research

name	research
description	Gather domain knowledge for the agent being built. Intensity depends on agent type — from no research (internal-knowledge) to deep parallel research (analytical). Use after the interview phase.

Research Phase

Gather the knowledge the agent needs. Research intensity was determined during classification.

When to Research Deeply (Analytical/Research, some Creative)

Use the researcher subagent for parallel investigation. Launch separate research tasks for:

• Market data, trends, adoption rates, key statistics
• Competitor analysis, pricing, positioning
• Best practices, proven frameworks, methodologies
• Legal/regulatory context
• The user's existing public presence

When to Research Lightly (Operational, Internal-Knowledge)

• Search for established patterns and conventions in the domain
• Check for regulatory requirements
• Look for prior art (templates, checklists, decision trees)
• Most context comes from the user's own files, not the web

When NOT to Research Externally

• The agent is powered entirely by private context (SOPs, codebase, CRM)
• The domain is so specialized that public sources are noise
• The user has already provided comprehensive input

Fetch Strategy (web research)

When gathering live web data, during this phase or in any generated agent that reads the web:

1. Try WebFetch first — fast and cheap.
2. If a page is blocked (bot protection, JS rendering, cookie wall, login), switch to Playwright MCP (mcp__playwright__browser_navigate + browser_snapshot). Dismiss cookie banners with browser_click, then snapshot again.
3. If Playwright isn't installed, note the gap — don't fabricate. Recommend the user install it (see README → Setup) for sites that block plain fetches.

Any generated agent that consumes live web data should be designed to use this same fallback: grant it Playwright access and state the WebFetch → browser escalation in its CLAUDE.md so it has the best tools available at runtime.

Private Context Ingestion

For agents that rely on private documents:

Step 1: Artifact Intake

Ask the user to share source materials. For each, classify:

Artifact	Type	Confidentiality	Volatility	Use In Agent
[name]	SOP / Policy / Template / Log / Transcript	Internal-only / Redactable / Public	Stable / Quarterly / Monthly	CLAUDE.md / guide.md / skill / template

Step 2: Extract, Don't Dump

Don't copy-paste raw documents. Extract:

• Decision rules and branching logic
• Domain vocabulary and definitions
• Conventions and formatting requirements
• Edge cases and exceptions
• Explicit constraints and prohibitions

Step 3: Mark Confidentiality Boundaries

What the agent may include in outputs:
- [list]

What the agent may use as context but NOT include in outputs:
- [list]

What the agent must NEVER reference:
- [list]

Step 4: Source-of-Truth Precedence

For agents with multiple knowledge sources, define which wins when they conflict:

Source-of-truth precedence (highest to lowest):
1. [e.g., Current regulation text > internal policy > guide.md > general knowledge]
2. [e.g., Client brief > brand guidelines > skill defaults]

When sources conflict: flag the conflict, state which source you're following and why.

Essential for regulated and internal-knowledge agents. Usually unnecessary for creative agents.

Source Strength (Analytical/Research agents)

Classify each piece of information by reliability:

Strength	Definition	Use In Output
Evidence	Primary data, official statistics, regulation text	Can support output claims directly
Orientation	Industry reports, expert opinion, case studies	Context and framing, not hard claims
Heuristic	Community practice, rules of thumb, anecdotes	Background only — always hedge

Mark source strength in guide.md so the agent distinguishes what supports a claim from what merely informed the framing.

Research Rules

• Every factual claim in guide.md needs a source URL (for web-researched content)
• Private/internal content should note its origin and date
• Prefer primary sources over blog aggregators
• If you can't find data, note the gap — don't fabricate

Research Checkpoints

After research, BEFORE moving to design:

• Does research invalidate any interview assumptions? If yes, re-interview.
• Are there domain constraints you didn't ask about? If yes, ask now.
• Is the agent type still correct? Reclassify if needed.