research-tool

The Research Tool is a sophisticated utility for OpenClaw agents that bridges the gap between static LLM knowledge and real-time internet data. By leveraging OpenRouter, it enables agents to perform live web searches, read technical documentation, fact-check claims, and synthesize complex multi-source information. Designed for users who require accuracy and transparency, this skill provides Markdown-formatted responses complete with clear source citations. It is specifically optimized for deep reasoning, allowing for configurable effort levels that range from quick factual lookups to intensive, multi-minute investigative analysis. This makes it an ideal choice for software engineers looking up API docs, market researchers tracking news, or anyone needing to ground LLM reasoning in verified, current external data.

• Real-time web retrieval powered by the OpenRouter :online model suffix.

• Adjustable reasoning effort levels (low, medium, high, xhigh) to balance speed and analytical depth.

• Native support for citation generation, ensuring all claims are traceable to specific URLs.

• Seamless integration with agent workflows via sub-agent spawning for non-blocking execution.

• Flexible system prompt overriding for specialized research personas.

• Input versatility supporting CLI strings, stdin pipes for large prompts, and environment-based configuration.

• Best practice is to run queries in a sub-agent session to maintain main application responsiveness.

• Avoid setting rigid timeouts on execution commands, as high-effort research can take up to 20 minutes to synthesize results.

• Use the effort flags (e.g., -e xhigh) strategically: low for quick facts, xhigh for multi-source synthesis.

• Ensure an OPENROUTER_API_KEY is configured in the environment for authentication.

• Monitor stderr for real-time progress updates, token usage, and reasoning traces during the research process.

• Combine with custom system prompts using the -s flag to tailor the research style to specific professional domains.