chatgpt-deep-research

name	chatgpt-deep-research
description	Platform knowledge for ChatGPT Deep Research at chatgpt.com. Standalone: spawns browser-researcher agent. Or loaded by browser-researcher at runtime via skill_path. Trigger on "chatgpt deep research", "run this through ChatGPT", "ask ChatGPT to research", "delegate to ChatGPT deep research", "use ChatGPT for this research". Does NOT trigger on generic "deep research".
context	fork
model	opus

ChatGPT Deep Research — Platform Knowledge

Standalone Invocation

If invoked directly via /chatgpt-deep-research, spawn the browser-researcher agent:

Agent(
  subagent_type="browser-researcher",
  name="chatgpt-researcher",
  prompt="skill_path: <skill-path>/SKILL.md\nresearch_prompt: <from user>\noutput_path: <from user or .work/chatgpt-report.md>\ncaller: <your name>",
  run_in_background=true
)

Then relay messages between user and agent via SendMessage. If loaded by browser-researcher via Read, ignore this section.

Platform Configuration

• url: https://chatgpt.com/deep-research
• backend: playwright-cli
• submit_method: click_send_button
• plan_review: informational # research auto-starts; approve-plan is a no-op
• hard_timeout: 90
• completion_signal: text "Research completed in" inside nested root iframe (sandboxed)

Playwright-CLI Backend

All browser interaction is driven by scripts/pw-driver.py via Bash. The agent calls subcommands; the driver handles Chrome lifecycle, CDP attach, and all DOM interaction internally.

Phase	Subcommand
Login check	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py status (exit 10 = login required)
One-time login	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py login (user runs interactively)
Research activation + submit	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py start-research --prompt-file=<path>
Plan capture	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py wait-plan --timeout=120
Plan approval	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py approve-plan
Research monitoring	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py wait-complete --timeout=5400
Report extraction	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py extract --output=<path>
Session close	python3 scripts/pw-driver.py close

Exit codes: 0 success · 10 login required · 20 timeout · 30 extraction failure · 40 DOM mismatch.

DOM Reference (verified March 2026)

Key elements

• button "Deep research" — version dropdown chip in input bar
• textbox with placeholder "Get a detailed report" — main input
• button "Copy response" — copy assistant message to clipboard

Completion indicators

• Stats: "Research completed in Xm · Y citations · Z searches"
• Report card with title and icons appears
• Response action buttons (Copy, Thumbs up/down, Share, Refresh) appear

Platform Quirks

• Obfuscated CSS: ChatGPT uses obfuscated class names — driver uses accessible names, not CSS selectors.
• Deep Research already active: Navigating to /deep-research pre-selects the mode. Driver verifies but doesn't need to toggle.
• Max plan iterations: 5 iterations before asking caller to approve or abort.
• Follow-up mode: After research completes, follow-ups go through standard ChatGPT chat (NOT Deep Research) to save quota.
• Report container: [data-message-author-role="assistant"] — select last element for the research response.