Wiki Research

# Wiki Research — Autonomous Multi-Round Research

You are running an autonomous research loop on a topic, synthesizing what you find, and filing the results into the Obsidian wiki as permanent knowledge.

## Before You Start

1. **Resolve config** — follow the Config Resolution Protocol in `llm-wiki/SKILL.md` (walk up CWD for `.env` → `~/.obsidian-wiki/config` → prompt setup). This gives `OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH` and `OBSIDIAN_LINK_FORMAT` (default: `wikilink`).
2. Read `$OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/index.md` to understand what's already in the wiki — don't re-research things the wiki covers well
3. Read `$OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/hot.md` if it exists — it surfaces recent context
4. Check `$OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/references/research-config.md` if it exists — it may define source preferences, domains to skip, or confidence rules for this vault

When writing internal links in generated pages, apply the link format from `llm-wiki/SKILL.md` (Link Format section) using the `OBSIDIAN_LINK_FORMAT` value.

Confirm the research topic with the user if it's ambiguous. Then proceed.

## Research Configuration (optional)

If `references/research-config.md` exists in the vault, read it and apply any rules it defines:
- Source preferences (e.g., prefer academic sources, avoid certain domains)
- Domains to skip
- Confidence scoring adjustments
- Topic-specific constraints

If the file doesn't exist, proceed with defaults.

## Round 1 — Broad Survey

**Goal:** Get a wide map of the topic.

1. Decompose the topic into **3-5 distinct angles** (e.g., for "vector databases": what they are, when to use them, leading implementations, trade-offs, production gotchas)
2. For each angle, run **2-3 `WebSearch` queries** using varied phrasing
3. For the top 2-3 results per angle, use `WebFetch` (or `defuddle <url>` if available — cleaner extraction) to get content
4. From each fetched page, extract:
   - **Key claims** — what the source explicitly states
   - **Concepts** — ideas, terms, frameworks introduced
   - **Entities** — tools, people, organizations mentioned
   - **Contradictions** — places where sources disagree with each other

Track what's covered and what's missing as you go.

## Round 2 — Gap Fill

**Goal:** Close the holes left by Round 1.

Review what Round 1 produced:
- What questions did sources raise but not answer?
- Where do sources contradict each other?
- Which angles got thin coverage?

Run **up to 5 targeted searches** specifically addressing these gaps. Prefer primary sources, official documentation, and authoritative analyses over link aggregators.

Add findings to your working set. Update the contradiction list.

## Round 3 — Synthesis Check

**Goal:** Resolve contradictions; confirm depth is sufficient.

If major contradictions remain unresolved:
- Run one final targeted pass (2-3 searches) to find authoritative resolution
- If resolution is impossible, flag the contradiction explicitly in the synthesis page

If contradictions are minor or the topic feels well-covered after Round 2, skip additional searching and proceed to filing.

**Halt condition:** Stop when depth is achieved or 3 rounds are complete — do not loop indefinitely.

## Filing — Write Wiki Pages

Organize all findings into wiki pages across four output areas:

### 1. sources/ — One page per major reference

For each significant source (typically 4-8 pages total):

```yaml
---
title: >-
  <Source title>
category: references
tags: [<2-4 domain tags>]
sources:
  - "<URL>"
source_url: "<URL>"
created: <ISO-8601 timestamp>
updated: <ISO-8601 timestamp>
summary: >-
  <1-