| name | deep-research |
| description | Deep research on technical topics using EXA tools with intelligent two-tier caching. Use when user asks to research a topic, investigate best practices, look up information, find patterns, or explore architectures. Also invoked by /research command. Triggers: "research", "look up", "investigate", "deep dive", "find information about", "what are best practices for", "how do others implement".
|
Deep Research
Coordinate deep technical research with intelligent caching for cross-project reuse and team knowledge sharing.
Quick Start
When research is needed:
- Scripts path -
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/
- Single fetch call - Run
python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/cache_manager.py fetch "{topic}" (combines check+get)
- If
exists=true - Present the content field directly (no agent needed). Suggest promote if valid, refresh if expired.
- If
exists=false - Invoke deep-researcher agent for EXA research, which caches via cache_manager.py put
- Report findings - Include cache status and promote suggestion
Cache Architecture
| Tier | Location | Purpose | Shared |
|---|
| 1 | ~/.claude/plugins/research/ | Fast, cross-project | User only |
| 2 | docs/research/ or JD-resolved path | Curated, version controlled | Team |
Operations
| Operation | Trigger | Fast Path? | Action |
|---|
| Research | /research <topic> or natural language | Yes (cache hit) | Check cache → return if valid, else research → cache |
| Promote | /research promote <slug> | Yes | Run promote.py {slug} directly |
| Refresh | /research refresh <slug> | No | Spawn agent → fresh research → cache → update promoted |
| List | /research list | Yes | Run cache_manager.py list (project-scoped by default, --all for everything) |
JD-Aware Path Resolution
Promote and refresh operations detect .jd-config.json to resolve the research output path. If an area containing "research" exists (e.g. "30": "research"), output goes to docs/30-research/. Otherwise falls back to docs/research/. The frontmatter standard is defined by the research-frontmatter skill in the doc plugin.
Project Scoping
Research entries are automatically associated with the current git repository when cached. The list operation filters by current project by default, so each project sees only its relevant research. Use --all to see everything.
- Auto-detection: Project name derived from
git rev-parse --show-toplevel basename
- Multi-project: Entries can belong to multiple projects (associations merge, never replace)
- Backward compatible: Existing entries without project associations appear in
--all but not in project-scoped views
Scripts
All cache operations use Python scripts in ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/:
| Script | Purpose |
|---|
research_utils.py | Shared utilities (imported by all scripts) |
cache_manager.py | Cache CRUD: fetch, get, put, check, list, delete |
promote.py | Tier 1 → Tier 2 promotion with team notes |
index_generator.py | README index generation for both tiers |
Slug Normalization
Convert topics to cache keys:
- "Domain-Driven Design" →
domain-driven-design
- "DDD" →
domain-driven-design (via alias)
- "React Hooks" →
react-hooks
Output Format
After research, report:
## Research: {Topic}
**Cache:** {Hit | Miss | Expired}
**Source:** {Cached | Fresh research}
**Path:** ~/.claude/plugins/research/entries/{slug}/
[Brief summary of findings]
Run `/research promote {slug}` to add to project docs.
Agent Delegation
For actual research execution (cache miss or refresh only), delegate to deep-researcher agent:
- Has MCP tool access (EXA web search, code context)
- Uses
cache_manager.py put for cache write operations
- Structures research output consistently
Additional Resources
