Research: Research Sub-Agent Feature Deletion

Research - Research Sub-Agent Feature Deletion

Date: 2026-01-26 Owner: agent Phase: Research

Goal

Map all components of the research_codebase sub-agent feature for clean removal. The feature is already disabled in production (commented out in agent_config.py).

Findings

Critical Status: ALREADY DISABLED

The research tool is already commented out in production:

# src/tunacode/core/agents/agent_components/agent_config.py:37-39
# TODO: Re-enable research_codebase subagent after fixing parameter name mismatch
# See: memory-bank/research/2026-01-25_limited-read-file-parameter-mismatch.md
# from tunacode.core.agents.delegation_tools import create_research_codebase_tool

Impact: No active users, no runtime impact, safe to delete.

Files to DELETE (7 files)

Core Implementation (2 files)

UI Renderer (1 file)

Prompt Sections (4 files)

Also delete the parent directory: src/tunacode/prompts/research/

Files to MODIFY (17 files)

Core Layer (5 files)

Constants & Config (2 files)

UI Layer (2 files)

Tests (2 files)

Scripts (1 file)

Documentation (5 files)

Key Patterns / Solutions Found

Architecture Layers Affected

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  PROMPTS         research/sections/ (4 XML)     │  DELETE
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  TEMPLATES       RESEARCH_TEMPLATE              │  REMOVE
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  AGENTS          delegation_tools.py            │  DELETE
│                  research_agent.py              │  DELETE
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  CONSTANTS       ToolName.RESEARCH_CODEBASE     │  REMOVE
│                  READ_ONLY_TOOLS                │  REMOVE
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  DISPATCHER      RESEARCH_TOOL_NAME             │  REMOVE
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  UI              research.py (renderer)         │  DELETE
│                  panels.py (registry)           │  MODIFY
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  TESTS           dispatcher_coverage.py         │  MODIFY
│                  tool_call_lifecycle.py         │  MODIFY
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Comparison to Planning Feature Deletion

Knowledge Gaps

1. Circular import handling: research_agent.py:194 has lazy import from agent_config.py - verify no other modules depend on this pattern
2. Test coverage: Need to verify no additional tests import from delegation_tools.py or research_agent.py
3. Script dependencies: preview_tool_panels.py may have additional research references beyond line 390

Deletion Strategy (5 Phases)

Phase 1: Delete Standalone Files

• Delete prompt sections directory
• Delete research renderer

Phase 2: Remove Agent Files

• Delete delegation_tools.py
• Delete research_agent.py

Phase 3: Remove Constants & Config

• Remove from ToolName enum
• Remove from READ_ONLY_TOOLS
• Remove from settings
• Remove from dispatcher constants

Phase 4: Remove Prompting Template

• Remove RESEARCH_TEMPLATE definition
• Remove exports from __init__.py

Phase 5: Update Tests & Docs

• Update test files
• Update documentation
• Update preview script

References

• src/tunacode/core/agents/delegation_tools.py - Main tool factory
• src/tunacode/core/agents/research_agent.py - Agent creation
• src/tunacode/ui/renderers/tools/research.py - UI renderer
• memory-bank/research/2026-01-25_limited-read-file-parameter-mismatch.md - Bug that disabled feature
• memory-bank/research/2026-01-26_planning-feature-deletion.md - Similar deletion pattern