Upstream Source Research

Default Approach

• Start with the smallest viable method.
• Prefer hosted views and web fetches for short lookups.
• Switch to

  gh

  ,

  glab

  , or another relevant CLI when you need better access to issues, PRs, release metadata, tags, or repository navigation.
• Use a shallow clone into

  /tmp

  when you need local source inspection, fast code search, commit history, or broader reading across many files.
• Keep the goal narrow: inspect and extract conclusions, not set up a long-lived checkout unless the task truly needs one.

When To Escalate Beyond Web

• The answer depends on real source code across multiple files.
• You need issue, PR, tag, branch, or release data that is awkward or incomplete via web fetches.
• Browser, fetch, or API calls are hitting rate limits or other access limits.
• The investigation is large enough that repeated web requests are slower or noisier than local inspection.
• You need repository-wide search, blame, or commit-level context.

Tool Choice

• Prefer

  gh

  for GitHub and

  glab

  for GitLab when available.
• Prefer non-interactive CLI commands that return focused data.
• Prefer lightweight remote inspection such as

  git ls-remote

  when refs or tags are enough.
• Prefer shallow clones such as

  --depth 1

  unless history is part of the question.
• Deepen incrementally with

  git fetch --deepen

  or a larger

  --depth

  only if the investigation proves more history is needed.
• Clone into

  /tmp

  by default for temporary inspection work.
• Avoid turning research checkouts into project dependencies or permanent local state unless the user asks.

Temporary Clone Hygiene

• Treat

  /tmp

  clones as disposable research artifacts.
• If the clone needs submodules, deeper history, or large assets, keep checking whether that extra weight is actually required.
• After inspection, if the temporary folder is larger than about

  512 MB

  , warn the user and suggest cleanup now or a later automatic cleanup job.
• On systemd-based personal Linux machines, recommend a

  systemd

  cleanup timer task over plain

  cron

  because a timer can use

  Persistent=true

  and catch up after the laptop was off or asleep.

Return Value

Avoid

• Cloning by habit when one or two web reads would answer the question.
• Fetching full history when shallow history is enough.
• Leaving large temporary research clones behind without telling the user.
• Treating rate-limit friction as a blocker before trying better-suited CLIs or a local clone.