddit.com/r/...") — old.reddit.com loads without CAPTCHA
• www.reddit.com shows CAPTCHA ("Prove your humanity"), always use old.reddit.com
• Snapshot contains full post text + comments in structured YAML
• Example: old.reddit.com/r/indiehackers/comments/abc123/post_title/

Method 2: PullPush API (for search/discovery)

• Endpoint: https://api.pullpush.io/reddit/submission/search
• Params: q, subreddit, author, score (e.g. >10,<100), since/until (unix timestamps), size (max 100)
• Rate limits: soft 15 req/min, hard 30 req/min, 1000 req/hr. Sleep 4 sec between requests.
• Returns JSON with full selftext, author, score, created_utc
• Comment search: /reddit/comment/search (same params)
• Can use via curl:

curl -s "https://api.pullpush.io/reddit/submission/search?q=product+hunt+launch&subreddit=indiehackers&size=10"