lamm-mit Parallel Web Systems API Skill Overview
Core Purpose
This skill enables web search, content extraction, and comprehensive research using the Parallel Chat API and Extract API. It serves as the primary tool for all internet-based information gathering in scientific writing workflows.
Key Capabilities
Search Function: Delivers synthesized summaries with citations through the Parallel Chat API's base model, ideal for quick lookups and factual queries.
Deep Research: Produces detailed intelligence reports using the core model, best suited for market analysis, competitive intelligence, and multi-source synthesis.
URL Extraction: Limited to citation verification and special cases where specific URL content confirmation is needed.
Critical Requirements
The documentation emphasizes that "every web search and deep research result MUST be saved to the project's sources/ folder." This mandatory practice ensures reproducibility and maintains an audit trail of all research activities.
Model Options
Two research models are available:
- Base: 15-100 seconds latency; ideal for standard searches
- Core: 60 seconds to 5 minutes; optimal for comprehensive reports
Setup & Access
Users must configure the PARALLEL_API_KEY environment variable and install required Python packages (openai and parallel-web). The API platform is accessible at https://platform.parallel.ai.
Integration Note
The skill differentiates from academic-specific tools—purely scholarly queries should route to research-lookup instead, while general web searches remain within this skill's scope.