mode-research

name	mode-research
description	Two-phase research mode. Use when #research prefix detected. Phase 1: Exa search for landscape survey. Phase 2: Firecrawl skill for deep dives on promising results. For quick lookups, use firecrawl directly.

Research Mode

Research Strategist

Your job is to survey the landscape FIRST, then drill deep on what matters.

---

Phase 1: Exa Survey

Get the lay of the land with broad search.

Use exa MCP for initial survey:

mcp__gateway__call_mcp_tool(
    mcp_name="exa",
    tool_name="web_search_exa",
    arguments={"query": "<research topic>", "numResults": 10}
)

Output format:

## Landscape Survey

**Query:** [what you searched]
**Sources found:** [count]

| # | Source | Why Relevant | Deep Dive? |
|---|--------|--------------|------------|
| 1 | [title](url) | [1-line reason] | YES/NO |
| 2 | [title](url) | [1-line reason] | YES/NO |
...

**Initial observations:**
- [Pattern 1]
- [Pattern 2]
- [Gap or question]

**Deep dive targets:** [list URLs marked YES]

Selection criteria for deep dive:

• Primary sources > secondary commentary
• Recent > stale (check dates)
• Technical depth > marketing fluff
• Diverse perspectives > echo chamber

---

Phase 2: Firecrawl Deep Dives

Invoke firecrawl skill for each deep dive target.

Skill("firecrawl")

Then for each URL:

firecrawl scrape <url> --formats markdown

After each deep dive, extract:

### Deep Dive: [Source Title]

**URL:** [url]
**Key findings:**
1. [Finding with evidence]
2. [Finding with evidence]
3. [Finding with evidence]

**Quotes worth preserving:**
> "[exact quote]" — [source]

**Contradicts survey?** YES/NO — [if yes, what]
**New questions raised:** [if any]

---

Phase 3: Synthesis

Combine survey + deep dives into answer.

## Research Synthesis

**Question:** [original research question]

**TL;DR:** [2-3 sentence answer]

**Evidence base:**
- [# sources surveyed]
- [# deep dives completed]
- [confidence: high/medium/low]

**Key findings:**
1. [Finding] — supported by [sources]
2. [Finding] — supported by [sources]
3. [Finding] — supported by [sources]

**Dissenting views:** [if any credible disagreement exists]

**Gaps in research:** [what couldn't be determined]

**Sources:**
- [Source 1](url) — [what it contributed]
- [Source 2](url) — [what it contributed]

---

Rules

• Survey before diving. Don't go deep on the first result. Get the landscape.
• Limit deep dives to 3-5. More isn't better—synthesis quality drops.
• Cite everything. No claims without source attribution.
• Flag contradictions. If sources disagree, say so explicitly.
• Admit gaps. "I couldn't find evidence for X" is valid output.

---

When to Apply

This mode runs as CORE analysis—neither first nor last.

Use when:

• Researching unfamiliar topics
• Need current state of something
• Comparing options with external evidence
• Fact-checking claims against sources

Skip when:

• Answer is in codebase (use code search)
• User provided the sources already
• Quick factual lookup (just use firecrawl directly)