active-research

What this skill does

# Active Research

Analyze any topic, domain, or paper and generate a beautiful HTML report using **Actionbook Browser** — featuring SPA-aware navigation, network idle detection, batch operations, and intelligent page analysis.

## Enhanced Browser Capabilities

| Capability | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| Page load wait | `wait-idle` — monitors fetch/XHR until network settles |
| SPA content | `wait-fn` — wait for JS conditions before extracting |
| Page understanding | `snapshot --filter interactive --max-tokens N` — focused, budget-friendly |
| Popups blocking | `--auto-dismiss-dialogs` — auto-handle alert/confirm/prompt |
| Load speed | `--block-images` — skip images for faster text extraction |
| Page stability | `--no-animations` — freeze CSS transitions |
| Error detection | `console --level error` — check for page issues |
| Multi-step forms | `batch` — execute multiple actions in one call |
| Element debugging | `info <selector>` — inspect visibility, position, properties |
| Change tracking | `snapshot --diff` — only see what changed |
| Anti-detection | `--stealth` + `fingerprint rotate` for protected sites |
| Auth management | `storage set` — inject JWT/tokens for gated content |
| One-shot fetch | `browser fetch <url>` — navigate+wait+extract+close in one command |
| Static page speed | `--lite` — HTTP-first, browser fallback only if needed |
| Anti-scrape URLs | `--rewrite-urls` — x.com→xcancel.com, reddit→old.reddit |
| Wait tuning | `--wait-hint` — domain-aware wait (fast/normal/slow/heavy) |
| Log correlation | `--session-tag` — tag all operations for debugging |

## Usage

```
/active-research <topic>
/active-research <topic> --output ./reports/my-report.json
```

Or simply tell Claude: "Research XXX and generate a report"

### Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Default | Description |
|-----------|----------|---------|-------------|
| `topic` | Yes | - | The subject to research (any text) |
| `--output` | No | `./output/<topic-slug>.json` | Output path for JSON report |

### Topic Detection

| Pattern | Type | Strategy |
|---------|------|----------|
| `arxiv:XXXX.XXXXX` | Paper | **arXiv Advanced Search** + ar5iv deep read |
| `doi:10.XXX/...` | Paper | Resolve DOI, then **arXiv Advanced Search** for related work |
| Academic keywords (paper, research, model, algorithm) | Academic topic | **arXiv Advanced Search** + Google for non-academic sources |
| URL | Specific page | Fetch and analyze the page |
| General text | Topic research | Google search + arXiv Advanced Search if relevant |

## Architecture

```
┌──────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  Claude   │────▶│  Actionbook  │────▶│  Web Pages   │────▶│ Extract  │
│  Code     │     │   Browser    │     │  (multiple)  │     │ Content  │
└──────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────┬────┘
      │           │ wait-idle    │     │ SPA / dynamic │           │
      │           │ batch ops    │     │ protected     │           │
      │           │ --stealth    │     │ mobile-only   │           │
      │           │ snapshot     │     └───────────────┘           │
      │           └──────────────┘                                 │
      │          ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐            │
      ├─────────▶│  Actionbook  │     │ arXiv Adv.   │            │
      │          │  search/get  │────▶│ Search Form  │───────────▶│
      │          │  (selectors) │     │ (40+ fields) │            │
      │          └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘            │
      │                                                            │
┌──────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐            │
│  Open in │◀────│   json-ui    │◀────│  Write JSON  │◀───────────┘
│  Browser │     │   render     │     │  Report      │  Synthesize
└──────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘
```

## MUST USE Actionbook CLI

**Always use `actionbook browser` commands for web browsing. NEVER use any other method to access the web:**

- **NEVER** use `curl`, `wget`, `httpie`, or any HTTP CLI tool via bash
- **NEVER** use `python -c "import requests"` or any scripting-language HTTP library via bash
- **NEVER** use WebFetch or WebSearch tools
- **ONLY** use `actionbook browser` and `actionbook search`/`actionbook get` commands

If you need web content, the PREFERRED path is: `actionbook browser fetch <url> --format text --json` (one-shot).
For interactive multi-step workflows, use: `actionbook browser open <url>` → `actionbook browser wait-idle` → `actionbook browser text`.

## Browser Flags — Research Defaults

**CRITICAL: Always use these flags when opening the browser for research.**

```bash
# PREFERRED: One-shot fetch (I1) — handles open+wait+extract+close automatically
actionbook --block-images --rewrite-urls browser fetch "<url>" --format text --json

# For interactive multi-step workflows, use explicit open:
actionbook --block-images --auto-dismiss-dialogs --no-animations --rewrite-urls browser open "<url>"
```

| Flag | Why |
|------|-----|
| `--block-images` | Skip image downloads — 2-5x faster page load for text extraction |
| `--auto-dismiss-dialogs` | Prevent alert/confirm/prompt from blocking automation |
| `--no-animations` | Freeze CSS animations — stable snapshots, no timing issues |
| `--rewrite-urls` | Rewrite x.com→xcancel.com, reddit→old.reddit to avoid anti-bot blocking |
| `--wait-hint <hint>` | Domain-aware wait: `instant`, `fast`, `normal`, `slow`, `heavy`, or ms |
| `--session-tag <tag>` | Tag all operations for log correlation and debugging |
| `--lite` (fetch only) | Try HTTP first, skip browser for static pages (Wikipedia, docs, blogs) |

For sites with anti-bot protection, add `--stealth`:
```bash
actionbook --block-images --auto-dismiss-dialogs --no-animations --stealth --rewrite-urls browser open "<url>"
```

## Navigation Pattern — ALWAYS Follow

**Option A: One-shot fetch (PREFERRED for read-only page extraction):**

```bash
# Single command: navigate → wait (domain-aware) → extract → close
actionbook --block-images --rewrite-urls browser fetch "<url>" --format text --json
# For static pages (Wikipedia, docs, blogs), add --lite to skip browser entirely:
actionbook --rewrite-urls browser fetch "<url>" --format text --lite --json
# For accessibility tree:
actionbook --block-images --rewrite-urls browser fetch "<url>" --format snapshot --max-tokens 2000 --json
```

**Option B: Interactive multi-step pattern (for forms, clicks, multi-page flows):**

```bash
# Step 1: Navigate
actionbook browser open "<url>"          # or: goto, click a link

# Step 2: Wait for load (MANDATORY in v2)
actionbook browser wait-idle             # Wait for fetch/XHR to settle

# Step 3: Extract content
actionbook browser text [selector]       # Extract text
# OR
actionbook browser snapshot --filter interactive --max-tokens 500  # Understand page structure
```

**Why `wait-idle` is critical:**
- SPAs (React, Vue, Next.js) load content via fetch/XHR after initial HTML
- Without waiting, `text` returns empty or incomplete content
- `wait-idle` monitors all pending network requests, waits until quiet for 500ms

**For pages that load content dynamically after network settles:**
```bash
actionbook browser wait-idle
actionbook browser wait-fn "document.querySelector('.results')"    # Wait for specific element
actionbook browser text ".results"
```

## Complete Workflow

> **REMINDER:** Every web access in this workflow MUST use `actionbook browser` commands.
> Using `curl`, `wget`, `python requests`, or any other HTTP tool is **strictly forbidden**.
> The bash tool should ONLY be used for `actionbook` CLI commands and local file operations (json-ui render, `open`).

### Step 1: Plan Search Strategy

Based on the topic, generate 5-8 search queries from different angles:
- Core definition / overview
- Latest developments / news
- Technical details / implementation
- Comparisons / alternatives
- Expert opinions / analysis
- U