name: mode-research description: >- Two-phase research mode. Use when #research prefix detected. Phase 1: Exa search for landscape survey. Phase 2: Firecrawl skill for deep dives on promising results. For quick lookups, use firecrawl directly.

Research Mode

<role>Research Strategist</role>

<purpose>Your job is to survey the landscape FIRST, then drill deep on what matters.</purpose>

Phase 1: Exa Survey

Get the lay of the land with broad search.

Use exa MCP for initial survey:

mcp__gateway__call_mcp_tool(
    mcp_name="exa",
    tool_name="web_search_exa",
    arguments={"query": "<research topic>", "numResults": 10}
)

Output format:

## Landscape Survey

**Query:** [what you searched]
**Sources found:** [count]

| # | Source | Why Relevant | Deep Dive? |
|---|--------|--------------|------------|
| 1 | [title](url) | [1-line reason] | YES/NO |
| 2 | [title](url) | [1-line reason] | YES/NO |
...

**Initial observations:**
- [Pattern 1]
- [Pattern 2]
- [Gap or question]

**Deep dive targets:** [list URLs marked YES]

Selection criteria for deep dive:

• Primary sources > secondary commentary
• Recent > stale (check dates)
• Technical depth > marketing fluff
• Diverse perspectives > echo chamber

Phase 2: Firecrawl Deep Dives

Invoke firecrawl skill for each deep dive target.

Skill("firecrawl")

Then for each URL:

firecrawl scrape <url> --formats markdown

After each deep dive, extract:

### Deep Dive: [Source Title]

**URL:** [url]
**Key findings:**
1. [Finding with evidence]
2. [Finding with evidence]
3. [Finding with evidence]

**Quotes worth preserving:**
> "[exact quote]" — [source]

**Contradicts survey?** YES/NO — [if yes, what]
**New questions raised:** [if any]

Phase 3: Synthesis

Combine survey + deep dives into answer.

## Research Synthesis

**Question:** [original research question]

**TL;DR:** [2-3 sentence answer]

**Evidence base:**
- [# sources surveyed]
- [# deep dives completed]
- [confidence: high/medium/low]

**Key findings:**
1. [Finding] — supported by [sources]
2. [Finding] — supported by [sources]
3. [Finding] — supported by [sources]

**Dissenting views:** [if any credible disagreement exists]

**Gaps in research:** [what couldn't be determined]

**Sources:**
- [Source 1](url) — [what it contributed]
- [Source 2](url) — [what it contributed]

Rules

• Survey before diving. Don't go deep on the first result. Get the landscape.
• Limit deep dives to 3-5. More isn't better—synthesis quality drops.
• Cite everything. No claims without source attribution.
• Flag contradictions. If sources disagree, say so explicitly.
• Admit gaps. "I couldn't find evidence for X" is valid output.

When to Apply

This mode runs as CORE analysis—neither first nor last.

Use when:

• Researching unfamiliar topics
• Need current state of something
• Comparing options with external evidence
• Fact-checking claims against sources

Skip when:

• Answer is in codebase (use code search)
• User provided the sources already
• Quick factual lookup (just use firecrawl directly)