Deep Research

Deep Research

Classic deep research = search wide (100s) → screen → read deep (10s–20s) → synthesize.

Standalone — no pipeline prerequisite. Follow references/screening-funnel.md for target numbers.

> Tool names are indicative — use the equivalents available in your environment (e.g. interactive question widgets, sub-agent/task launchers, web search/fetch tools).

When to use (vs other skills)

| Skill | Role | |-------|------| | /deep-research | This skill — 30–2 000 candidates (mode-dependent), top sources read, full report | | /bear-hours | Frame a learning wedge (no reading) | | /source-scout | 5–7 reading picks in brief.md (no reading) |

Do not auto-route here from other skills.

Hard rules

• Search wide before reading — log every candidate; never jump to 5 sources and call it done.
• Screening is mandatory — document exclusions with reason codes (see funnel reference).
• Read before summarizing — deep-read only eligible top picks; do not invent paper content.
• Synthesis cites only deep-read sources — cited count ≤ read count for the mode.
• Two artifacts — sources-index.md (full audit trail) + report.md (synthesis).
• Honest counts — if discovery /brief.md` |

0a — Research question

Take the question from the user's message. If missing or too broad for one sentence → AskUserQuestion:

Title: Deep Research — Question

Ask: "Quelle question précise veux-tu que je réponde ? (une phrase, cadrée)"

Options: infer 2–3 sharpened variants from context, plus other — "Autre — je précise dans mon prochain message".

Derive `` from the question (lowercase, hyphens). Determine output path:

• If studies//brief.md exists → studies//research.md + studies//sources-index.md
• Else → research//report.md + research//sources-index.md

0b — Existing folder (before any write)

Before creating or overwriting any file, check whether the target folder already has sources-index.md and/or report.md (or research.md).

| Situation | Action | |-----------|--------| | No existing index/report | Proceed to Step 0c (depth) | | Index exists with pending rows | Propose resume — continue from first pending (screen/read) instead of restarting discovery | | Index and/or report exist (recent) | Ask via interactive question: overwrite, resume, or extend — do not write until answered | | User chose resume | Load existing index; skip discovery if all rows screened; jump to first incomplete stage | | User chose extend | Keep existing index; append new discovery round (see escape hatches) | | User chose overwrite | Proceed; replace files on first write |

Fresh slug with no prior files → skip this gate.

0c — Depth level (mandatory gate)

Always call AskUserQuestion before Step 1 — unless smart-skipped (below).

Title: Deep Research — Profondeur

Ask: "Quel niveau de profondeur ? Ça fixe combien de sources je cherche, filtre et lis en profondeur."

Options (fixed — show all four with counts):

| Option label | Mode ID | |--------------|---------| | Quick — ~30–50 sources cherchées · 8–12 retenues au filtre · 2–3 lues · ~10 min | quick | | Standard — ~80–120 cherchées · 25–40 retenues · 8–12 lues · ~20 min | standard | | Literature review (recommandé) — 150–250+ cherchées · 50–80 retenues · 15–25 lues · ~40–60 min | literature-review | | Extrême ⚠️ — ~2 000 cherchées · 20 sous-agents · 40–60 lues · coût tokens & temps élevés (~1–3 h) | extreme |

If user picks extreme → STOP — go to Step 0d (do not confirm or start yet).

For quick / standard / literature-review, confirm in one line before Step 1, e.g.: Mode literature-review — je vise 150–250+ sources découvertes, 15–25 lectures en profondeur.

0d — Extreme confirmation (mandatory for extreme only)

Second gate — never skip. Call AskUserQuestion:

Title: Deep Research — Extrême ⚠️

Ask: "Mode extrême : ~2 000 sources via 20 sous-agents en parallèle (WebSearch massif). Coût estimé : 500k–2M+ tokens et 1–3 heures. Les APIs peuvent plafonner avant 2k — je rapporterai le compte réel. Tu confirmes ?"

Options:

• Oui — lancer le mode extrême (j'accepte tokens + temps)
• Non — revenir au choix de profondeur (Step 0c)

If Non → re-run Step 0c.

If Oui → confirm in one line, e.g.: Mode extreme confirmé — 20 sous-agents, cible ~2 000 sources découvertes, 40–60 lectures en profondeur.

Smart-skip (no depth question) only when the user already named a mode or time budget:

| User said | Mode | |-----------|------| | quick, "rapide", "5 min", "10 min" | quick | | standard, "moyen", "~20 min" | standard | | literature-review, "recherche approfondie", "literature review", "complet", "full" | literature-review | | extreme, "extrême", "2000", "2 000", "max depth" | extreme — still run Step 0d | | /deep-research quick (mode in slash args) | matching mode |

Not smart-skip: bare /deep-research, "vas-y", "go", "lance" without a mode → ask.

Extreme never smart-skips Step 0d — even if user said "extreme" upfront, always show the cost gate.

Depth modes reference (must match references/screening-funnel.md):

| Mode | Discovered | Screened in | Read in depth | Cited in synthesis | Time hint | |------|------------|-------------|---------------|-------------------|-----------| | quick | 30–50 | 8–12 | 2–3 | ≤2–3 | ~10 min | | standard | 80–120 | 25–40 | 8–12 | ≤8–12 | ~20 min | | literature-review | 150–250+ | 50–80 | 15–25 | ≤15–25 | ~40–60 min | | extreme | ~2 000 | 300–500 | 40–60 | ≤40–60 | ~1–3 h ⚠️ |

Step 1: Research plan

QUESTION: 
SUB_QUESTIONS: 
INCLUSION: 
EXCLUSION: 
QUERY_ANGLES: 

Load references/screening-funnel.md, references/source-tiers.md, references/report-template.md.

