deep-research
When you want multi-source, multi-step research on a topic — competitor research before a sales call, market research for a new business idea, positioning angles, due diligence on a partnership or podcast guest, tech decision research (which DB, which auth), or any "I need to actually understand X." Combines web search, URL fetch, agent-browser, last30days (Reddit/X/YouTube/HN/web recency), memory, and Notion. Outputs a structured brief with citations, contradictions, gaps, and recommended next steps. Archives every research run to /.config/makerskills/deep-research/archive/ so past work is searchable. Triggers on "/deep-research," "research X," "investigate X," "do a deep dive on X," "look into X," "what's actually happening with X," "due diligence on X," "validate this market." Differs from a one-shot web search: this is multi-pass with verification. Not for standing monitoring (radar) or pulling one post or video (social-fetch, watch-video).
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/makerskills --skill deep-research- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads deep-research automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
/deep-research — Multi-source research with archive
Plans, executes, and synthesizes research from multiple sources. Archives the output so the corpus compounds.
Step 1 — Frame the question
Restate the research question in one tight sentence. If ambiguous, ask the user:
- What's the decision this research will inform?
- What's the minimum useful answer? (Saves over-researching.)
- Any sources to prioritize or avoid?
Output: **Research question:** <one sentence>
Step 2 — Plan the sources
Pick from this menu based on the question type. Note which sources you'll hit and why.
| Source | When to use | How (tool names vary by agent) |
|---|---|---|
| Web search (Google) | Authoritative articles, docs, official statements | Your agent's web search (e.g. WebSearch in Claude Code) |
/last30days | What people are actually saying right now — Reddit, X, YouTube, HN, web recency | The last30days skill, if installed. Otherwise skip it and note the gap |
| Specific URLs | When the user hands over starting URLs | Your agent's URL fetch (e.g. WebFetch), or curl + defuddle |
| Browsable pages (auth-walled, JS-heavy) | Pricing pages, product tours, profiles | agent-browser CLI (any agent with a shell) |
| Memory | Prior research / decisions / context the user already captured | your agent's memory, or grep ${MAKERSKILLS_MEMORY:-${MAKERSKILLS_CONFIG:-$HOME/.config/makerskills}/memory}/ |
| Notion | If the topic touches a known Notion workspace | Direct Notion API (key in $NOTION_API_KEY, see reference_notion_api.md) |
| Research archive | Prior /deep-research runs that touched this topic | grep ${MAKERSKILLS_CONFIG:-$HOME/.config/makerskills}/deep-research/archive/ |
Run discovery passes in parallel where possible. Sequential only when one source needs another's output (e.g., agent-browser a URL discovered by web search).
Step 3 — Execute discovery
Run each chosen source. For each result, capture:
- The source (URL or system)
- 1–3 sentence summary of what was said
- Date / recency
- Confidence in the source (high/medium/low)
Don't synthesize yet — just collect.
Step 4 — Synthesize
- Group findings by theme or sub-question
- Contradiction check — flag anywhere sources disagree. Don't average them; surface the disagreement.
- Confidence: high (multiple independent sources agree), medium (one strong source or several weak), low (single anecdote or speculation)
- Gaps: what would change the answer? What's NOT in the corpus?
Step 5 — Output the brief
Use this template:
# Research: <question>
**Date:** <YYYY-MM-DD>
**Decision this informs:** <one line>
**Confidence overall:** high / medium / low
## TL;DR
<2–4 sentences with the answer>
## Key findings
### 1. <Finding>
<2–4 sentences>. Sources: [1], [3], [5]
### 2. <Finding>
...
## Contradictions / uncertainty
- <where sources disagree, with each side cited>
## Gaps
- <what's missing from the corpus>
- <what to research next to close the gap>
## Recommended next steps
1. <action>
2. <action>
## Sources
[1] <Title> — <URL or system> (<date>) — <confidence>
[2] ...
Step 6 — Archive
Archives live in ${MAKERSKILLS_CONFIG:-$HOME/.config/makerskills}/deep-research/archive/ (create the directory if missing). Never write archives inside the skill's own folder — skill installs and upgrades re-sync from source and wipe anything saved there. Migration: if this skill's folder contains an old references/research-archive/ with user entries, move those files into the archive directory first.
Write the brief to <archive dir>/<YYYY-MM-DD>-<slug>.md so it's grep-able forever. Slug = kebab-case of the topic.
Also append a one-line entry to <archive dir>/INDEX.md (create if missing):
- 2026-06-15 — [<topic>](./<filename>.md) — <one-line TL;DR>
Step 7 — Surface
After archiving:
- Show the full brief in chat
- Tell the user the archive path
- Offer: "Push to Notion or save to a project's docs?"
Composes with
business-brainstorm— calls this skill during the market validation step/domain— when research includes "is the .com available"/last30days— one of the data sources
Notes on quality
- Always cite. Every claim in the brief needs a source pointer.
- Recency matters — note dates on each source. For fast-moving topics (AI, startups), de-weight sources >12 months old.
- Don't trust a single source for high-stakes claims. Re-search until you have at least 2 independent corroborations or surface the uncertainty.
- No padding. If the answer is one paragraph, return one paragraph. The template is a maximum, not a minimum.
FAQ
What does the deep-research skill do?
When you want multi-source, multi-step research on a topic — competitor research before a sales call, market research for a new business idea, positioning angles, due diligence on a partnership or podcast guest, tech decision research (which DB, which auth), or any "I need to actually understand X." Combines web search, URL fetch, agent-browser, last30days (Reddit/X/YouTube/HN/web recency), memory, and Notion. Outputs a structured brief with citations, contradictions, gaps, and recommended next steps. Archives every research run to /.config/makerskills/deep-research/archive/ so past work is searchable. Triggers on "/deep-research," "research X," "investigate X," "do a deep dive on X," "look into X," "what's actually happening with X," "due diligence on X," "validate this market." Differs from a one-shot web search: this is multi-pass with verification. Not for standing monitoring (radar) or pulling one post or video (social-fetch, watch-video).
How do I install deep-research?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/makerskills --skill deep-research in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/deep-research/ (personal) or .claude/skills/deep-research/ (project).
Which AI agents can use deep-research?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is deep-research safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains deep-research?
It is published by coreyhaines31 in coreyhaines31/makerskills. It has 346 recorded installs.
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