Purpose
Rank the repository against the question (market + topics + recency, #1.1) so decades of research get reused, not re-commissioned.
When to use
Start of every insight run.
Inputs
Question (market, topics, use_case DECLARED UP FRONT - internal vs external gates everything downstream, #4.2); research index. Emits the entry hop (schema in contracts/).
Steps
- Structure question.json: market, topics, recency floor, use_case, as_of_date.
- Retrieval + ranking happen in trend_compare's first pass; this skill assembles the question and index.
Output
question.json - the entry hop.
Grounding requirements
Every study carries its repository identity; nothing cited that was not retrieved (#1.1).
Constraints
- Scope #5.1: retrieval and citation - no analysis over large tabular files (known boundary), no forecasting.
Escalation / uncertainty
Undeclared use_case: ask - the rights gate cannot run without it (#4.2).