[GH-ISSUE #6916] [Feature] Search and retrieve bundled REA guidance by analyst question #4234

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opened 2026-10-31 00:47:57 +00:00 by bsakaguchi · 0 comments

bsakaguchi commented

2026-10-31 00:47:57 +00:00

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Originally created by @coygeek on GitHub (Oct 23, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues/6916

Before submitting

I searched the open and closed issues and pull requests for a related proposal.
I understand the contribution scope must be reviewed before integration; open questions are welcome here.
This request does not include credentials, private samples, or sensitive target data.

Area

MCP or agent integration

Current limitation

REA ships useful workflow references, but finding a particular recipe requires navigating the installed skill or already knowing the relevant guide. For example, an agent asking how to select an exact JavaScript module from retained Evidence must locate the relevant section in the JavaScript guide. Tool availability and artifact searches answer different questions; they do not retrieve REA's own usage guidance.

Source inspection found authored guide links and a fixed managed-file inventory, but no question-based search and section-retrieval operation for that bundled guidance. This is a proposed usability capability, not a reported failure of existing analysis behavior.

Use cases

Find the recipe for selecting an exact JavaScript module without loading every workflow guide.
Find the documented distinction between client approval errors, registration problems, and unavailable analysis providers.
Retrieve the explanation of a selected Evidence paging operation from the installed release while offline.

Desired outcome and success criteria

Let CLI and MCP callers search REA's shipped guidance and retrieve a selected section without needing to know its filename beforehand.

Results identify the guide and section, explain the matched terms, and include enough context to choose a useful hit.
A caller can retrieve the selected section with its heading, package/catalog identity where applicable, and a stable locator within that installed bundle.
Search ordering and continuation are deterministic for the same query and installed content. Results state whether more matches remain; a no-match result does not claim that the requested analysis capability is unsupported.
Retrieved material comes from the installed guidance and remains distinguishable from target observations and Evidence. Documentation statements do not establish current provider availability or completed analysis.
Search and retrieval work without starting an analysis engine, opening a target, or contacting an external service. A bounded result keeps omitted matches discoverable.
Generated or indexed content stays aligned with the existing managed skill bundle; a changed or missing guide produces an explicit result rather than stale guidance presented as current.

Expected interaction with targets

No target interaction (documentation or usability only)

Target and scope details (optional)

Only REA's own packaged workflow guidance is in scope. Arbitrary directory indexing, third-party skill installation, external corpora, target-content search, and analysis execution are outside this request. Existing tool contracts and the complete advertised tool catalog remain authoritative.

Verification available so far

I can suggest a sample or manual check

Verification details (optional)

Source review only; no CLI/MCP runtime, relevance evaluation, or performance benchmark was run. Proposed checks: search for “exact JavaScript module” and retrieve the matching module-selection recipe; search for an absent term and receive an honest no-match result; traverse multiple pages without losing hits; retrieve the same section after updating the bundle and observe its new identity. Run these with no providers configured and no network access. Measure completed lookup tasks before claiming a token or latency improvement.

Alternatives considered

Read the installed skill and follow its guide links manually. This works today, but requires the caller to locate the relevant section itself.
Search the website or a source checkout. These can differ from the installed release and require access outside the packaged guidance.
Add more guidance to every tool description. This repeats material in discovery and still does not offer focused section retrieval.

Possible direction

A small searchable catalog over the existing managed guidance could return section summaries and allow a separate selected-section read. The index format, ranking, paging representation, and operation names are design choices rather than requirements.

References

Reviewed source: REA package 6.7.0, main revision bcd18d289845051b0f0513e11bc1aefd3f766902. The authored guide navigation, managed guidance inventory, and skill generation establish the existing content boundary.

Related work: #43 established reusable investigation playbooks, #1587 addresses task-centered onboarding and recovery, and #723 concerns discovery and result repetition. This request is specifically about searching and reading existing bundled guidance; it does not replace those workflows or change result/schema representation.

Triage assessment

Impact level: not-applicable
Assessment status: not-applicable
Impact basis: This adds guidance discovery; no violation of an existing behavioral contract or measured user failure is asserted.
Workaround status: not-applicable
Workaround basis: This is a feature request. Manual navigation of the installed guides remains an available alternative, described above.

