| name | deep-research |
| description | Produces a cited long-form research report on a complex question, fanning out parallel research probes when the topic spans many entities or angles. Use when the user asks for deep research, a cited report, market analysis, due diligence, a broad market scan, or a comprehensive investigation. Do NOT trigger for quick factual lookups. |
| category | Research & Docs |
| tags | research, report, analysis |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | Requires Exa and Firecrawl research tools; fan-out mode requires Mastra workflows. |
Deep Research
Answer complex questions with sourced synthesis. The output should read like an analyst brief: clear thesis, cited evidence, disagreement handling, and confidence notes. When the question spans many entities or angles, fan out parallel probes first (see Fan-out Mode), then synthesize.
Quick Start
- Rewrite the user's ask into 3-6 research questions.
- Create a source matrix with question, claim, evidence, URL, date, and confidence columns.
- Search with
search_web_advanced; use date/domain filters when appropriate.
- Scrape authoritative sources with
firecrawl_scrape.
- Synthesize with inline citations and explicit uncertainty.
Fan-out Mode
Use breadth first when the ask covers many independent entities (companies, tools, policies, markets): survey a population, compare many companies, or scan a market across 10-25 angles. Run it through the research_fanout workflow tool.
- Identify the population to cover and the comparison criteria.
- Define up to 25 independent probe slots with clear per-probe questions and source expectations.
- Fan out the probes; keep them independent so slow or failed branches do not block the answer.
- Use the same fields for every entity so the comparison is fair; track source URLs per cell.
- Deduplicate facts, aliases, and repeated articles before synthesis.
- Return a comparison matrix plus narrative answer; mark missing data as unknown, not blank.
Research Workflow
| Phase | Action |
|---|
| Scope | Define question, timeframe, geography, and decision use |
| Search | Find primary sources first, then reputable secondary analysis |
| Extract | Capture claim, evidence, URL, date, author, and confidence |
| Compare | Resolve contradictions by source quality and recency |
| Synthesize | Write answer, not notes; include citations for important claims |
Source Quality
- Tier 1: official docs, filings, datasets, standards, primary interviews.
- Tier 2: reputable journalism, analyst reports, academic papers.
- Tier 3: blogs, forums, social posts. Use for signals, not final claims.
QA
- Every key claim has a citation.
- The report includes what would change the conclusion.
- Contradictions are explained, not hidden.
- The answer distinguishes fact, estimate, and inference.
Deliverables
- Markdown report
- Source matrix
- Confidence and gaps
References
reference.md - source quality ladder, citation style, and synthesis checklist.
