/research — Deep Research Intelligence System v1.0

Sherlock Bytes: Where curiosity meets certainty.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 🔍 RESEARCH DASHBOARD │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ (q) Quick Search — Fast web/news lookup (Brave, Firecrawl) │ │ (d) Deep Research — Recursive confidence loops (Valyu) │ │ (s) Synthesis — Multi-source fusion (Oracle + perspectives) │ │ (e) Extract — Structured data extraction (Firecrawl) │ │ (c) Crawl — Full site analysis (Firecrawl) │ │ (t) Track — Session management (list/resume/export) │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Session: {session_id} | Storage: ~/.config/LEV/research/{date}/{slug}/ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

/search Tag Routing

Tag Mode Tools Description

quick

⚡ Fast brave-search, firecrawl Web lookup, default mode

full

🔄 Standard brave + firecrawl + valyu Multi-source synthesis

deep

🐢 Recursive valyu research Confidence loops until 85%

max

🐢🐢 Team spawn research team Full team-based analysis

sherlock

🔍 OSINT Sherlock Bytes protocol Investigation mode

cdo

🧠 CDO Multi-perspective overlay MBTI + role personas

Usage:

/search quick "query" # Fast web search /search deep "query" # Recursive until confident /search sherlock "query" # OSINT investigation /search cdo # Multi-perspective on context

Grounded Citation Route

When the user wants durable, cited research output instead of search results alone:

• Use /search or lev-research to discover/curate sources.

• Hand off to notebooklm for multi-source grounded Q&A.

• Prefer workflow-cited-research when the user wants the full repeatable loop, including local markdown/CMS projection.

Timetravel Integration (v1.0)

The timetravel adapter library provides a unified programmatic layer for all research backends. Individual CLI tools (brave-search, firecrawl, valyu, etc.) remain available for direct use.

Strategy Mapping

Skill Mode Timetravel Strategy Adapters Orchestration

quick

quick

brave, tavily first-success

full

full

brave, firecrawl, perplexity parallel

deep

deep

valyu, perplexity, exa + oracle synthesis parallel + synthesis

max

max

brave, firecrawl, perplexity, exa, valyu + oracle synthesis parallel + synthesis

social

social

grok, hackernews parallel

sherlock

deep

• OSINT overlays valyu, perplexity, exa + perspectives parallel + synthesis

cdo

max

• CDO overlays all available + multi-perspective parallel + synthesis

Programmatic Usage

import { createDefaultRegistry, STRATEGIES, executeStrategy } from '@lev-os/timetravel';

const registry = createDefaultRegistry(); const result = await executeStrategy(STRATEGIES.deep, 'query', registry);

CLI Usage

timetravel search "query" --strategy quick # Fast web search timetravel search "query" --strategy deep # Recursive with synthesis timetravel search "query" --strategy social # Social/trending timetravel search "query" --strategy academic # Papers + neural timetravel search "query" --strategy max # All adapters + synthesis timetravel search "query" --adapter brave # Single adapter timetravel status # Adapter availability dashboard

Job System

timetravel job create -q "AI frameworks 2026" -s deep # Create recurring job timetravel job list # List all jobs timetravel job run <id> # Execute a job

CRITICAL: Read This Entire File First

Before ANY research operation:

• This skill file MUST be fully loaded into context

• Initialize session via research init "<query>" or auto-create

• All outputs save to XDG-compliant ~/.config/LEV/research/ structure

• Validate outputs before marking complete

Invocation Contract (Mandatory)

This section is normative and overrides convenience behavior.

• If user input contains $research , /search , or an explicit search tag request, route through the /search shim contract first.

• /search is a Claude Code command shim only. It is defined in ~/.claude/commands/search.md .

• Non-Claude runtimes MUST still apply the same tag parsing semantics from the shim:

• quick|full|deep|max|sherlock|cdo

• no tag => quick

• $research default => deep unless user overrides

• Direct backend calls (brave , firecrawl , valyu , etc.) are allowed only:

• as steps inside the selected mode flow, or

• as explicit fallback when a routed step fails.

• Before execution, print a single route line:

• research-route: <mode> | source: /search-shim | fallback: <none|reason>

• Never bypass the mode router by jumping straight to a single backend tool when $research or /search was requested.

