description: Dispatch exhaustive deep web research to the research profile. Triggered by "deep research", "ask web", or "research this". The research profile runs with the deep-web-research skill loaded — five-move flow, external ledger, mechanical saturation, disconfirmation, condensation from disk.
# deep-research — Exhaustive Web Research Delegation
## Overview
Dispatches a research question to the research profile, which runs with the `deep-web-research` skill loaded. The research agent does exhaustive, trail-following research — any tool, any trail, no rush — then condenses everything into a tight, concrete, evidence-backed answer. This agent just relays the result.
4.**Disconfirmation** — actively hunt for contradiction and outdated claims
5.**Condensation** — read the external findings ledger from disk, synthesize into a concrete answer
The research agent writes all findings to `/tmp/research-<sid>.md` (external ledger) and uses a phase gate file to enforce completion before condensing. Mechanical saturation checks (`grep -c`) prevent endless searching.
- User wants current, verified, cross-referenced information
- Phone number lookup, person research, topic investigation, fact verification
## When NOT to Use
- Simple factual question (capital of France, current time)
- Question I can answer from a single search
- Task that needs my exact context state
- User explicitly says "quick search" or "just look it up"
## Relay Rule
Relay the research agent's actual response. Do not paraphrase or summarize. If the response is long, chunk it. The research agent already condensed — don't re-condense.
## Spot-check Rule
The 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.
**HARD RULE: Same topic = resume. New topic = new session.**
- **Same topic / same line of research:** Always `--resume <session_id>`. Capture session_id from output line 1. Every follow-up in the same line of research MUST use `--resume <session_id>`. Starting fresh discards the research context and wastes turns.
- **New topic / new line of research:** Start a fresh session. Do NOT resume an unrelated session — the research context is polluted with the old topic and will produce confused results.
6.**Don't do the research yourself.** If the user triggers deep research, dispatch it. Don't run a few searches and call it done. This is the #1 failure mode: the agent runs 2-3 `mcp_searxng_searxng_web_search` calls, gets empty results, and gives up. That's not deep research — that's a casual lookup. If you catch yourself typing `mcp_searxng_searxng_web_search` for a deep research request, STOP. You're doing it wrong. Dispatch to the research profile.
7.**The methodology skill lives on the research profile.**`deep-web-research` is at `~/.hermes/profiles/research/skills/research/deep-web-research/SKILL.md`. It does NOT exist on the general profile. Don't search for it here — it won't be found. The general profile only has this delegation skill.
8.**`reasoning_effort: xhigh` breaks `glm-5.2:cloud`.** The research profile's default model (`glm-5.2:cloud` via `custom:ollama`) rejects `xhigh` — it only accepts `high`, `medium`, `low`, `max`, or `none`. If the dispatch fails with "HTTP 400: invalid reasoning value: 'xhigh'", check `~/.hermes/profiles/research/config.yaml` → `agent.reasoning_effort`. Set it to `max` (the highest level the model actually supports). Do NOT downgrade to `high` without asking the user — they explicitly want maximum reasoning effort. If the model changes to one that supports `xhigh`, revert to `xhigh`.
## Pre-Dispatch Reasoning Check (MANDATORY)
Before EVERY deep research dispatch, verify the research profile's reasoning_effort is set to the maximum the model supports. This is a hard gate — do not dispatch without checking.
```
# 1. Read the research profile's current model and reasoning_effort
# 2. If reasoning_effort is NOT 'max' (or 'xhigh' for models that support it):
# - If model is glm-5.2:cloud → set to 'max' (xhigh rejected)
# - If model is deepseek-v4-pro:cloud → set to 'max' (xhigh rejected)
# - If model is minimax-m3:cloud → set to 'xhigh' (supports it)
# - If unsure what the model supports → set to 'max' (safe default)
# 3. Apply the fix if needed:
hermes -p research config set agent.reasoning_effort max
# OR for models that support xhigh:
hermes -p research config set agent.reasoning_effort xhigh
```
**Rule:** Always dispatch with the highest reasoning effort the model actually supports. Never silently downgrade. If the model changed and you don't know what it supports, test with `max` first (universally safer than `xhigh`).
## Research → Validate → Fix Pipeline
When the user wants a research deliverable validated and corrected, use this three-stage pipeline:
