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name repo-research
description Researches an open-source repository to find potential improvements, enhancements, bug fixes, and feature opportunities. Use when asked to "find things to contribute", "research this repo", "look for improvements", "find bugs to fix", "what can I work on", or "identify contribution opportunities".

Research a Repository for Contribution Opportunities

Systematically analyse a repository to identify actionable improvements that could become issues or pull requests.

Tools

Prefer the GitHub MCP server tools when available. Fall back to the gh CLI when MCP is not configured.

Action MCP tool CLI fallback
Search issues search_issues gh issue list --search
List open issues list_issues gh issue list
List PRs list_pull_requests gh pr list
Search code search_code gh search code
Read files get_file_contents gh api or clone + read

Step 1: Review Existing Issues and Discussions

Before looking for new opportunities, understand what the community already knows:

  1. Use search_issues (MCP) or gh issue list to read open issues — note recurring themes, stale issues, and good first issue / help wanted labels.
  2. Read recent closed issues and merged PRs — understand what changes are being accepted and what gets rejected.
  3. Check Discussions or mailing lists if available — maintainers often share roadmap hints there.

Produce a short summary of:

  • Active areas of development
  • Known pain points the community has raised
  • Topics maintainers have explicitly said they want help with

Step 2: Analyse Code Quality

Scan the codebase for common improvement signals:

Signal Where to look Opportunity type
TODO, FIXME, HACK, XXX comments Grep across source files Bug fix / enhancement
Deprecated API usage Import statements, compiler warnings Enhancement
Missing or outdated dependencies Dependency files, security advisories Maintenance
Inconsistent error handling Source files Bug fix / enhancement
Dead code or unused exports Static analysis, IDE warnings Cleanup
Hardcoded values that should be configurable Source files, config Enhancement

For each finding, note the file, line, and a one-sentence description of the issue.

Step 3: Evaluate Test Coverage

Identify testing gaps:

  1. Missing test files — source files with no corresponding test file.
  2. Untested edge cases — functions that handle errors, boundary conditions, or configuration variants without test coverage.
  3. Flaky or skipped tests — tests marked as skip, pending, or xfail.
  4. Integration test gaps — features that only have unit tests but interact with external systems.

If a coverage report is available (e.g., coverage.html, Codecov badge), reference it.

Step 4: Review Documentation

Look for documentation issues:

  1. Outdated README — setup instructions that no longer work, broken links, screenshots of old UI.
  2. Missing API docs — public functions/types without doc comments.
  3. Incomplete examples — example code that doesn't compile or is out of date.
  4. Translation gaps — if the project supports i18n, check for missing or stale translations.

Step 5: Check for Security and Performance

Flag potential concerns (without making false claims):

  1. Dependency vulnerabilities — check if dependabot, renovate, or similar tools are enabled; note any open security PRs.
  2. Obvious performance issues — N+1 queries, unbounded allocations, missing pagination on list endpoints.
  3. Missing input validation — user-facing endpoints or CLI commands that accept untrusted input without sanitisation.

Only report findings you can substantiate with specific code references.

Step 6: Categorise and Prioritise Findings

Present all findings in a structured table:

| # | Category     | Summary                          | File(s)           | Impact | Effort |
|---|-------------|----------------------------------|-------------------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Bug fix     | Off-by-one in pagination logic   | api/list.go:42    | High   | Low    |
| 2 | Enhancement | Add retry logic to HTTP client   | pkg/client.go     | Medium | Medium |
| 3 | Docs        | Broken install link in README    | README.md:15      | Low    | Low    |

Category values: Bug fix, Enhancement, Feature, Docs, Tests, Maintenance, Performance, Security

Impact: How much this affects users or contributors (High / Medium / Low)

Effort: Estimated size of the change (Low / Medium / High)

Sort by impact descending, then effort ascending (high-impact, low-effort items first).

Step 7: Recommend Next Steps

Based on the findings, recommend 3-5 concrete next steps the user should take. Prioritise:

  1. Items labelled good first issue or help wanted by maintainers
  2. High-impact, low-effort findings from the analysis
  3. Items aligned with the project's stated roadmap or recent activity

For each recommendation, state whether it should become an issue, a PR, or a discussion post.