parallel-deep-research

Produces comprehensive research reports that go far beyond what built-in web search can achieve. Sends research tasks to Parallel AI's pro/ultra processors which spend 3-25 minutes autonomously crawling, reading, and synthesizing dozens of sources — returning structured reports with citations. Built-in WebSearch can only run a few queries; this skill runs an entire research pipeline externally. No binary install — requires PARALLEL_API_KEY in .env.local. ALWAYS use this skill instead of doing multiple WebSearch calls when the user needs a comprehensive report, market analysis, competitive landscape, industry deep-dive, strategic recommendations, or multi-source synthesis. This is the RIGHT tool for any research task that would require more than 3-4 web searches to answer properly. Also trigger during /plan Phase 2 research and /research workflows.

Parallel Deep Research

Comprehensive research reports with multi-source synthesis. Use pro (3-9 min, $0.10) or ultra (5-25 min, $0.30) for deep analysis.

CLI alternative (recommended): Install parallel-cli for official skill: npx skills add parallel-web/parallel-agent-skills --skill parallel-deep-research

Setup

API_KEY=$(grep "^PARALLEL_API_KEY=" .env.local | cut -d= -f2)

Create Research Task

curl -s -X POST "https://api.parallel.ai/v1/tasks/runs" \
  -H "x-api-key: $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input": "Analyze the AI chatbot market. Include: size, growth, key players, trends, competitive threats",
    "processor": "pro"
  }'

Response: {"run_id": "trun_abc123...", "status": "queued"}

Get Result (polling)

The result endpoint returns both status and output in one call. Poll until status is completed.

RUN_ID="trun_abc123..."
MAX_POLLS=180  # 30 min max (180 × 10s)

for i in $(seq 1 $MAX_POLLS); do
  RESULT=$(curl -s "https://api.parallel.ai/v1/tasks/runs/$RUN_ID/result" \
    -H "x-api-key: $API_KEY")

  STATUS=$(echo "$RESULT" | grep -o '"status":"[^"]*"' | head -1 | cut -d'"' -f4)

  if [ "$STATUS" = "completed" ]; then
    echo "$RESULT"
    break
  elif [ "$STATUS" = "failed" ]; then
    echo "Task failed: $RESULT"
    break
  fi

  echo "Poll $i/$MAX_POLLS — Status: $STATUS"
  sleep 10
done

if [ "$i" = "$MAX_POLLS" ] && [ "$STATUS" != "completed" ] && [ "$STATUS" != "failed" ]; then
  echo "Timeout: task did not complete within 30 minutes"
fi

Processors

Processor	Speed	Cost	Use For
pro	3-9 min	$0.10/task	Market analysis, strategic reports
ultra	5-25 min	$0.30/task	Comprehensive deep research

Example: Market Analysis

{
  "input": "Analyze the AI chip market in 2024. Include market size, growth rate, key players (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel), emerging competitors, and 2025 outlook.",
  "processor": "pro"
}

Result: Markdown report with citations.

When to Use

Market research and competitive analysis
Strategic reports requiring multiple sources
Research that needs synthesis across many documents
Any task that would need more than 3-4 web searches to answer properly

For quick facts or single-source lookups, use built-in WebSearch instead.

Timeout

Set polling timeout to 1800s (30 min) for ultra tasks. Pro tasks typically complete in 3-9 min.