Research Workflow

research-workflow (Dynamic Workflow asset)

A Dynamic Workflow asset (see CLAUDE.md -> "Dynamic Workflow Assets"; review-workflow is the reference example). research.workflow.js is executed by the Workflow tool, invoked from /lets:research's Workflow Mode via:

Workflow({ scriptPath: "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/research-workflow/research.workflow.js", args })

${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} is substituted at command-load time, so research.md carries the literal absolute path. Treat research.workflow.js as a template the command points at, not a script to reproduce inline.

Why this is a transparent performance lever (not autonomous)

/lets:research --workflow runs the SAME stages as the standard Task path - only the per-sub-question search dumps and per-claim verdicts stay off-context. The decompose (break the question into 3-6 sub-questions) stays IN-CONTEXT in research.md so the user can steer the angles; the per-sub-question web research and the per-claim cross-check move into the workflow (off-context); the final synthesis happens in-context after the aggregate returns. The standard path runs the equivalent stages in-context: per-sub-question research fanned out across multiple DEFAULT web Task subagents, per-claim lets:skeptic via Task. Crucially: the verify stage is a cross-check (single-source / contradicted / low-confidence flags), never a claim that the fact is confirmed correct - the skeptic has no web tools and cannot re-fetch URLs.

What it does (off-context)

1. Research - per-sub-question fan-out via the DEFAULT web subagent (no agentType; the default workflow subagent CAN WebSearch/WebFetch - lets:* agents have tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Bash and CANNOT). Each subagent returns its 2-5 strongest claims (FINDING_SCHEMA: claim, evidence, sources, confidence) with evidence carrying QUOTED/paraphrased source material (the downstream skeptic judges "unsupported" against this string and has no web tool), and self-reports used_web_search=false rather than fabricate. mergeClaims dedupes by normalized claim text, unioning sources and keeping the highest confidence.
2. Verify - per-claim lets:skeptic RESEARCH-VERIFY pass over the merged claims. The skeptic is handed each claim's evidence + its siblings (same sub-question) and flags STRUCTURAL weakness: unsupported (evidence does not back the claim) or contradicted (conflicts with a sibling). Single-source / low-confidence are computed deterministically by the script (those claims skip the skeptic - the deterministic flag already fires). applyVerdicts attaches a flagged[] array per claim - ADDITIVE, never drops a claim (research facts accumulate; departure from review's drop rule). Contradiction flagging is the skeptic's job comparing siblings - there is deliberately NO deterministic contradiction pass.

args contract (built by /lets:research, passed as a JSON value)

Returns

{ claims[], sources[], as_of, web{status}, counts{sub_questions, sub_questions_failed, claims, flagged, verify_failed} }. claims[] are merged + per-claim flagged[] (empty flagged == cross-checked and clean); the command synthesizes the prose answer from these (there is no answer key). sources is the deduped [{title,url}] list to surface. web.status is ok | empty | no_tool | failed: anything other than ok means the command MUST open with the NO-LIVE-SOURCES banner (NO LIVE SOURCES - model knowledge as of <cutoff>) and NEVER fabricate URLs. counts.verify_failed is an INTEGER - the number of claims whose cross-check was attempted but errored; those claims carry unverified (cross-check errored) and are kept UNVERIFIED (not validated) - anti-silent-fail, the command should tell the user "N of M claims kept unverified". counts.sub_questions_failed flags partial coverage. Anti-silent-fail: counts.claims === 0 means every sub-question errored / no web data - the command must offer the standard path, never render a fabricated result.

Constraints (Dynamic Workflow runtime)

• No filesystem - the script returns data; /lets:research renders + records.
• No sibling import - all logic stays inline.
• No Date.now() / Math.random() / new Date() - the as-of date comes via args.asOf.
• Top-level await/return are used, so the file is NOT Node-importable - no committed unit test; the pure logic (mergeClaims, applyVerdicts, collectSources) is deterministically checkable on a copy, and the chain is kept in sync with research.md (Step 3 / Step 4 / W4) prose by discipline + validated by the live smoke test.

Keep-in-sync notes (do NOT "simplify" these away)

• Single lets:skeptic per claim is INTENTIONAL - do NOT collapse to one holistic batch skeptic with an array schema; that breaks skeptic.md's {real, confidence, reason} single-object contract.
• No deterministic contradiction pass - contradiction flagging is the skeptic's job (it gets the siblings; RESEARCH-VERIFY authorizes the comparison). Do NOT reintroduce a pure-function findContradictions: it can't see claim stance and false-flags complementary findings.
• verify_failed is a per-claim INTEGER counter (mirrors review.workflow.js) - do not collapse it to a boolean.
• The research subagent is the DEFAULT web subagent (no agentType) - lets:* agents have no web tools; do NOT "tidy" it to a lets:* type (it would self-report used_web_search=false and spuriously trip NO-LIVE-SOURCES every run).
• evidence MUST quote/paraphrase source material - do NOT relax it to a summary; the skeptic's no-web "unsupported" check depends on it.
• The per-sub-question claim cap (2-5) bounds the skeptic fan-out - do NOT remove it (research claims have no natural bound, unlike review findings bounded by the diff).
• Consume parallel(...) output via .filter(Boolean) (both phases) - the house defensive idiom (review/backlog/opinion all do it). A slot can be null if a thunk throws synchronously; never destructure a null after the expensive fan-out.
• Untrusted-content fencing is load-bearing - fetched pages (researchPrompt) AND the claim/evidence/siblings handed to the skeptic (skepticPrompt) are untrusted web data, fenced/marked as data-not-instructions. Project grounding under --project is TRUSTED and must NOT be fenced as untrusted. Do not drop these markers.