For extreme also load references/extreme-orchestration.md and write research//discovery/plan.md (20 angle clusters).

Step 2: Discover — cast the wide net

This step dominates. Do not proceed to deep reading until the discovery target is met or max rounds exhausted.

Skip if resume and discovery target already met in existing index.

Search rounds (literature-review)

Run 8–15 rounds of parallel WebSearch (4–5 queries per round). Each round uses new query angles from the plan — not repeats.

Rotate across:

| Angle | Example | |-------|---------| | Survey / SOTA | "" systematic review | | Mechanism | "" principle | | Seminal | | | Recent | 2024..2026 | | Venue | site:arxiv.org, site:ieee.org, conference name | | Applied | case study deployment | | Critique | limitations challenges | | Adjacent | synonym terms, related subfields | | Grey lit | technical reports, theses, industry whitepapers | | FR/local | if question needs it |

After each round: append new unique candidates to sources-index.md:

# Sources index — 

**Question:** ...
**Mode:** literature-review
**Last updated:** 

| # | Title | URL | Found via | Tier est. | Screen | Exclude reason |
|---|-------|-----|-----------|-----------|--------|----------------|
| 1 | ... | ... | survey query | 2 | pending | |

Dedup by URL / DOI / arXiv ID. Target: 150–250+ rows before screening.

quick / standard: fewer rounds per funnel table — same logging discipline.

Extreme — parallel sub-agent discovery

Only after Step 0d confirmed. Follow references/extreme-orchestration.md.

1. Create research//discovery/ and discovery/plan.md (20 angle clusters)
2. Launch 20 sub-agents in one parallel batch via your environment's sub-agent/task mechanism; choose the fastest/most economical model available for discovery
3. Each agent targets ~100 candidates → discovery/shard-NN.md (WebSearch only, no WebFetch)
4. Merge all shards → sources-index.md + discovery/merge-log.md (global dedup, honest count)
5. If merged unique **/notes.md (or studies//notes.md` if study-linked):

##  — 
- **Thesis:** ...
- **Methods:** ...
- **Results:** ...
- **Limits:** ...

Synthesize in Step 6 from this file — not from memory alone. For large read lists, batch reads via sub-agents is allowed if your environment supports it (same pattern as extreme discovery).

Step 6: Synthesize

Write report.md per references/report-template.md — in the user's language (translate template headings as needed).

• Screening funnel table with real counts from sources-index.md
• Executive summary — answer first
• Synthesis by theme — from read sources only (via notes.md)
• Exclusion summary — aggregate reason codes
• Pointer to full sources-index.md

If discovered < 150 in literature-review mode → ## Search coverage section: shortfall, untried angles, offer extend pass.

If extreme and discovered < 1 500 → ## Search coverage + ## Extreme run metadata per extreme-orchestration.md.

Step 7: Deliver

Tell the user:

1. Paths: report.md + sources-index.md (+ notes.md if written)
2. Funnel counts — discovered / screened / read / cited
3. Direct answer — 2–3 sentences
4. Best source to read first
5. Confidence — high | medium | low

If discovered < target: say how many more rounds would close the gap.

Suggest (do not auto-route): /layout-html for mise en page HTML — works on this report or any other text.

Escape hatches

| User says | Action | |-----------|--------| | quick / 5 min | Smart-skip depth ask → 30–50 discovered, 2–3 read | | standard | Smart-skip depth ask → 80–120 discovered, 8–12 read | | literature-review / "recherche approfondie" | Smart-skip depth ask → 150–250+ discovered, 15–25 read | | extreme / "extrême" | Smart-skip depth ask → still require Step 0d → 20 agents, ~2k target | | vas-y / go without mode | Ask depth via interactive question — do not default silently | | resume | Load existing sources-index.md; continue at first pending or incomplete read; do not restart discovery | | stop / arrête (extreme) | Halt sub-agents; merge partial index; report funnel so far | | extend | Append new discovery round to existing sources-index.md, re-screen, update report | | free only | Exclude paywalled without preprint | | no file | Chat summary + funnel counts only |

Self-check

• [ ] Overwrite/resume gate passed before first write (Step 0b)
• [ ] sources-index.md exists with actual discovered count
• [ ] Literature-review: ≥150 discovered OR shortfall documented
• [ ] Every exclude has a reason code
• [ ] Mode-appropriate deep-read count (15–25 literature-review; 40–60 extreme)
• [ ] Read failures marked read-failed; replacements promoted; no citation of unread sources
• [ ] Extreme: Step 0d confirmed; 20 shard files attempted; merge-log.md exists
• [ ] Extreme: never claim 2k discovered if merge count is lower
• [ ] Funnel table in report matches index counts; cited ≤ read
• [ ] Synthesis cites only deep-read sources
• [ ] Each SUB_QUESTION from Step 1 is addressed in synthesis or listed under Open questions
• [ ] notes.md written incrementally for literature-review+ before synthesis

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: loursCreatif
• Source: loursCreatif/ours-stack
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.