Package Evaluation (Finding the Best Modern Library)

When the task involves choosing a library (e.g., "what's the best PDF library", "recommend a date picker"), use this workflow:

Step 1: Check Org Docs First

A best library may have already been found and documented! Query the "docs" MCP server for library-specific documentation:

1. •Use ListMcpResourcesTool with server: "docs" to list available resources
2. •Look for matching library docs in org://docs/libraries/ (e.g., org://docs/libraries/tanstack-query.md) or docs that have a similar category to the user prompt.
3. •Use ReadMcpResourceTool to read the org docs and see if there is a preferred library mentioned.

Step 2: Search Community Forums

Use WebSearch with queries like:

• •"best [purpose] library typescript reddit 2024" or current year
• •"[purpose] npm package recommendations reddit"
• •"[library-name] vs [alternative] typescript"

Reddit and forums reveal real-world issues that docs won't show—maintenance problems, hidden gotchas, and migration pain.

Step 3: Verify Library Health

ALWAYS fetch and include these metrics for each candidate (use WebFetch on GitHub repo and npm pages):

1. •GitHub Stars: Indicates community adoption and trust
2. •Last Update Date: When the library was last published/committed
3. •Weekly Downloads: npm download count (indicates active usage)

For each candidate, also check:

1. •

   Last Update Health:

   • •Red flag: >2 years ago (likely abandoned)
   • •Yellow flag: 6-24 months ago
   • •Green flag: Within 6 months
2. •

   TypeScript Support:

   • •Built-in types (best): Ships with the package
   • •@types/ package: Acceptable but may lag
   • •No types: Avoid for TypeScript projects
3. •

   Maintenance Signals: Open issues, response time, release frequency

Step 4: Check for Modern Alternatives

• •Search "[old-library] alternative 2024" or "modern [purpose] library"
• •Check for deprecation notices
• •Prefer libraries with ESM support and tree-shaking

Library Recommendation Output

## Library Recommendation: [Purpose]

### Recommended [library-name]

- GitHub Stars: [count]
- Last updated: [date]
- TypeScript: [Built-in / @types / None]
- Weekly downloads: [count]
- Why: [1-2 sentence justification]

### Alternatives Considered

- [alt-1]: [why not - e.g., "last updated 2019"]
- [alt-2]: [why not - e.g., "no TypeScript support"]

### Community Sentiment

**Summary of Forum 1 (XXX upvotes)**\
https://reddit.com/r/foo/bar.md

**Summary of Forum 2 (XXX upvotes)**\
https://reddit.com/r/foo/baz.md

<answer-goes-here>

Examples

Example 1: User needs to choose a library

Query: "What's the best PDF generation library for TypeScript?"

Process:

1. •Check org docs → Not found in any docs in org://docs/libraries/
2. •Search Reddit/forums → WebSearch: "best pdf library typescript reddit 2024"
3. •Identify candidates (e.g., pdf-lib, pdfkit, jspdf, puppeteer)
4. •Verify each candidate:
   • •Check npm for last update date
   • •Check for built-in TypeScript types
   • •Look at GitHub stars/issues
5. •Return:

### Library Recommendation: PDF Generation

**Recommended**: pdf-lib

- Last updated: 2024-01
- TypeScript: Built-in
- Weekly downloads: 1.2M
- Why: Pure JS, no native deps, great TS support, actively maintained

**Alternatives Considered**:

- pdfkit: Good but requires @types package, less TS-native
- jspdf: Last major update 2022, community reports maintenance slowdown
- puppeteer: Overkill for simple PDF generation, heavy dependency

**Community Sentiment**: Reddit consensus favors pdf-lib for new TypeScript
projects due to modern API and zero native dependencies.