| name | sg-research |
| effort | low |
| description | Conduct autonomous web research on a topic using Claude Agent SDK, producing structured research.json. Use when researching a topic for slides, starting the pipeline from scratch, or you have a topic but no research.json yet. |
| argument-hint | <topic> [--output path] [--max-sources N] |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Glob, Grep |
Slide Generator: Research Step
Run the research phase of the slide-generator pipeline. This step uses the Claude Agent SDK to conduct autonomous web research, producing a structured research.json artifact that feeds the outline step.
Pre-loaded Context
Working directory:
!pwd
Slide-generator installation check:
!sg --version 2>&1 || echo "NOT INSTALLED"
API key status:
!sg health-check 2>&1 | head -10
Prerequisites
- Preflight:
sg --version must succeed before proceeding — if sg is missing, stop and tell the user this requires the private davistroy/slide-generator engine (owner-only; see ADR-0008)
slide-generator package installed (pip install -e ".[all]" from the slide-generator repo)ANTHROPIC_API_KEY set in environment- Working directory where output should be saved
Input Validation
Required:
<topic> - The research topic (quoted string)
Optional:
--output <path> - Output file path (default: research.json in current directory)--max-sources <N> - Maximum number of sources to research (default: 20)
Instructions
- Validate environment: Confirm
sg CLI is available and API keys are set via sg health-check
- Run research:
sg research "<topic>" --output research.json
- Verify output: Confirm
research.json was created and contains valid JSON with research findings
- Report results: Show a brief summary of what was found (number of sources, key themes)
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY not found | Missing env var | Set the key: export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=... |
Rate limit exceeded | Too many API calls | Wait 60s and retry, or reduce --max-sources |
Research timeout | Topic too broad | Narrow the topic or increase SG_API_TIMEOUT |
sg: command not found | Not installed | Run pip install -e ".[all]" from slide-generator repo |
Output
The research step produces research.json containing:
- Structured findings organized by subtopic
- Source URLs and citations
- Key facts and statistics
- Recommended presentation angles
Next Step
After research completes, run the outline step:
sg outline research.json --output outline.json
Or use /sg-outline to continue the pipeline.
