Package Research Workflow

Ground your package research in real source code using the Package Search MCP.

When to Use This Skill

• Evaluating packages before adding as dependencies
• Finding correct API usage patterns
• Understanding package internals
• Comparing packages for decision-making
• Validating that a package supports needed features

Available Tools

1. Semantic Search (Discovery)

package_search_hybrid(
  query="how to validate schemas",
  package="zod",
  registry="npm"
)

Best for: General questions, exploring functionality, "how do I...?"

2. Exact Match (Precision)

package_search_grep(
  pattern="export.*function",
  package="drizzle-orm",
  registry="npm"
)

Best for: Finding specific patterns, function signatures, imports

3. Read Source (Deep Dive)

package_search_read_file(
  file_path="src/index.ts",
  package="hono",
  registry="npm"
)

Best for: Understanding implementation, reading exports, studying patterns

Supported Registries

Research Workflow

Phase 1: Discovery

# What does this package offer?
package_search_hybrid("main features exports", package="<name>", registry="<reg>")

Phase 2: API Patterns

# How do I use the main API?
package_search_grep("export.*class|export.*function", package="<name>", registry="<reg>")

Phase 3: Implementation Details

# How does this specific feature work?
package_search_read_file(file_path="src/core.ts", package="<name>", registry="<reg>")

Example Research Sessions

Evaluating a New ORM

# 1. What query patterns does it support?
package_search_hybrid("query builder select where join", package="kysely", registry="npm")

# 2. How does it handle migrations?
package_search_grep("migration|migrate", package="kysely", registry="npm")

# 3. Read the migration implementation
package_search_read_file(file_path="src/migration/migrator.ts", package="kysely", registry="npm")

Finding Authentication Patterns

# 1. How does this auth library handle JWT?
package_search_hybrid("jwt token verify decode", package="jose", registry="npm")

# 2. Find the exact function signatures
package_search_grep("export.*verify|export.*sign", package="jose", registry="npm")

Python Package Research

# 1. How does requests handle retries?
package_search_hybrid("retry backoff session", package="requests", registry="pypi")

# 2. Find retry adapter implementation
package_search_grep("class.*Retry|def.*retry", package="urllib3", registry="pypi")

Why Use This Over Web Search?

• Source of truth: Real source code, not outdated blog posts
• No hallucinations: Grounded in actual implementations
• Version-specific: See how the package actually works
• Deep dive: Access internal implementation details
• Cross-language: Same workflow for all supported registries

Integration with Other Skills

• api-integration: Research package patterns before implementing clients
• mcp-builder: Study MCP SDK internals before building servers
• test-driven-development: Find test patterns in packages you use