research

1# Research
2 
3Research answers three questions before code exists: what the best apps in
4the category do, what users love and hate about them, and how macOS lets
5you build it. The output feeds `app-brief` and `user-stories`.
6 
7## 1. Frame
8 
9Write the question in one line, and the decision it informs ("which
10features go in version one", "Carbon hotkeys or an event tap"). If the user
11gave only a category, the question is "what makes the best <category> app
12on the Mac".
13 
14## 2. Fan out
15 
16Start one subagent per track, in parallel, with the brief below. Pick the
17tracks that fit. Four is typical. Market and Reviews always run. Reviews
18covers many apps: give each subagent 3 or 4 apps, or the 600 words run out.
19 
20| Track | Finds |
21| --- | --- |
22| Market | The 5 to 8 best apps in the category, their price, platform, and headline features |
23| Reviews | Per app: what people like and what they dislike, from App Store and Mac App Store reviews, Reddit, Hacker News, forums, and "switched from X" posts |
24| Features | The full feature list of the 2 or 3 leaders, from docs, changelogs, and help pages |
25| Design | Screens, interaction details, and keyboard shortcuts of the leaders |
26| Platform | The macOS APIs, permissions, and limits each feature needs, and what other apps on this Mac already use (global shortcuts, URL schemes, bundle ids) |
27 
28Subagent brief (fill in the brackets):
29 
30```text
31Research [track] for a native macOS app that [one-line idea].
32…