496 2026 01 26 17 15 00 Research Subagent Deletion 19281463

Goal

Delete the disabled research_codebase sub-agent feature completely from the codebase. This is a cleanup task—the feature is already disabled in production (commented out in agent_config.py).

Non-goals:

• Re-enabling or fixing the research feature
• Adding replacement functionality
• Refactoring adjacent code

Scope & Assumptions

In scope:

• Delete 7 files (2 core, 1 UI renderer, 4 prompt sections)
• Modify 17 files to remove references
• Update documentation to match reality

Out of scope:

• Any new features
• Test additions beyond verification

Assumptions:

• Feature is confirmed disabled (verified: agent_config.py:37-39 commented)
• No external dependencies on these modules
• Follows same pattern as planning feature deletion (completed successfully)

Deliverables (DoD)

1. All 7 files deleted
2. All 17 files modified with references removed
3. ruff check passes
4. pytest passes (no import errors)
5. No remaining references to research_codebase, RESEARCH_TEMPLATE, ResearchResult

Readiness (DoR)

• Research document complete
• Files to delete verified exist
• Git state clean (only untracked research doc)
• Similar deletion pattern documented (planning feature)

Milestones

• M1: Delete standalone files (prompts, renderer)
• M2: Delete agent core files
• M3: Remove constants, config, template references
• M4: Update tests and documentation
• M5: Final verification (ruff, pytest, grep)

Work Breakdown (Tasks)

Task 1: Delete Prompt Sections Directory

Summary: Remove src/tunacode/prompts/research/ directory (4 XML files) Owner: agent Dependencies: None Milestone: M1 Files:

• DELETE src/tunacode/prompts/research/sections/agent_role.xml
• DELETE src/tunacode/prompts/research/sections/tool_use.xml
• DELETE src/tunacode/prompts/research/sections/constraints.xml
• DELETE src/tunacode/prompts/research/sections/output_format.xml
• DELETE src/tunacode/prompts/research/sections/ directory
• DELETE src/tunacode/prompts/research/ directory Acceptance Tests:
• Directory src/tunacode/prompts/research/ does not exist
• grep -r "research" src/tunacode/prompts/ returns no results

Task 2: Delete UI Renderer and Update Registry

Summary: Remove research renderer and clean up imports/registry Owner: agent Dependencies: None Milestone: M1 Files:

• DELETE src/tunacode/ui/renderers/tools/research.py
• MODIFY src/tunacode/ui/renderers/tools/__init__.py (remove import, export)
• MODIFY src/tunacode/ui/renderers/panels.py (remove registry entry) Acceptance Tests:
• File src/tunacode/ui/renderers/tools/research.py does not exist
• from tunacode.ui.renderers.tools import render_research_codebase raises ImportError
• No research in renderer registry

Task 3: Delete Agent Core Files

Summary: Remove delegation_tools.py and research_agent.py Owner: agent Dependencies: Task 1, Task 2 Milestone: M2 Files:

• DELETE src/tunacode/core/agents/delegation_tools.py
• DELETE src/tunacode/core/agents/research_agent.py
• MODIFY src/tunacode/core/agents/agent_components/agent_config.py (remove commented import) Acceptance Tests:
• Both files deleted
• from tunacode.core.agents import delegation_tools raises ImportError
• from tunacode.core.agents import research_agent raises ImportError

Task 4: Remove Constants, Config, and Template References

Summary: Clean up constants, settings, dispatcher, and prompting template Owner: agent Dependencies: Task 3 Milestone: M3 Files:

• MODIFY src/tunacode/constants.py (remove ToolName.RESEARCH_CODEBASE, READ_ONLY_TOOLS entry)
• MODIFY src/tunacode/configuration/settings.py (remove from tool list)
• MODIFY src/tunacode/core/agents/agent_components/orchestrator/tool_dispatcher.py (remove constants)
• MODIFY src/tunacode/core/agents/agent_components/agent_helpers.py (remove research case)
• MODIFY src/tunacode/core/prompting/templates.py (remove RESEARCH_TEMPLATE)
• MODIFY src/tunacode/core/prompting/__init__.py (remove import/export) Acceptance Tests:
• ToolName.RESEARCH_CODEBASE raises AttributeError
• RESEARCH_TEMPLATE not exported from prompting module
• ruff check passes

Task 5: Update Tests, Scripts, and Documentation

Summary: Remove test cases and update docs to match reality Owner: agent Dependencies: Task 4 Milestone: M4 Files:

• MODIFY tests/integration/tools/test_tool_dispatcher_coverage.py
• MODIFY tests/integration/core/test_tool_call_lifecycle.py
• MODIFY scripts/preview_tool_panels.py
• MODIFY docs/codebase-map/modules/core-agents.md
• MODIFY docs/codebase-map/modules/core-prompting.md
• MODIFY docs/codebase-map/modules/ui-overview.md
• MODIFY docs/codebase-map/structure/02-core-directory.md
• MODIFY docs/codebase-map/structure/tree-structure.txt Acceptance Tests:
• pytest passes
• grep -r "research_codebase" docs/ returns no results
• grep -r "RESEARCH_TEMPLATE" docs/ returns no results

Risks & Mitigations

Test Strategy

• Verification only: Run existing tests after each milestone
• No new tests needed (deleting dead code)
• Final verification: ruff check . && pytest

References

• Research doc: memory-bank/research/2026-01-26_16-41-59_research-subagent-deletion.md
• Similar pattern: memory-bank/plan/2026-01-26_14-30-00_planning-feature-deletion.md
• Bug that disabled feature: memory-bank/research/2026-01-25_limited-read-file-parameter-mismatch.md

Tickets Created

Dependencies

tun-8d48 ──┐
           ├──> tun-5a52 ──> tun-c36f ──> tun-be14
tun-a63b ──┘

• tun-5a52 depends on tun-8d48 and tun-a63b (can start after prompts and renderer deleted)
• tun-c36f depends on tun-5a52 (can start after core agent files deleted)
• tun-be14 depends on tun-c36f (can start after constants cleaned up)

Execution Notes

This is a straightforward deletion task following the same pattern as the planning feature deletion. The key insight is that the feature is already disabled, so there's no risk of breaking production. Work through milestones sequentially to catch import errors early.