Tool Manifest by Category

🔍 SEARCH (Fast Lookup)

Tool CLI Command Best For Speed

Brave Web brave-search search "<query>" -n 10

General web, news ⚡ Fast

Brave News brave-search news "<query>"

Breaking news ⚡ Fast

Brave Video brave-search video "<query>"

Video content ⚡ Fast

Brave Image brave-search image "<query>"

Visual research ⚡ Fast

Firecrawl Search firecrawl search "<query>"

Web + optional scraping ⚡ Fast

Valyu Search valyu search "<query>"

AI-optimized search 🔄 Medium

Exa Neural bash exa/search.sh "<query>"

Semantic/neural search 🔄 Medium

📄 CONTENT EXTRACTION

Tool CLI Command Best For Speed

Firecrawl Scrape firecrawl scrape <url>

Single page content ⚡ Fast

Firecrawl Batch firecrawl batch <urls...>

Multiple pages 🔄 Medium

Firecrawl Extract firecrawl extract <urls...> -p "<prompt>"

Structured data 🔄 Medium

Valyu Contents valyu contents <urls...>

AI-enhanced extraction 🔄 Medium

🕷️ CRAWLING (Site-Wide)

Tool CLI Command Best For Speed

Firecrawl Crawl firecrawl crawl <url> -l 100

Full site analysis 🐢 Slow

Firecrawl Map firecrawl map <url>

URL discovery 🔄 Medium

🧠 SYNTHESIS (AI-Powered)

Tool CLI Command Best For Speed

Valyu Answer valyu answer "<query>"

Grounded AI response 🔄 Medium

Valyu Research valyu research "<query>" -n 5 -t 0.85

Recursive confidence 🐢 Slow

Oracle GPT-5 oracle -p "<prompt>" -f <files>

Complex synthesis 🐢 Slow

📊 SPECIALIZED

Tool CLI Command Best For Speed

Grok (X/Twitter) bash grok/research.sh "<query>"

Real-time social ⚡ Fast

Last30Days bash last30days/search.sh "<topic>"

Trend analysis 🔄 Medium

Tavily bash tavily/search.sh "<query>"

AI snippets 🔄 Medium

Session Management

XDG-Compliant Storage Structure

~/.config/LEV/research/ ├── sessions/ │ └── {YYYY-MM-DD}/ │ └── {session-id}_{semantic-slug}/ │ ├── session.json # Metadata + state │ ├── queries.jsonl # All queries issued │ ├── sources.jsonl # All sources found │ ├── artifacts/ # Raw outputs │ │ ├── search_001.json │ │ ├── crawl_002.json │ │ └── synthesis_003.md │ ├── synthesis.md # Final synthesis │ └── validation.json # Output validation ├── templates/ │ ├── synthesis.md.tmpl │ ├── report.md.tmpl │ └── citations.md.tmpl └── config.json # Global settings

Session ID Format

{timestamp}_{slug} Example: 20260203-2248_ai-agent-frameworks

CLI Commands

Initialize new research session

research init "What are the best AI agent frameworks in 2026?"

Resume existing session

research resume 20260203-2248_ai-agent-frameworks

List all sessions

research list [--status=open|completed|all]

Export session to markdown

research export <session-id> --format=md|json|pdf

Validate session outputs

research validate <session-id>

Mark session complete

research complete <session-id>

Complexity Assessment (Auto-Routing)

QUICK (Direct execution)

Triggers: "search", "quick search", "lookup", "find" Route: brave -> firecrawl (fallback) Example: "search React hooks documentation"

SOCIAL (Specialized path)

Triggers: "twitter", "reddit", "social", "trending", "sentiment" Route: grok + last30days Example: "what's trending about AI on Twitter"

DEEP (Full orchestration)

Triggers: "research", "deep", "comprehensive", "analyze", "compare", "investigate", "sherlock" Route: valyu research -> oracle (synthesis) Example: "research the state of AI safety in 2026"

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: Quick Search (1-2 min)

User: "What is X?"

brave search "X" -n 5

→ Return top results with snippets

Pattern 2: Standard Research (5-10 min)

User: "Research X thoroughly"

research init "X" brave search "X" # Get overview firecrawl scrape <top-3-urls> # Deep content valyu answer "X" # Synthesize research complete

Pattern 3: Deep Research (15-30 min)

User: "Deep dive into X"

research init "X" --depth=deep valyu research "X" -n 5 -t 0.85 # Recursive until confident

Multi-perspective overlay:

valyu answer "X from engineering perspective" valyu answer "X market analysis" valyu answer "X user experience implications"

oracle -p "Synthesize all findings" -f artifacts/*.json research validate && research complete

Pattern 4: Comprehensive (30-60 min, spawn team)

User: "Complete analysis of X"

Spawn research team:

• Lead Researcher (coordinator)

• Domain Expert (valyu recursive)

• Source Validator (firecrawl extraction)

• Synthesizer (oracle GPT-5)

Parallel workstreams with validation gates

Consolidated final report

Multi-Perspective Overlays

MBTI-Inspired Personas

Persona Lens Query Modification

Architect (INTJ) Systems/Strategy "architectural implications of X"

Analyst (INTP) Logic/Theory "theoretical foundations of X"

Commander (ENTJ) Execution/ROI "business case for X"

Visionary (ENTP) Innovation "disruptive potential of X"

Mediator (INFP) Values/Ethics "ethical considerations of X"

Advocate (INFJ) Long-term Impact "societal implications of X"

Role-Based Perspectives

Role Focus Example Query

UX Designer User needs "user pain points with X"

Security Engineer Vulnerabilities "security risks of X"

Product Manager Market fit "competitive landscape for X"

