Primary sources:
1. Official documentation (always start here)
2. GitHub repositories (README, issues, stars, last commit)
3. npm/pypi package pages (weekly downloads, dependencies)
4. Technical blog posts from reputable sources
5. Stack Overflow / GitHub Discussions for edge cases
 
Secondary sources:
6. Benchmark comparisons
7. Migration guides (from competing tools)
8. Conference talks / release announcements

1. Read the overview / getting started page
2. Check the API reference for the specific features needed
3. Read the changelog / release notes for stability signals
4. Check GitHub issues for known problems

| Criteria | Option A | Option B | Option C |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| Stars / Downloads | X | Y | Z |
| Last updated | date | date | date |
| Bundle size (min+gz) | X KB | Y KB | Z KB |
| TypeScript support | Native | @types | None |
| Learning curve | Low | Medium | High |
| Community size | Large | Medium | Small |
| Documentation quality | Excellent | Good | Poor |
| License | MIT | Apache 2.0 | GPL |
| Key strength | ... | ... | ... |
| Key weakness | ... | ... | ... |

## Recommendation: [Tool Name]
 
**Why**: 1-2 sentence justification tied to criteria.
**Risks**: What could go wrong.
**Alternative**: What to use if the primary choice fails.
**Implementation**: Next steps to integrate.

1. Weekly downloads → > 10K = established, > 100K = mainstream
2. GitHub stars → Health indicator, not quality indicator
3. Last publish date → > 6 months ago = potential concern
4. Open issues vs closed → High ratio = poor maintenance
5. Dependencies count → Fewer = better (less supply chain risk)
6. Bundle size → Check bundlephobia.com
7. TypeScript support → Native > @types > none
8. License → MIT/Apache preferred, check compatibility
9. Breaking changes → Check major version frequency
10. Alternatives → Always identify at least one

1. Is there an OpenAPI/Swagger spec?
2. Are there code examples in our language?
3. What's the rate limit?
4. What authentication method is required?
5. Is there a sandbox/test environment?
6. What's the pricing model?
7. Are there SDKs or just raw HTTP?
8. What's the SLA/uptime guarantee?

1. Search: "best [X] library [language] [year]"
2. Check npm trends for download comparison
3. Read GitHub README of top 3 candidates
4. Check bundle size on bundlephobia
5. Read "migration from" guides to understand trade-offs
6. Build comparison matrix
7. Make recommendation with clear rationale

1. Search official docs for the specific feature
2. Find the API reference / method signature
3. Find 2-3 code examples (official + community)
4. Check for common pitfalls in GitHub issues
5. Synthesize into a step-by-step implementation guide
6. Include error handling and edge cases

1. Read the exact error message
2. Search GitHub issues for the exact error string
3. Check Stack Overflow for similar issues
4. Read the changelog for breaking changes
5. Check if it's a known bug with a workaround
6. If no solution found, create minimal reproduction

1. Search for "[X] architecture" on engineering blogs
2. Read case studies from companies at similar scale
3. Check for established patterns (microservices, CQRS, event-driven)
4. Find reference implementations on GitHub
5. Evaluate trade-offs for the specific constraints
6. Document decision with ADR (Architecture Decision Record) format

npm package info:    https://www.npmjs.com/package/{name}
Bundle size:         https://bundlephobia.com/package/{name}
GitHub repo:         https://github.com/{owner}/{repo}
npm trends:          https://npmtrends.com/{pkg1}-vs-{pkg2}
MDN Web Docs:        https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/{API}
Node.js docs:        https://nodejs.org/docs/latest/api/{module}.html
TypeScript docs:     https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/