find-docs

Retrieve current documentation and code examples when exact external behavior is material to the answer or implementation.

Workflow

1. State the precise fact or API behavior that is uncertain and identify the relevant library and version when known.
2. Read matching local documentation or dependency source when it establishes the exact installed version's behavior. Discover available documentation tools instead of assuming a particular local service exists.
3. If local evidence is absent or insufficient and the uncertainty remains material, resolve the exact library and version in Context7, then query that ID through its MCP integration or an installed CLI.
4. If those integrations are unavailable or insufficient, use an available web/search capability to read the official versioned documentation, release notes, or source. Search snippets are leads; read the cited page before relying on them. When the answer is in a dependency's source, read it at the version the lockfile pins, for example a shallow clone of that tag outside the repository, not the default branch.
5. Stop when the precise uncertainty is resolved. Report the source link or local reference, applicable version, and any mismatch or inference. Current documentation does not prove compatibility with an older installed version. The absence of an exact local source does not require another lookup when the available evidence resolves the question.

Keep queries specific and omit credentials, personal data, proprietary code, and other sensitive content.

Conditional CLI reference

If the MCP integration is unavailable and ctx7 is already installed in the environment, it may be used. Do not install tooling or request escalation merely to perform documentation lookup.

Typical CLI flow:

# Step 1: Resolve library ID
ctx7 library <name> "<query>"

# Step 2: Query documentation
ctx7 docs <libraryId> "<query>"

Resolve a library ID when one is not already known, then query that ID. Stop after a proportionate number of focused attempts and explain any unresolved gap.

Selecting and querying a source

Use the official library name and the narrowest relevant version. When alternatives exist, prefer the exact name, version, primary-source provenance, and coverage relevant to the uncertainty. Keep each query to one topic unless the interaction between topics is the question. Describe the API behavior to look up rather than pasting task context or source code. Library IDs need a leading /, such as /facebook/react; write descriptive queries ("React useEffect cleanup function", not "hooks").

Error Handling

If no available source resolves the uncertainty, explain the gap and any qualified inference. Do not expose or solicit credentials to work around a documentation lookup limitation.