Agent Skills: Research Skill

Research Skill

Multi-source parallel research with confidence-based synthesis.

Trigger Phrases

When user asks:

• "research X for me"
• "find out about X"
• "what's the current status of X"
• "gather information on X"
• "deep dive into X"

Quick Reference

| Mode | Speed | Depth | Use Case | |------|-------|-------|----------| | quick | ~30s | Shallow | Fact check, simple lookup | | standard | ~2min | Moderate | Typical research | | extensive | ~8min | Deep | Comprehensive analysis |

Command

/ai-dev-kit:research [mode] [query]

Mode Selection

Need quick answer? ─────────────► quick
  │
  ├─ Need current info? ────────► standard
  │
  └─ Need comprehensive? ───────► extensive

Research Types

| Type | Sources | Best For | |------|---------|----------| | Web | WebSearch | Current events, latest docs | | Docs | Local ai-docs/ | Library usage, patterns | | Code | Codebase grep | Implementation examples |

Confidence Levels

| Level | Meaning | Source Count | |-------|---------|--------------| | HIGH | Very reliable | 3+ agree | | MEDIUM | Likely accurate | 2 agree | | LOW | Needs verification | 1 only | | CONFLICTING | Check manually | Sources disagree |

Cookbook

• cookbook/quick-mode.md - Fast fact-checking pattern
• cookbook/standard-mode.md - Balanced research pattern
• cookbook/extensive-mode.md - Deep research pattern

Reference

• reference/researcher-types.md - Available researcher agents
• reference/synthesis-patterns.md - How findings are combined

Common Gotchas

• Timeout: Extensive mode may timeout on slow connections. Results are still returned.
• Docs only: If web is down, doc-only results are returned with note.
• Conflicting info: Review "Conflicting Information" section when present.