---
name: buy-before-build
description: Prefer industry best practices and proven solutions before building custom ones.
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# Buy Before Build

Before implementing a non-trivial feature, determine the current industry best practice for solving the problem. If a proven solution already exists, prefer adopting it over building a custom implementation unless project constraints or requirements justify otherwise. Briefly explain your reasoning.

**Principle:** Build differentiating product logic—not infrastructure that already exists.