Finding Your Perfect Package Just Got Easier: Introducing Use Cases

Here's the problem: PRPM now has over 7,000 packages for AI coding assistants. That's incredible for the ecosystem, but it creates a new challenge—how do you actually find what you need?

You could search by author, but you don't know which authors build what you're looking for. You could filter by format (Cursor, Claude, Continue, etc.), but that only narrows things down to hundreds of options. You could browse tags like "react" or "typescript," but those don't tell you what problem a package solves.

What you really want to know is: "Which packages help me with API development?" or "What's available for debugging frontend issues?"

That's why we built Use Cases—a new way to browse packages by what you're trying to accomplish, not by metadata like author or format.

The Discovery Problem

Let's say you want to build a REST API and you need help with validation, error handling, and documentation. You open PRPM and search "API"—you get 200+ results. Some are for testing APIs. Others are for consuming APIs. A few are about API design patterns. Which ones actually help you build and validate your endpoints?

Or imagine you're debugging a React app. You search "react debugging" and find packages about React hooks, performance optimization, component architecture, and state management. You're drowning in relevant-but-not-quite-right options.

The fundamental issue: packages are organized by what they are, not by what they help you do. Formats describe the tool (Cursor, Claude, Continue). Authors describe who built it. Tags describe technologies used. None of these answer the question: "What problem does this solve?"

Enter Use Cases

Use Cases flip the script. Instead of asking "what format is this package?" they ask "what can I build with this package?"

We've organized the registry into 50 practical use cases that cover what developers actually do:

Development

• API Development
• Frontend Development
• Database Design
• Authentication & Security

Quality

• Code Review
• Testing & QA
• Debugging & Troubleshooting
• Performance Optimization

Documentation

• API Documentation
• Technical Writing
• Code Documentation
• Onboarding Guides

Operations

• CI/CD & DevOps
• Infrastructure as Code
• Monitoring & Logging
• Deployment Automation

Each use case is a lens into the registry. Click "API Development" and you see packages that help with endpoint design, validation, error handling, REST patterns, GraphQL, and API documentation—regardless of format, author, or programming language.

How It Works

1. AI-Powered Auto-Tagging

When a package is published to PRPM, our AI enrichment process analyzes the package's name, description, README, and content. It then automatically tags the package with relevant use cases.

For example, a package called api-error-handler with a description about "standardizing REST API error responses" gets tagged with:

API Development (primary)
Error Handling
Backend Development

The tagging uses both exact keyword matching and fuzzy matching to catch variations. A package about "debugging performance issues in React components" matches Debugging & Troubleshooting, Performance Optimization, and Frontend Development.

2. Browse by Use Case

The new /use-cases page shows all 50 use cases with package counts and example queries. Each use case card displays:

Name and description: What this use case covers
Package count: How many packages match this use case
Example query: An AI search query to get you started

Click any use case to see all matching packages, sorted by relevance and popularity.

3. Filter Search Results

The search page now includes a Use Case filter. Start with a broad search, then narrow down by selecting a use case from the dropdown.

Example workflow:

1. Search "react hooks"
   → 150 results

2. Filter by Use Case: "Frontend Development"
   → 85 results

3. Further filter by Use Case: "State Management"
   → 23 highly relevant packages

You can combine use case filters with format, subtype, tags, and author filters for precise discovery.

4. AI Search Integration

Each use case includes an AI search example query that demonstrates how to find packages using natural language.

For "API Development," the example query might be: "Find packages that help me build and validate REST API endpoints with proper error handling"

Click the "Try this search" link to run the AI search immediately. The AI understands the intent, searches across embeddings, and returns packages ranked by how well they solve your specific problem.

Real-World Examples

Finding Debugging Tools

Before Use Cases: Search "debug" → 300+ results mixing frontend debugging, backend debugging, build debugging, test debugging, and general troubleshooting.

With Use Cases: Go to /use-cases → Click "Debugging & Troubleshooting" → See 45 packages specifically for finding and fixing bugs, organized by relevance.

Building a New Feature

You need to add authentication to your app. You browse to "Authentication & Security" use case and immediately see packages for:

OAuth integration patterns
JWT token validation
Session management
Role-based access control
Security best practices

No more guessing whether a "React authentication" package is about UI components, backend validation, or security patterns. The use case tells you upfront.

Learning New Technologies

Want to learn GraphQL? Browse "API Development" use case, then filter by tag "graphql" to see packages that teach GraphQL concepts, schema design, resolver patterns, and integration with REST.

The combination of use case + technology tag gives you learning resources focused on practical application, not just theory.

Technical Implementation

For those curious about how this works under the hood:

Auto-Tagging Algorithm

When a package is published or updated, the AI enrichment service:

Extracts text: Package name, description, tags, and README content
Keyword matching: Checks for exact matches against each use case's keyword list (e.g., "api", "endpoint", "rest" for "API Development")
Fuzzy matching: Catches variations like "apis", "restful", "graphql endpoints"
Scoring: Ranks matches by confidence based on keyword frequency and placement (title matches score higher than README mentions)
Tagging: Applies top 1-3 most relevant use cases to the package

The process is fast—takes under 100ms per package—and runs automatically whenever a package is published or updated.

Search Integration

Use case filtering integrates seamlessly with PRPM's existing search infrastructure:

PostgreSQL query: Use case filters translate to SQL joins on the package_use_cases table
Faceted search: Combine use cases with format, tags, author, and date filters
AI embeddings: Natural language searches factor in use case tags for better semantic matching

Static Site Generation

The /use-cases page is pre-rendered at build time for instant loading. Package counts are updated daily to reflect the latest registry stats.

What This Unlocks

Use Cases aren't just a navigation feature—they change how you think about finding and using AI prompt packages:

Faster discovery: Go from "I need something for X" to relevant packages in one click
Better matches: Find packages that solve your actual problem, not just packages that mention your keywords
Cross-format visibility: See solutions across all AI assistants (Cursor, Claude, Continue, etc.) without being locked into one ecosystem
Learning paths: Explore related use cases to discover complementary packages (e.g., API Development → Testing → Deployment)
Curated collections: Package authors can tag their work with use cases to help users understand the intended application

What's Next

This is v1 of Use Cases. We have plans for:

Use case recommendations: "Users who installed this package also found these use cases helpful"
Custom use cases: Let verified authors define their own use cases for niche domains
Use case collections: Bundles of packages for common workflows (e.g., "Full-Stack Development" = API + Frontend + Database + Testing)
Improved AI tagging: Incorporate semantic analysis and user feedback to refine auto-tagging accuracy

Try Use Cases Today

Browse all 50 use cases and discover packages by what you're trying to build. No more guessing, no more scrolling through hundreds of irrelevant results—just the packages that solve your problem.

Browse Use Cases Try Search