research

name	research
description	Conduct external research — domain analysis or technology evaluation. Spawns the research-agent with MCP tool access (Perplexity deep research via perplexity_research, Context7, Tavily). Usage - /research domain <topic> or /research <topic> for general.
argument-hint	[domain|general] <topic>
context	fork
agent	research-agent

Research

Spawn the research-agent to conduct external research. Supports multiple runs — each creates a new dated file.

Templates

Read and follow the output format in:

• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates/domain-research-template.md — research report structure

Input

$ARGUMENTS — research type (optional) and topic.

Domain Research (problem space)

/research domain competitive landscape for CLI AI orchestration tools
/research domain user needs for multi-agent workflow automation
/research domain compliance requirements for AI code generation

Produces: .factory/specs/research/domain-<slug>-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md

General Research (technology/implementation)

/research Rust workflow engine comparison — xstate-rs vs saga-rs vs custom
/research general security advisories for tokio 1.x
/research best practices for CLI multi-agent orchestration

If the first word is not domain, it's treated as general research.

Produces: .factory/specs/research/general-<slug>-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md

Before Running

1. Ensure .factory/specs/research/ directory exists. Create it if not:

   mkdir -p .factory/specs/research
   

2. Read .factory/specs/research/RESEARCH-INDEX.md (if exists) to check for prior research on this topic. Share relevant prior research with the agent for context.

After Completion

1. Verify the report includes a ## Research Methods section listing MCP tools used.
2. Update the research index:

   # Append to RESEARCH-INDEX.md (create if doesn't exist)
   

3. Commit to factory-artifacts:

   cd .factory && git add specs/research/ && git commit -m "factory(research): <type> — <topic summary>"