explore

Explore — Marketplace Intelligence & Discovery

Before you build, know the landscape. This skill is your window into the marketplace.

When to use: Before /create (market research). After /publish (competitive positioning). Anytime you want to understand what exists, what's missing, and where the opportunity is.

When NOT to use: For building products (use /create→/fill pipeline). For quality checks (use /validate).

Activation Protocol

1. Shared preamble: Load references/quality/activation-preamble.md — context assembly, persona adaptation, deterministic routing rules.
2. Read creator.yaml → adapt to profile.type, expertise domains, language
3. Check CLI: myclaude --version 2>/dev/null — if unavailable, explain install and offer offline alternatives
4. Parse $ARGUMENTS for query intent
5. Route to the appropriate exploration mode
6. Load voice identity: Load references/quality/engine-voice-core.md. Every user-facing line in this skill honors the ✦ signature, three tones, and six anti-patterns.

5b. Load UX vocabulary: Load references/ux-vocabulary.md — translate all internal terms before creator-facing output. 5c. Load proactives: Load references/engine-proactive.md — wire #1 (pipeline guidance: after explore, suggest /scout or /create), #14 (feedback loop on published products).

1. CLI contract: Load references/cli-contract.md for unified error handling. This skill is the heaviest CLI consumer (12+ invocations across 5 modes). Severity map:
2. Silent-skip: search, trending, workspace --recommend — skip without user-visible warning on failure
3. Silent-skip: --version check — degrade to offline mode
4. Interactive: install {slug} — show manual install instructions on failure
5. All queries: append --json 2>/dev/null, parse JSON, treat invalid JSON as CLI absent
6. Timeout: 15s per command. On timeout, skip with offline alternatives

Exploration Modes

MODE 0: Project-Aware Recommendations (the smart default)

Trigger: /explore with no arguments, "what do I need", "recommend", "analyze my setup", "optimize"

This is the MODE that makes the Engine indispensable. Instead of generic search, it analyzes the creator's ACTUAL project and recommends products that would improve their specific workflow.

Step 1 — Detect active project context (using Glob/Read/Grep, NOT Bash):

# What tech stack? Use Glob to detect manifest files:
Glob("package.json")        → Node.js/JavaScript
Glob("Cargo.toml")          → Rust
Glob("requirements.txt")    → Python (pip)
Glob("pyproject.toml")      → Python (modern)
Glob("go.mod")              → Go
Glob("Gemfile")             → Ruby
Glob("pom.xml")             → Java (Maven)
Glob("build.gradle")        → Java/Kotlin (Gradle)

# What framework? If package.json found, Read it and check dependencies:
Read("package.json") → look for: react, next, vue, angular, svelte, express, fastapi in dependencies

# What's in their .claude/?
Glob(".claude/rules/*.md")          → count rule files
Glob(".claude/skills/*/SKILL.md")   → count installed skills

# Do they have hooks?
Read(".claude/settings.json") → check if "hooks" key exists

# CLAUDE.md size? Read first 5 lines to detect existence, check file metadata
Glob("CLAUDE.md") + Glob(".claude/CLAUDE.md") → if found, Read first 10 lines for size estimate

IMPORTANT: All detection uses Glob, Read, and Grep tools — NOT Bash. The only Bash allowed is Bash(myclaude *) for marketplace queries.

Step 2 — Cross-reference with marketplace: Based on detected tech stack, search for matching products:

myclaude search "{detected_framework}" --json 2>/dev/null
myclaude search "{detected_language} rules" --json 2>/dev/null

Step 3 — Deliver personalized recommendations:

Project Analysis: {project_name or cwd}

  Stack:    {language} + {framework}
  Rules:    {N} loaded ({M} without path scoping)
  Skills:   {N} installed
  Hooks:    {present/none}
  CLAUDE.md: {N} chars ({optimal/oversized})

Recommended products for THIS project:

  INSTALL NOW (free, immediate value):
  1. {name} — {why it matches this project}
     myclaude install {slug}

  CONSIDER (paid, high impact):
  2. {name} — {why it matches}
     myclaude install {slug}

  MISSING FROM YOUR SETUP:
  - No {type} for {detected_gap} — {N} options exist on marketplace
  - Your CLAUDE.md {has no path scoping / is oversized / could use @include}

  CREATE OPPORTUNITY:
  - No {type} exists for {framework + specific use case}
  - Your expertise in {domain} + this project's stack = potential product

Anti-pattern guard: Don't recommend more than 5 products total. Don't recommend paid products to beginners. Don't recommend products the creator already has installed. If CLI unavailable, show only the project analysis part (still valuable without marketplace).

Why this is MODE 0 (default): When a creator types /explore with no arguments, THIS is what runs. Not a generic "what do you want to search?" — a smart, project-aware consultation that gives immediate value. The creator didn't come to browse. They came because they want their setup to be better. Give them that.

MODE 1: Search (find specific products)

Trigger: "search for", "find", "is there a", specific query terms

myclaude search "{query}" --json 2>/dev/null

Display results as:

Found {N} products for "{query}":

  {name} [{type}] by @{author} — {downloads} dl — ${price}
    "{description truncated to 80 chars}"
  ...

{If 0 results: "No products found. This could be an opportunity — or the query needs refining."}

MODE 2: Trending (market pulse)

Trigger: "trending", "popular", "what's hot", "top products"

myclaude trending --json 2>/dev/null

Display with analysis:

Top 10 trending products:

  #  NAME                 TYPE    AUTHOR   DL   PRICE
  1. {name}               {type}  @{auth}  {N}  {price}
  ...

Patterns I notice:
  - Most popular type: {type with most entries}
  - Price sweet spot: {most common price point}
  - Gap: {type or category NOT represented in top 10}

MODE 3: Gap Analysis (find opportunities)

Trigger: "gaps", "opportunities", "what's missing", "what should I build"

1. Run trending + search across all categories
2. Cross-reference with creator.yaml expertise domains
3. Identify underserved categories:

myclaude search --category skills --sort newest --limit 10 --json 2>/dev/null
myclaude search --category squads --sort newest --limit 10 --json 2>/dev/null
myclaude search --category systems --sort newest --limit 10 --json 2>/dev/null

Market Gap Analysis for @{username}:

  YOUR EXPERTISE: {domains from creator.yaml}

  UNDERSERVED AREAS:
  - {category}: only {N} products, {avg_downloads} avg downloads
    → You could build: {suggestion matching their expertise}
  
  OVERSATURATED:
  - {category}: {N} products, hard to differentiate
    → Only enter if you have genuine domain expertise

  RECOMMENDED FIRST PRODUCT:
  {type}: {suggestion} — because {reasoning linking expertise to gap}

MODE 4: Competitive Intel (analyze specific niche)

Trigger: "competitors for", "compare with", "who else builds", "analyze category"

myclaude search --category {category} --sort downloads --limit 10 --json 2>/dev/null

Deep analysis:

Competitive Landscape: {category}

  LEADERS (>10 downloads):
  {name} by @{author} — {downloads} dl — {description}
    Strengths: {inferred from description}
    Weakness: {what's missing based on DNA patterns}

  DIFFERENTIATION OPPORTUNITIES:
  1. {gap none of the leaders fill}
  2. {feature that would make your product stand out}
  3. {pricing opportunity if all are free or all are paid}

MODE 5: Inspiration (explore what's possible)

Trigger: "inspire me", "show me examples", "what can I build"

Combine workspace scan + marketplace data:

myclaude worksp