Files

Deep Research

Analyze any topic, domain, or paper and generate a beautiful HTML report — powered by Actionbook and Claude Code.

All you need is Claude Code + Actionbook CLI + json-ui. Everything runs locally on your machine.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/03a42852-3194-4304-b710-23958f561252

Demo 1: Elon Musk's X.com Posting Activity

/deep-research "Research how many tweets Elon Musk posted today on X.com"

The agent logged into X.com via Actionbook browser, queried from:elonmusk since:2026-02-09, scrolled through all results, and produced a comprehensive activity report:

What the agent did:

  1. Queried Actionbook API for X.com selectors
  2. Opened X.com Advanced Search via actionbook browser
  3. Scrolled to exhaustion to capture all tweets
  4. Counted 38+ original tweets/replies + 2 retweets
  5. Identified 3 distinct posting bursts and 6 topic categories
  6. Generated bilingual (EN/ZH) json-ui report

Report highlights:

Metric Value
Total Posts (as of 12:30 UTC) 38+ tweets/replies
Peak Rate ~1 tweet per 3 min
Most Viewed "Grok" (Tim Pool quote) — 21M views
Top Topics Epstein/Bannon (7), Politics (8), Grok/xAI (6)
Posting Pattern 3 bursts with 3-4h dormant gaps

Output: output/musk-tweets-2026-02-09.json


Demo 2: WebAssembly 2026 Ecosystem Deep Dive

/deep-research "WebAssembly 2026 ecosystem"

The agent combined arXiv Advanced Search (academic papers) with Google (industry sources) to produce a comprehensive ecosystem report:

What the agent did:

  1. Queried Actionbook API for arXiv Advanced Search selectors (40+ form fields)
  2. Searched arXiv: title="WebAssembly", CS category, date range 2025-01 to 2026-02 → 20 papers found
  3. Searched Google for industry sources (WasmCon 2025, Fermyon, The New Stack)
  4. Deep-read 8+ sources via actionbook browser
  5. Synthesized academic + industry perspectives into a single report

Report highlights:

Metric Value
Spec Version WebAssembly 3.0 (published Feb 6, 2026)
WASI Version 0.3.0 (WASIp3, imminent)
arXiv Papers Found 20 (CS category, 2025-2026)
Research Clusters Serverless/Edge (8), Security (5), IoT (2), Tooling (3), Other (2)
Key Runtimes Wasmtime, Wasmer, WasmEdge, WAMR

Key finding: Wasm is already everywhere — most users don't realize it. The academic consensus: Wasm excels at cold starts and workload density vs containers.

Output: output/webassembly-2026-ecosystem-v2.json


Why Actionbook?

Traditional AI tools (WebFetch, WebSearch) can only do simple keyword searches and read raw HTML. Actionbook is different — it indexes website UI structures and gives AI agents verified selectors to operate complex web forms.

Example: arXiv Advanced Search

Actionbook has indexed the entire arXiv Advanced Search form (40+ selectors). This means the AI agent can:

What the agent can do How
Search by Title, Author, or Abstract separately Select field via #terms-0-field dropdown
Filter to Computer Science papers only Click #classification-computer_science checkbox
Restrict to papers from 2025-2026 Set date range via #date-from_date / #date-to_date
Add multiple search terms with boolean logic Click "Add another term +" button

Example: X.com (Twitter) Search

The agent can log into X.com, use advanced search operators (from:user since:date), scroll through results, and extract engagement metrics — all via Actionbook browser automation.

None of this is possible with WebFetch or WebSearch — they can only send a single keyword query.

Quick Start (from Zero)

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18+ (check: node --version)
  • A Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Brave, Edge, Arc)
  • An Anthropic API key

Step 1: Install Claude Code

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Verify:

claude --version

Step 2: Install Actionbook CLI

npm install -g @actionbookdev/cli

Setup:

actionbook setup
  • Actionbook is in Public Beta, you can use it without API_KEY.
  • If you want to increase the usage limit, join our waitlist.

Step 3: Install json-ui (Report Renderer)

npm install -g @actionbookdev/json-ui

This provides the json-ui CLI that converts JSON reports into self-contained HTML files.

Verify:

json-ui --version

Step 4: Add the Deep Research Skill

Option A: One-command install via npx skills (recommended)

npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill deep-research -g

This installs the skill globally — it works in any directory with Claude Code.

Option B: Install from local clone

If you've already cloned this repo:

npx skills add ./playground/deep-research -g

Option C: Manual copy

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/deep-research
cp playground/deep-research/skills/deep-research/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/deep-research/SKILL.md

Step 5: Run Your First Research

Start Claude Code:

claude

Then type:

/deep-research "WebAssembly 2026 ecosystem"

Or in natural language (supports English and Chinese):

Research the WebAssembly 2026 ecosystem and generate a report

That's it! The agent will search the web, read sources, generate a report, and open it in your browser.

Command Reference

/deep-research <topic> [options]
Parameter Required Default Description
topic Yes — