search-first

To research existing libraries and tools before writing custom code, execute a structured pre-code research pass that identifies language and framework constraints, surfaces reusable patterns, and evaluates candidates using a decision matrix to prevent duplicated effort.

The adopt, extend, compose, or build decision matrix is a framework for evaluating software dependencies, scoring existing libraries and patterns on fit, maintenance, licensing, and integration effort to document the rationale for implementation choices.

You should search for existing patterns instead of implementing from scratch whenever starting feature work, dependencies, integrations, or utility creation, ensuring a guided deployment workflow from need analysis to implement prevents duplicated effort and accelerates delivery.

The best way to prevent duplicated effort when adding utility functions or integrations is to systematize a search-first workflow that identifies existing tools and evaluates them against project goals before writing custom code.