Pre-computed context
Current branch: !git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown"
Purpose
/research-deep is the dispatcher for deep external research — a depth/execution variant of the sibling /research skill. Same research contract (3-phase discipline, source-tier ratio, recency gate, mandatory falsification, cited RESEARCH.md artifact); heavier execution that keeps the main session's context clean. It selects ONE execution tier from tool availability + task heaviness, then surfaces the same summary contract regardless of tier.
This skill runs inline (main context) — it dispatches; the chosen tier provides the context isolation. It must run in main context to reach the Workflow tool when one is available (a subagent cannot dispatch workflows).
Topic
$ARGUMENTS
If no topic was provided, infer it from the current conversation — identify the technical claim, decision, or implementation being worked on and research that.
Dispatch decision (multi-topic check, then three tiers)
Multi-topic check — run FIRST, before any tier. Count the independent sub-topics in the ask (numbered list, enumerated questions, separable subjects that share no claims). N ≥ 2 separable topics → do NOT dispatch an engine on the combined blob. An engine decomposes ONE question into generic research angles; fed a multi-topic blob, every broad agent researches all N topics shallowly — N× the wall-clock and tokens for worse depth. Instead: spawn N parallel topic agents (Agent tool, general-purpose, one per topic, each running the full /research discipline; instruct each to cite primary sources by URL — a subagent return without citations is ungrounded synthesis). Give each agent its own sub-slice — <memory_dir>/<slug>/<topic-slug>/, assigned by this session in the dispatch envelope, never chosen by the worker (two workers choosing independently can choose the same one). Each writes the normal RESEARCH.md index, its sidecars, and its own research-checklist.md inside that sub-slice; those filenames are fixed, so N agents pointed at one slice root would overwrite one another's index and ledger rather than producing separable artifacts. This session owns each topic's post-dispatch boundary — synthesis is the last step, not the only one. The /research gate assigns its independent-corroboration and HIGH-confidence rows to a fresh verifier precisely because a producing context may not grade its own choices, and a topic worker cannot be relied on to dispatch that verifier: whether a non-fork subagent holds Agent depends on the harness's current nesting depth allowance (CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_SUBAGENT_SPAWN_DEPTH), a default that has moved three times and is not worth designing against. So for each topic, this session dispatches the sibling verifier, applies project fit, and writes both results back into that topic's index — before synthesizing. Skipping it produces the worst available artifact: a root RESEARCH.md presenting claims as gate-passed when the rows that matter were never graded by anyone. Then synthesize the slice-root RESEARCH.md from the per-topic indexes. An engine is for a SINGLE contested or deep question that needs falsification rounds and adversarial claim-checking.
For a single-topic ask, detection is engine-biased: prefer the heaviest available tier UNLESS the task is clearly small/targeted. Unknown scope or any doubt → heavier tier.
| Tier | Condition | Execution |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — workflow engine (preferred) | The Workflow tool is available AND a deep-research workflow exists (a built-in deep-research workflow, or one the consuming project ships) AND the task is heavy/broad (or unknown scope) | Dispatch that workflow with the topic |
| 2 — forked subagent | No workflow path AND the task is heavy | Spawn an isolated general-purpose agent running the full /research discipline |
| 3 — inline | Task clearly small/targeted (single fact, one obvious source, narrow lookup) | Run /research inline in this session |
- Heavy/broad = multi-source, multi-vendor, comparison/migration, unfamiliar domain, or research that would flood main context with 9+ external queries.
- Clearly small = a single verifiable fact from one obvious source. Even here the full
/researchdiscipline applies — task size never reduces depth. - Multi-topic parallel agents = each topic agent still runs the FULL
/researchdiscipline (3 phases, source tiers, falsification) — the split changes orchestration, never depth.
Tier 1 — workflow engine (preferred)
If your tool list includes the Workflow tool and a deep-research workflow is available (check the consuming project's workflow registry first — a project-provided engine may superset the built-in one), dispatch it with the topic and, if it accepts one, the artifact destination — <memory_dir>/<slug>/RESEARCH.md, resolved per the plugin's topic-docs binding (${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/topic-docs.md). The engine runs in the background; its completion notification carries the summary + artifact path. Surface those to the user. Do NOT re-run the research inline.
If no workflow engine resolves, fall through to Tier 2.
Tier 2 — forked subagent fallback
Spawn a subagent that runs the canonical /research workflow in an isolated context:
Agent({
subagent_type: "general-purpose",
description: "Deep research (isolated)",
prompt: "Run the discovery plugin's research skill (/discovery:research) on: <topic> and
follow its disciplines exactly — the skill loads its own discipline file; do NOT
reconstruct it here. Carry-verbatim reminders: queries SCALE to open questions,
not a flat floor; primary source fetched DIRECTLY, not via the SERP; mandatory
Phase-2 falsification. Discover the research tools connected this session — don't
assume a fixed set. Every accepted claim needs a primary source cited by URL
captured this run; uncited claims are ungrounded synthesis. RUN THE OUTCOME GATE
before returning. Write the RESEARCH.md artifact per the skill's Final step.
Return ONLY a one-paragraph summary + the artifact path + any unresolved questions."
})
general-purpose (not a read-only Explore agent) because Phase 3 needs MCP/tool access and the artifact must be written.
Tier 3 — inline (clearly small task)
Run /research inline in this session. No subagent, no workflow. The full /research discipline still applies.
Relationship to /research (parent skill)
This variant tracks /research's conventions — same discipline file, same artifact contract, same outcome gate. There is no separate copy here; update the parent and this dispatcher follows.
Gotchas
- Feeding a multi-topic ask to an engine. An engine decomposes ONE question into research angles; given N separable topics, every broad agent researches all N shallowly — N× the cost for worse depth. Run the multi-topic check FIRST, before any tier selection.
- Dispatching this skill itself. It must run in main context:
Workflowis unavailable in every non-fork subagent, and the multi-topic path needs theAgenttool, whose availability inside a subagent depends on a nesting default that has moved three times — and which, inside a fork, cannot spawn a further fork at all. A dispatched/research-deeprisks silently losing Tier 1 and the N-topic fan-out — the two things it exists for. The sibling/researchis the one that dispatches. - Accepting a subagent return without cited primaries. That is ungrounded synthesis, Tier 3 by the discipline's own rule. Instruct every topic agent to cite primary source URLs, and treat a return without them as unfinished rather than as evidence.
- Assuming the heaviest tier is available. Tier selection is engine-biased, but it reads what is actually connected this session and degrades to the next tier rather than failing.
What this skill does NOT do
- Does NOT make decisions or write code — research only; the planning step (or user) decides.
- Does NOT skip phases for "simple" topics — task size does not reduce depth.
- Does NOT run the deep pass itself in main context — it dispatches; Tier 1 (engine) or Tier 2 (subagent) provides the context isolation.
See also
/research— the canonical 3-phase workflow (Tiers 2 + 3 run it; a Tier-1 engine supersets it)${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/research/context/discipline.md— the shared discipline file