DevOps Operations "operational complexity of X"

Legal Compliance "regulatory requirements for X"

CDO (Cognitive Diversity Overlay)

Run these in parallel for comprehensive coverage:

• Breadth First: Wide exploration, many sources

• Depth First: Deep dive into top 3 sources

• Contrarian: "arguments against X"

• Historical: "evolution of X over time"

• Future: "X predictions 2027-2030"

Output Templates

Synthesis Template

Research Synthesis: {query}

Session: {session_id} Date: {date} Confidence: {confidence}%

Executive Summary

{2-3 sentence overview}

Key Findings

1. {finding with source citation}
2. {finding with source citation}
3. {finding with source citation}

Evidence

Perspectives Analyzed

• {perspective_1}: {summary}
• {perspective_2}: {summary}

Open Questions

• {question requiring further research}

Sources

{numbered list with URLs}

Generated by Sherlock Bytes v1.0 | Validated: {validation_status}

Validation Rules

Before marking any research session complete, validate:

Structure Validation

• session.json exists and has valid schema

• At least 3 unique sources in sources.jsonl

• synthesis.md follows template structure

• All URLs are reachable (sample check)

Content Validation

• Executive summary ≤ 100 words

• Each claim has source citation

• Confidence levels justified

• No hallucinated sources (cross-check)

Quality Validation

• Addresses original query directly

• Multiple perspectives represented

• Contrarian view included if controversial

• Open questions identified

Validation Output

{ "session_id": "...", "validated_at": "ISO8601", "structure": {"passed": true, "checks": 4}, "content": {"passed": true, "checks": 4}, "quality": {"passed": true, "checks": 4}, "overall": "PASS", "warnings": [], "errors": [] }

Team Configuration (Complex Requests)

For requests requiring >30 min or multi-domain expertise:

Team spawned via Task tool

name: Deep Research Team roles:

• Lead Researcher (coordinator): valyu, brave, research-cli
• Source Hunter (worker): firecrawl, brave
• Domain Expert (worker): valyu, oracle
• Validator (qa): research-cli validation

Environment Variables

Required (in ~/.env.local)

BRAVE_API_KEY=... # Brave Search API FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=... # Firecrawl API VALYU_API_KEY=... # Valyu API OPENAI_API_KEY=... # Oracle (GPT-5)

Optional

EXA_API_KEY=... # Exa neural search XAI_API_KEY=... # Grok/X search TAVILY_API_KEY=... # Tavily AI search

Quick Reference

Command Purpose

brave-search search "<query>"

Fast web search

brave-search news "<query>"

News search

firecrawl scrape <url>

Extract page content

firecrawl crawl <url>

Crawl entire site

firecrawl search "<query>"

Search + scrape

valyu search "<query>"

AI-optimized search

valyu answer "<query>"

Grounded AI answer

valyu research "<query>"

Recursive confidence

oracle -p "<prompt>" -f ...

GPT-5.2 Pro synthesis

Backend Reference

Backend CLI Tools

brave brave-search

search, news, video, image, local, status

firecrawl firecrawl

scrape, crawl, map, extract, batch, search, status

valyu valyu

search, answer, contents, research

oracle oracle

prompt + file synthesis

exa scripts search, content

grok scripts research

tavily scripts search, extract

last30days scripts search, trends

Version History

Version Date Changes

1.0.2 2026-03-07 Removed obsolete operational preflight ownership guidance and stale routing references

1.0.0 2026-02-09 Timetravel adapter library integration, 10 adapters, 6 strategies, job system

0.9.0 2026-02-03 Unified skill, XDG storage, validation, CLI tools

0.8.x 2026-01 Individual backend skills

🔍 Sherlock Bytes — "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Technique Map

• Role definition - Clarifies operating scope and prevents ambiguous execution.

• Context enrichment - Captures required inputs before actions.

• Output structuring - Standardizes deliverables for consistent reuse.

• Step-by-step workflow - Reduces errors by making execution order explicit.

• Edge-case handling - Documents safe fallbacks when assumptions fail.

Technique Notes

These techniques improve reliability by making intent, inputs, outputs, and fallback paths explicit. Keep this section concise and additive so existing domain guidance remains primary.

Prompt Architect Overlay

Role Definition

You are the prompt-architect-enhanced specialist for lev-research, responsible for deterministic execution of this skill's guidance while preserving existing workflow and constraints.

Input Contract

• Required: clear user intent and relevant context for this skill.

• Preferred: repository/project constraints, existing artifacts, and success criteria.

• If context is missing, ask focused questions before proceeding.

Output Contract

• Provide structured, actionable outputs aligned to this skill's existing format.

• Include assumptions and next steps when appropriate.

• Preserve compatibility with existing sections and related skills.

Edge Cases & Fallbacks

• If prerequisites are missing, provide a minimal safe path and request missing inputs.

• If scope is ambiguous, narrow to the highest-confidence sub-task.

• If a requested action conflicts with existing constraints, explain and offer compliant alternatives.