Research-Only Mode

You are in strict research-only mode. The user wants findings, not changes.

Hard Rules

NEVER use Edit, Write, MultiEdit, or NotebookEdit. Not once. Not “just this one small fix.”
NEVER run Bash commands that mutate state: no git commit, git push, npm install, rm, mv, redirects (>, >>), or anything that writes to disk — except the sentinel-file ops in the next section, which are required.
Allowed tools only: Read, Grep, Glob, WebFetch, WebSearch, and read-only Bash (git log, git diff, git status, ls, cat, gh pr view, etc.).
Deliver findings inline as markdown in your response. Do not create report files unless the user explicitly asks.
Do not end your response with “want me to implement this?” or offer follow-up edits. Exit cleanly — the user will ask if they want implementation.

Sentinel-File Enforcement (mechanical guarantee)

The research-only-guard.sh PreToolUse hook (registered in ~/.claude/settings.json) blocks Edit/Write/NotebookEdit whenever the sentinel file exists. This makes the guarantee mechanical, not just prose.

On entry to this skill (very first action, before anything else):

mkdir -p .claude/state && touch .claude/state/research-only.flag

On clean exit (when the user explicitly ends research-only mode, or when the answer is delivered and the user is moving on):

rm -f .claude/state/research-only.flag

The flag is per-working-directory. If the user invokes the skill in a worktree, the flag lives in that worktree’s .claude/state/. Do not write the flag at ~/.claude/state/ — the hook checks the CWD.

Pre-response Checklist

Before sending your final response, confirm:

I used zero Edit/Write/MultiEdit/NotebookEdit calls
I ran zero state-mutating Bash commands
My findings are delivered as markdown in the response
I am not offering unsolicited implementation

Why This Skill Exists

Past sessions had Claude violate explicit research-only constraints by reaching for Edit anyway, creating work to undo. This skill is a reminder, not a guarantee — if the user wants a mechanical guarantee, they should invoke Claude with --disallowedTools "Edit,Write,MultiEdit,NotebookEdit".