Walrus Research

---
name: walrus-research
description: Research Walrus storage usage patterns and product opportunities. Use when the user wants Walrus research, market gaps, or storage opportunities.
---

## Preamble (run first)

```bash
# Suiperpower telemetry. Routes through the CLI so projects.json + Convex stay in sync.
# Silent on failure so the skill never blocks. Opt out: SUIPERPOWER_TELEMETRY=off.
#
# AGENT NOTE: when this skill finishes, run the matching completion command:
#   suiperpower track walrus-research idea completed
# Or use "failed" / "aborted" if it ended that way.
command -v suiperpower >/dev/null 2>&1 && suiperpower track walrus-research idea started >/dev/null 2>&1 &
true
```

If `TEL_PROMPTED` is `no`, before doing real work, ask the user:

> Help suiperpower get better. We track which skills get used and how long they take. No code, no file paths, no PII. Change anytime in `~/.suiperpower/config.json`.
>
> A) Sure, anonymous
> B) No thanks

Write the answer to `~/.suiperpower/config.json` `telemetryTier` field and create `~/.suiperpower/.telemetry-prompted`. Then continue.

## What this skill does

Surveys current Walrus storage usage and turns it into a list of product opportunities. Walks four categories: media products, archive products, identity / verifiable storage, and developer tooling. Output is a ranked candidate list grounded in observed usage patterns and gaps in tooling, not generic "decentralized storage" framings.

The Walrus value proposition is durable, available, content-addressed blob storage with payment in WAL. The gaps are usually at the integration layer (apps, tooling, gateways), not the protocol layer.

## When to use it

- The user wants to build on Walrus but is exploring use cases.
- The user is mid-validation of a Walrus-adjacent idea and wants traction signals.
- The user is sponsor-track-aligned (Sui Overflow Walrus track) and needs a load-bearing integration angle.

## When NOT to use it

- The user wants to build a Walrus integration with a chosen idea, route to `walrus-storage`.
- The user wants general Sui idea search, route to `find-next-sui-idea`.
- The user wants DeepBook research, route to `deepbook-research`.

If you activated this and the user actually wants something else, consult `skills/SKILL_ROUTER.md` and hand off.

## Inputs

- The user's interest in Walrus (curious, picking an idea, validating).
- Optional: a content type the user has in mind (images, video, datasets, archives).
- Optional: the user's chain experience.

## Outputs

A research block written to `.suiperpower/idea-context.md` (or a new `.suiperpower/research-walrus-<timestamp>.md` if no idea is chosen yet):

```markdown
## Walrus research, <timestamp>

### Usage patterns observed
- <pattern>: <evidence>
- ...

### Underserved use cases
1. <use case>: <evidence>, <product idea this enables>
2. ...

### Gaps in tooling
- <gap>: <evidence>, <product idea this enables>

### Risks and constraints
- <risk>: <mitigation>

### Citations
- <Walrus docs link, observability dashboard, sponsor RFP, etc>
```

## Workflow

1. **Confirm scope**
   - Open-ended Walrus research, or focused on a specific content type?

2. **Scan Walrus usage signals**
   - Read the official Walrus dashboard (suiscan.xyz/mainnet/Walrus or equivalent) for active publishers and aggregators.
   - Survey known consumer apps integrating Walrus (NFT marketplaces using Walrus for media, dapps using it for static assets, etc.).
   - Note volume signals (blobs published per day, total size, payment activity in WAL).

3. **Walk the four categories**

   - **Media products**: NFT marketplaces, content-creator platforms, social media, image / video sharing. Where do existing apps fall short on storage durability, hosting cost, or content-addressing?
   - **Archive products**: legal documents, scientific datasets, government records, backups. The "permanent storage" angle. Who needs verifiable, long-lived storage today?
   - **Identity / verifiable storage**: user-controlled storage of identity documents, credentials, signed artifacts. zkLogin + Walrus + capability gates is a Sui-native composition.
   - **Developer tooling**: Walrus gateways, indexing tools, content-addressing helpers, Walrus-as-a-CDN, frameworks for app developers.

4. **Identify underserved use cases**
   - For each category, name at least one use case where current solutions are unsatisfying (web2 risky, IPFS unreliable, S3 expensive at scale).
   - Tie each use case to a specific user (not "users", not "developers", but a named persona).

5. **Identify tooling gaps**
   - Is there a public Walrus gateway with a CDN-grade SLA?
   - Is there an indexing layer for blob discovery?
   - Is there a framework for "Walrus + Sui Object" composability?
   - Is there a billing / metering tool for app developers managing WAL spend?

6. **Risks and constraints**
   - Walrus pricing in WAL: is the WAL/USD curve at a level that makes the use case unit-economic-positive?
   - Latency and read patterns: Walrus is for blob storage, not realtime database. Use cases that need sub-100ms reads at scale should be flagged.
   - Sponsor risk: Walrus is sponsor-backed; map out the sponsor relationship if the candidate's business model depends on Walrus stability.

7. **Citations**
   - Every claim links to docs, a dashboard, an existing project, or a community post.
   - Refuse claims without citations.

8. **Writeback**
   - Append to the chosen output file.

## Quality gate (anti-slop)

Before reporting done:

- Is each use case tied to a named persona, not "users"?
- Are tooling gaps cited with evidence (or explicit "no public solution found, last checked <date>")?
- Did the analysis include unit-economic considerations (WAL spend per user / blob)?
- Did the analysis avoid "decentralized storage is the future" framing without specifics?
- Did the writeback happen?

If any answer is no, the skill keeps working.

## References

On-demand references (load when relevant to the user's question):

- `references/walrus-categories.md`: Four-category decomposition with category-specific questions.
- `references/walrus-unit-economics.md`: How to think about WAL spend, gateway cost, pricing.

Knowledge docs:

- `skills/data/sui-knowledge/sponsor-docs/walrus.md`: Walrus integration knowledge doc.
- `skills/data/sui-knowledge/04-protocols-and-sdks.md`: SDK and integration overview.

## Use in your agent

- Claude Code: `claude "/suiper:walrus-research <your message>"`
- Codex: `codex "/walrus-research <your message>"`
- Cursor: paste a chat message that includes a phrase like "Walrus research", or load `~/.cursor/rules/walrus-research.mdc` and reference it.

If you activated this and the user actually wants something else, consult `skills/SKILL_ROUTER.md` and hand off.