| name | research |
| description | Research a topic using web search and create structured findings. Use when you need to investigate approaches, find papers, compare implementations, or gather knowledge on a topic. Creates structured notes in reports/ directory. |
| argument-hint | [topic] |
| context | fork |
| agent | general-purpose |
| compatibility | Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Gemini CLI. Requires web search access. |
Research: $ARGUMENTS
Research a topic and create comprehensive implementation-focused findings.
Objective
Conduct web-based research on $ARGUMENTS to answer:
- What approaches/systems exist?
- What papers describe them?
- What are the tradeoffs (complexity vs quality)?
- What implementations exist?
- What's the recommended approach for this project?
Research Methods
Search the web to find:
- Academic papers and key authors
- Documentation and specifications
- Open-source implementations
- Comparison studies
Fetch and read these pages to:
- Read paper abstracts/summaries
- Extract key information from documentation
- Check implementation details
Output Format
Write findings to ./reports/research-$ARGUMENTS.md:
# Research: $ARGUMENTS
## Summary
[One paragraph overview of findings]
## Approaches Found
### [Approach 1 Name]
**Source:** [URL]
**Description:** [What it is]
**Pros:** [Advantages]
**Cons:** [Disadvantages]
**Complexity:** [Low/Medium/High]
[Repeat for each major approach]
## Key Papers
- [Author (Year)](URL) - [What it contributes]
- [Author (Year)](URL) - [What it contributes]
## Existing Implementations
- **[Name]** ([URL]): [Description, language, license]
## Complexity vs Quality Tradeoffs
[Analysis of what level of complexity gets what level of quality]
## Recommendations
[Specific recommendations for this project's research area]
## Estimated Implementation Effort
- **Minimal approach:** [What you get]
- **Full approach:** [What you get]
## Open Questions
- [ ] [Unresolved question]
- [ ] [Area needing more investigation]
## References
- [Full citation with URL]
CRITICAL: File Modified Error Workaround
If Edit/Write fails with "file unexpectedly modified":
- Read the file again
- Retry the Edit
- Try path formats:
./relative, C:/forward/slashes, C:\back\slashes
- Prefer your file editing tools over shell text manipulation (cat, sed, echo)
- If all formats fail, STOP and report
CRITICAL: Parallel Swarm Awareness
You may be running alongside other agents. NEVER use git restore/checkout/reset/clean.
Completion
When done, reply ONLY:
Done - see reports/research-$ARGUMENTS.md
Do NOT:
- Output findings to conversation
- Read project source files (unless topic requires it)
- Modify any other files
