Research Skill

Description

Conduct open-ended research on a topic, building a living markdown document. The conversation is ephemeral; the document is what matters.

Trigger

Activate when the user wants to:

• Research a topic, idea, or question
• Explore something before committing to building it
• Investigate options, patterns, or approaches
• Create a "research doc" or "investigation"
• Run deep async research on a complex topic

Research Directory

Each research topic gets its own folder:

~/.openclaw/workspace/research/<topic-slug>/
├── prompt.md          # Original research question/prompt
├── research.md        # Main findings (Parallel output or interactive notes)
├── research.pdf       # PDF export (when generated)
└── ...                # Any other related files (data, images, etc.)

Two Research Modes

1. Interactive Research (default)

For topics you explore together in conversation. You search, synthesize, and update the doc in real-time.

2. Deep Research (async)

For complex topics that need comprehensive investigation. Uses the Parallel AI API via parallel-research CLI. Takes minutes to hours, returns detailed markdown reports.

When to use deep research:

• Market analysis, competitive landscape
• Technical deep-dives requiring extensive source gathering
• Multi-faceted questions that benefit from parallel exploration
• When user says "deep research" or wants comprehensive coverage

Interactive Research Workflow

1. Initialize Research

1. Create the research folder at ~/.openclaw/workspace/research/<topic-slug>/

2. Create prompt.md with the original question:

   # <Topic Title>
   
   > <The core question or curiosity>
   
   **Started:** <date>
   

3. Create research.md with the working structure:

   # <Topic Title>
   
   **Status:** Active Research
   **Started:** <date>
   **Last Updated:** <date>
   
   ---
   
   ## Open Questions
   - <initial questions to explore>
   
   ## Findings
   <!-- Populated as we research -->
   
   ## Options / Approaches
   <!-- If comparing solutions -->
   
   ## Resources
   <!-- Links, references, sources -->
   
   ## Next Steps
   <!-- What to explore next, or "graduate to project" -->
   

4. Confirm with user - Show the folder was created and ask what to explore first.

2. Research Loop

For each exchange:

1. Do the research - Web search, fetch docs, explore code
2. Update the document - Add findings, move answered questions, add sources
3. Show progress - Note what was added (don't repeat everything)
4. Prompt next direction - End with a question or suggestion

Key behaviors:

• Update existing sections over creating new ones
• Use bullet points for findings; prose for summaries
• Note uncertainty ("seems like", "according to X", "unverified")
• Link to sources whenever possible

3. Synthesis Checkpoints