Research

Run the research in a sub-agent so the main session can keep working on unrelated branches — but the sub-agent must finish inside this session. A sub-agent's task handle dies at /clear, session end, or context compaction, and one still running when the session ends is killed mid-read. If the read is longer than the session has room for, do it inline instead. In harnesses without sub-agents, do the research inline and say so.

Dispatching a research run

• In Claude Code, use the Agent tool — Explore for read-only source sweeps (it can't write, so it returns the findings as text and the dispatcher saves the file), general-purpose when the research needs web fetches, other tool calls, or must write the findings file itself. Hand the sub-agent the question plus The research brief below.
• Collect the result before the session ends or suggests /clear — never leave one running.
• In everything durable (tickets, resolution comments, hand-off text), reference the findings by file path, never by task ID — a task ID written down is a dead handle the next session will poll and fail on.
• Relay the answer plus the file path to the user — not a re-paste of the whole document.

Wayfinder integration

When resolving a wayfinder research ticket, follow the configured tracker's Wayfinding operations. Claim it first through the Claim operation so a concurrent session cannot pick it up mid-flight. Write the findings file (no branch — see the tracker's Working in parallel rules), link it through the Assets operation, then use the Resolve operation to record the answer and the file pointer and close the ticket. Research tickets are the one type a charting session may run several of in parallel — one sub-agent per ticket, all collected before the session ends.

The research brief

The sub-agent's job: