search-first

To research existing libraries before coding, use a structured pre-implementation workflow to search npm, PyPI, GitHub, and internal catalogs. This evaluates candidates by functionality, maintenance, and license to reduce rework and prevent writing duplicate code.

The best way to evaluate existing tools for feature development is using a structured evaluation framework. This framework scores candidates by functionality, maintenance, documentation, license, and dependencies to ensure you select the most reliable solution for your project.

Yes, you can use this research workflow for dependency upgrades and tool selection. It is applicable across software projects to identify existing solutions, supporting structured research, parallel searching, and evaluation before making adoption decisions.

To decide whether to adopt, extend, compose, or build a custom software solution, follow structured decision guidance after evaluating existing candidates. This guidance helps determine if an existing tool meets your needs or if custom development is required.

You should build custom solutions instead of reusing existing libraries when candidates fail the evaluation framework for functionality, maintenance, or licensing. If no existing tool fits your project requirements, the workflow guides you to build custom code.