Research
What this is for. Research runs a web-search job from a question or topic, evaluates sources, and writes a structured report you can open later. Agents can reuse the result. You use this when you want a sourced briefing instead of a single chat turn. Shallow is faster; deep expands more queries and keeps more sources.
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- You want a report on a topic with cited URLs, not just a model answer.
- You need a quick pass (Shallow (faster)) or a broader one (Deep (thorough)).
- You want to watch a job move through Pending → Searching → Evaluating → Synthesizing → Complete.
- A job failed and you need the error text on the right.
Typical workflow
Section titled “Typical workflow”- Open Research in the sidebar (
/research). - Under New Research, type a topic (placeholder Enter research topic…).
- Choose Shallow (faster) or Deep (thorough).
- Click Research. The job appears in the left list and is selected.
- Wait while the right pane shows Researching… and the current status. Active jobs refresh about every two seconds.
- When Complete, read the sections and Sources. Click a source title to open the URL.
Empty list: No research reports yet. With nothing selected: Select a report or start a new research.
Features
Section titled “Features”Jobs start Pending, then Searching (query expansion + web search), Evaluating (relevance), Synthesizing (sections + cross-reference), then Complete or Error.
Shallow expands fewer related queries and keeps fewer hits; Deep expands more queries, fetches more results per query, and keeps more of the sources that score at least 0.5 relevance.
Search uses Brave when the brave-search-api-key secret exists; otherwise a mock provider (fine for UI checks, not live web). Store the key under Secrets.
A completed report shows the query as title, Complete, depth (shallow / deep), source count, and completion time. Body is model-written sections (title + prose). Sources lists [n] title (link) and N% relevant.
Failed jobs show Research Failed and the error string. There is no delete or export control on this page.
Fields and controls
Section titled “Fields and controls”New research
| Control | Meaning |
|---|---|
| New Research | Form heading |
| Topic field | Placeholder Enter research topic… |
| Depth | Shallow (faster) or Deep (thorough) |
| Research | Start the job (disabled while empty or submitting) |
List and statuses
| Control | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Left list | Query, status badge, created date. Click to load the report |
| Pending | Queued, not searching yet |
| Searching | Query expansion and web search |
| Evaluating | Scoring and filtering sources |
| Synthesizing | Writing and cross-checking sections |
| Complete | Report ready |
| Error | Workflow failed |
Report pane
| Control | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Researching… | In-progress placeholder with the current status badge |
| Research Failed | Error title; body is the error text |
| Depth / source count / completed at | Header meta on a finished report |
| Section title + content | Generated briefing blocks |
| Sources | Numbered links with N% relevant |