Originally created by @coygeek on GitHub (Oct 23, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues/6916 ## Before submitting - [x] I searched the open and closed issues and pull requests for a related proposal. - [x] I understand the [contribution scope](https://github.com/morluto/rea/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#contribution-scope) must be reviewed before integration; open questions are welcome here. - [x] This request does not include credentials, private samples, or sensitive target data. ## Area MCP or agent integration ## Current limitation REA ships useful workflow references, but finding a particular recipe requires navigating the installed skill or already knowing the relevant guide. For example, an agent asking how to select an exact JavaScript module from retained Evidence must locate the relevant section in the JavaScript guide. Tool availability and artifact searches answer different questions; they do not retrieve REA's own usage guidance. Source inspection found authored guide links and a fixed managed-file inventory, but no question-based search and section-retrieval operation for that bundled guidance. This is a proposed usability capability, not a reported failure of existing analysis behavior. ## Use cases - Find the recipe for selecting an exact JavaScript module without loading every workflow guide. - Find the documented distinction between client approval errors, registration problems, and unavailable analysis providers. - Retrieve the explanation of a selected Evidence paging operation from the installed release while offline. ## Desired outcome and success criteria Let CLI and MCP callers search REA's shipped guidance and retrieve a selected section without needing to know its filename beforehand. - Results identify the guide and section, explain the matched terms, and include enough context to choose a useful hit. - A caller can retrieve the selected section with its heading, package/catalog identity where applicable, and a stable locator within that installed bundle. - Search ordering and continuation are deterministic for the same query and installed content. Results state whether more matches remain; a no-match result does not claim that the requested analysis capability is unsupported. - Retrieved material comes from the installed guidance and remains distinguishable from target observations and Evidence. Documentation statements do not establish current provider availability or completed analysis. - Search and retrieval work without starting an analysis engine, opening a target, or contacting an external service. A bounded result keeps omitted matches discoverable. - Generated or indexed content stays aligned with the existing managed skill bundle; a changed or missing guide produces an explicit result rather than stale guidance presented as current. ## Expected interaction with targets No target interaction (documentation or usability only) ## Target and scope details (optional) Only REA's own packaged workflow guidance is in scope. Arbitrary directory indexing, third-party skill installation, external corpora, target-content search, and analysis execution are outside this request. Existing tool contracts and the complete advertised tool catalog remain authoritative. ## Verification available so far I can suggest a sample or manual check ## Verification details (optional) Source review only; no CLI/MCP runtime, relevance evaluation, or performance benchmark was run. Proposed checks: search for “exact JavaScript module” and retrieve the matching module-selection recipe; search for an absent term and receive an honest no-match result; traverse multiple pages without losing hits; retrieve the same section after updating the bundle and observe its new identity. Run these with no providers configured and no network access. Measure completed lookup tasks before claiming a token or latency improvement. ## Alternatives considered - Read the installed skill and follow its guide links manually. This works today, but requires the caller to locate the relevant section itself. - Search the website or a source checkout. These can differ from the installed release and require access outside the packaged guidance. - Add more guidance to every tool description. This repeats material in discovery and still does not offer focused section retrieval. ## Possible direction A small searchable catalog over the existing managed guidance could return section summaries and allow a separate selected-section read. The index format, ranking, paging representation, and operation names are design choices rather than requirements. ## References Reviewed source: REA package 6.7.0, main revision `bcd18d289845051b0f0513e11bc1aefd3f766902`. The [authored guide navigation](https://github.com/morluto/rea/blob/bcd18d289845051b0f0513e11bc1aefd3f766902/.agents/skills/reverse-engineer-anything/SKILL.md#L437-L449), [managed guidance inventory](https://github.com/morluto/rea/blob/bcd18d289845051b0f0513e11bc1aefd3f766902/src/application/SetupSkill.ts#L26-L34), and [skill generation](https://github.com/morluto/rea/blob/bcd18d289845051b0f0513e11bc1aefd3f766902/scripts/generate-skill-metadata.mjs#L38-L64) establish the existing content boundary. Related work: [#43](https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues/43) established reusable investigation playbooks, [#1587](https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues/1587) addresses task-centered onboarding and recovery, and [#723](https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues/723) concerns discovery and result repetition. This request is specifically about searching and reading existing bundled guidance; it does not replace those workflows or change result/schema representation. ## Triage assessment - Impact level: not-applicable - Assessment status: not-applicable - Impact basis: This adds guidance discovery; no violation of an existing behavioral contract or measured user failure is asserted. - Workaround status: not-applicable - Workaround basis: This is a feature request. Manual navigation of the installed guides remains an available alternative, described above.

bsakaguchi closed this issue

2026-10-31 00:47:57 +00:00

bsakaguchi referenced this issue

2026-10-31 01:12:09 +00:00

[PR #4234] [MERGED] fix(ida): ignore released worker rows when verifying close #6137