ask-research — Generic Research Profile Dispatch

Overview

Dispatches a research task to the research profile (hermes -p research). The research profile has a full arsenal of web research tools — SearXNG, web scraping, browser automation, social media scraping, Python analysis — and runs with reasoning_effort: high. No methodology skill loaded by default — the research agent uses its own judgment to pick the right tools for the question.

This is the generic "go research this" dispatch. For exhaustive methodology-driven research, use deep-research instead (loads the deep-web-research skill with six-move flow).

When to Use

"ask research to find everything about X"
"research this topic and give me a detailed report"
Any web research task that needs more than a few searches but doesn't need the full deep-research methodology
Gathering documentation, community knowledge, official sources on a specific tool/technology

When NOT to Use

Simple factual lookup → use web_search directly
Exhaustive OSINT/person investigation → use deep-research (methodology-driven)
Task needs your exact context → use delegate_task

Command

terminal(background=true, notify_on_complete=true, timeout=14400,
  command="hermes -p research chat -q \"<prompt>\" -Q --max-turns 4000 --yolo",
  workdir="/home/n8n/workspace/research")

Always use --max-turns 4000 (operator standing rule: 4000 is the safety net, not a budget)
Always use background=true + notify_on_complete=true — research runs long
The research agent writes output to the path specified in the prompt
Capture the session_id from the process log after completion

Prompt Composition

Every ask-research prompt must include:

Exact research targets — URLs, topics, sources to cover
Output path — absolute path for the deliverable file
Web search mandate — "Use mcp_searxng_searxng_web_search for EVERY claim. Scrape full pages with web_extract. Cite source URLs inline."
Scope boundaries — what to include AND what to exclude
Turn budget note — the agent has 2000 turns, use them thoroughly

Post-Dispatch Behavior

Same as deep-research: return control to operator immediately. Do NOT poll. Do NOT check. Do NOT auto-deliver. Only check for results when the user explicitly asks.

Spot-check Rule

Research agent self-reports are not verified fact. If it claims a file write, read_file the path to confirm. If it claims a specific finding, spot-check the source URL.

deep-research — Exhaustive methodology-driven research (six-move flow, external ledger, disconfirmation)
better-search — Medium-depth research (1-3 loops with AI evaluation)
ask-hermes — General-purpose peer agent dispatch

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