rSEARCH

Research you can inspect.

Turn a focused question into a source-linked report with explicit evidence levels, visible gaps, and a record of the research performed.

Use Codex or Claude. Choose your provider, give it a brief, and get a dossier you can read, challenge, and use in your next decision.

imagerSEARCH: a question flows through a choice of Codex or Claude into an evidence dossier with linked sources and an unanswered question.

Get started · Download v0.2.1 · Installation guide · How it works

imageVerify imageLicense: MIT

Make the next decision with clearer evidence

AI answers can look convincing before any research happens. rSEARCH records completed retrieval operations instead of trusting a worker to say it searched. A separate verifier assigns evidence levels and keeps uncertainty visible.

It helps you narrow the question, inspect the sources, and hand off a readable result without reconstructing a long chat. It does not automatically prove a claim true or guarantee that a citation supports it.

What you receive

Each successful run saves a readable dossier.md and its structured dossier.json counterpart, plus the brief, candidate findings, provider event log, and run metadata.

A finding looks like this:

Claim: The named API returns the current working directory as a string.

Source: Official API documentation.

Evidence level: T3_observed — cited, without independent-channel corroboration.

Falsifier: The documented API returns a different type or value.

Limit: Documentation describes the API; it does not establish behaviour in every environment.

This is an illustrative report excerpt. The first-run brief lets you produce a real dossier against official Node.js documentation.

Get started

Pick your environment

Standalone use requires Node.js 22+ and an installed, authenticated Codex CLI or Claude Code. You need only the provider you choose. The desktop extension bundles the rSEARCH dependencies and uses its host's Node runtime, but still needs the chosen provider CLI installed and signed in.

Install the versioned CLI package from GitHub Releases:

npm install --global https://github.com/frdyx/rSEARCH/releases/download/v0.2.1/rsearch-0.2.1.tgz
rsearch doctor --provider claude

Use --provider codex for Codex. No npm registry publication is involved. See installation for provider setup, skill/plugin installation, source downloads, and desktop configuration.

After installing the runtime, Claude Code users can add the operator with:

/plugin marketplace add frdyx/rSEARCH
/plugin install rsearch@frdyx-rsearch

Run your first brief

Download first-brief.md, save it locally, then run:

rsearch research --provider claude --brief-file first-brief.md

For Codex:

rsearch research --provider codex --brief-file first-brief.md

The command prints the path to your Markdown dossier. Open it to see the findings, sources, evidence levels, falsifiers, and limitations.

If a model configured in your desktop app is not supported by its CLI, choose an explicit CLI-supported model with --model <model-id>. rSEARCH does not silently switch models or providers.

Start from a technology comparison, migration question, interface research, or source audit for your own task.

How it works

imageDataflow: a brief enters the CLI, skill or desktop MCP tools; a native Codex or Claude worker produces recorded retrieval events; a gate and verifier produce Markdown and JSON dossiers. Failed runs stop at the gate.

1. Bound the question. A brief names the question, scope, sources, and what would count as an answer.
2. Research with your provider. A read-only worker searches and returns structured findings.
3. Check the activity. At least two completed retrieval operations must be recorded. Failed, partial, and duplicate events do not count.
4. Grade the evidence. A separate verifier derives source groups and assigns the final evidence levels.
5. Read and decide. The dossier informs your next action; it does not make changes to the studied repository.

Two pages from one publisher do not establish independent support. Neither do two workers using the same provider. To compare completed runs:

rsearch corroborate --runs /path/to/codex-run /path/to/claude-run

Claims must match after normalization; paraphrases are not silently merged. Read the evidence rules and architecture for the exact boundaries.

Common questions

Do I need both providers? No. Install and authenticate the one you choose. Running one provider produces useful observed evidence; independent-channel corroboration is a separate step.

Does installing the skill install the engine? No. Skills supply workflow instructions. Install the CLI runtime separately, or use the desktop extension, which includes the local runtime dependencies.

Can it run in every AI app? The instructions use the Agent Skills format. Full execution needs local process access or local MCP support. A regular chat or cloud container without the chosen CLI cannot run this workflow unchanged.

Is research free or guaranteed to be faster? Provider usage follows your normal subscription or API terms. Narrow briefs reduce unnecessary work, but rSEARCH makes no fixed cost, latency, or savings claim. Runs default to a ten-minute timeout and one active run per research store.

Where does my data go? Results are saved locally in your research store. Your chosen provider receives the brief and any context its worker reads. Public sources are retrieved over the web. Research logs can contain sensitive queries or context; review them before sharing. See data handling.

Does a passing gate mean the answer is correct? No. It establishes recorded retrieval activity. Citation support, semantic independence, and correctness still need review. File existence is not proof of a claim about a file.

Help and contribute

Open an issue with the version, provider, platform, and a minimal example. Review logs before attaching them.

See CONTRIBUTING.md, the validation record, and the release guide. Maintained by FRDY.

Licensed under MIT. Bundled third-party dependencies retain their own licences; the MCPB manifest schema attribution is in schemas/MCPB-LICENSE.