deep-research

name: deep-research description: "Thorough multi-source research with citations, analysis, and synthesis.\n TRIGGER: "research", "deep dive", "investigate", "find out about".\n NOT FOR: github-research, consulting-report
\ use cases." version: 2.0.0 produces_artifact: research tier: always

Deep Research

Conduct systematic, multi-source research that produces well-cited, comprehensive analysis. Never generate content based solely on general knowledge -- the quality of output depends directly on the quality and quantity of research conducted beforehand.

Output Location

Save research documents to:

~/.swarm-ai/SwarmWS/Knowledge/Notes/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md

Once finalized, move to Knowledge/Library/ for long-term reference.

Workflow: 5-Phase Research

Phase 0: Intent Classification & Strategy Planning

Goal: Before any search, classify the research intent and plan the optimal strategy. Output a structured plan that drives all subsequent phases.

Step 1: Classify the research intent. Pick the PRIMARY intent:

Step 2: Determine search parameters. Based on intent, set these BEFORE Phase 1:

Step 3: Output the plan. Write this to chat before proceeding — it's your contract:

RESEARCH PLAN
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Intent:        <intent>
Query:         <original query>
Time range:    <time constraint>
Source focus:   <top 3 source types>
Search rounds: <N>
Key angles:    <2-4 specific angles to investigate>
Skip:          <what NOT to search — reduces noise>

This plan is reviewable — the user can correct it before you spend time searching. Proceed to Phase 1 only after outputting the plan.

Step 4: Check existing knowledge. Before searching externally, scan what we already have:

1. Knowledge/Learned/ — glob for related tags/topics. If a card exists from last week, start from there, don't re-research.
2. Knowledge/Notes/ — prior research on the same or adjacent topic.
3. MEMORY.md — Key Decisions or Lessons that provide baseline context.

Note what you found in the plan: Prior: <file or "none">. This prevents duplicate research and gives Phase 1 a head start.

Step 5: Bilingual search planning. The user is bilingual (EN/CN). Decide search language:

Add Languages: EN or Languages: EN+CN to the plan output.

Fast-path rule: If intent is factual or how_to AND the query is specific enough to search directly (not ambiguous, not multi-faceted), compress Phase 0 to a single inline line and proceed immediately:

Intent: factual | Depth: basic | Sources: docs→papers→blogs | Rounds: 2-3

Don't build a full plan block for "How does Raft consensus work?" — just classify and go. Save the full plan for landscape, competitive, trend, person_org, and deep_technical where strategy actually matters.

Phase 1: Broad Exploration

Goal: Map the topic landscape and identify key dimensions before going deep. Use the search parameters from Phase 0 — don't override them.

Tavily parameter mapping: When using Tavily search, pass Phase 0 parameters directly:

• search_depth → Tavily search_depth ("basic" or "advanced")
• time_range → Tavily days (day=1, week=7, month=30, year=365)
• topic → Tavily topic ("general" or "news")

1. Identify 3-5 major dimensions/subtopics of the research question
2. Run 3-5 broad searches to understand the landscape:
   • Use specific, contextual queries (not single keywords)
   • Check the current date before forming temporal queries
   • For same-day information, include month + day + year in searches
3. Record what you find AND what's missing -- gaps drive Phase 2

Output: A mental map of the topic with identified subtopics and gaps.

Phase 2: Deep Dive

Goal: Conduct targeted research on each important subtopic identified in Phase 1.

For each subtopic:

1. Run 2-3 targeted searches with specific, refined queries
2. Use WebFetch to read full content from the most authoritative sources
3. Extract: facts, data points, quotes, methodology details
4. Note source quality (official docs > peer-reviewed > news > blogs > social)

Source Priority Ranking:

Phase 3: Diversity & Validation

Goal: Ensure comprehensive coverage and cross-validate key claims.

For each major finding, verify you can confidently answer:

Validation rules:

• Key claims need 2+ independent sources
• If only one source exists, note it explicitly
• Conflicting information gets both sides presented with assessment
• Never suppress inconvenient findings

Phase 4: Synthesis Check

Goal: Verify research is comprehensive BEFORE writing anything.

Ask yourself these questions. If any answer is "no", go back to Phase 2 or 3:

• Can I state the key facts without hedging?
• Do I have real-world examples (not hypothetical)?
• Can I cite at least one expert perspective?
• Do I know the current trends and trajectory?
• Have I identified the main challenges/criticisms?
• Could I explain the relevance to the user's context?

If you cannot check all boxes, do NOT proceed to writing. Return to earlier phases and fill the gaps.

Writing the Research Document

Only after Phase 4 is complete:

Document Structure

# {Research Topic}

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Research depth:** {number of sources consulted}

## Summary
{3-5 sentences covering the key findings -- self-contained for skimmers}

## Key Findings

### {Finding 1}
{Analysis with inline citations}

### {Finding 2}
{Analysis with inline citations}

...

## Open Questions
{What remains unclear or under-researched}

## Sources
1. {Title} -- {URL} -- {accessed date}
2. ...

Writing Rules

• Lead with insights, not background
• Every factual claim needs a citation
• Distinguish clearly between facts, analysis, and speculation
• Use tables for comparisons, not prose
• Keep paragraphs focused -- one idea each
• Flag uncertainty explicitly ("Source X claims... but this is unverified")

Intent-Specific Search Strategies

Use these as Phase 1 templates based on the Phase 0 intent:

Search Technique Reference

Troubleshooting

Verification

Before marking this task complete, show evidence for each:

• Sources cited with URLs — every factual claim links to a specific source, with access date noted
• Multi-source validation — key findings backed by 2+ independent sources; single-source claims flagged
• Findings synthesized — research document follows the template (Summary, Key Findings, Open Questions, Sources)
• Output saved to Knowledge/ — research file exists at Knowledge/Notes/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md (or Knowledge/Library/ if finalized)
• Phase 4 checklist passed — all six synthesis-check questions answered affirmatively before writing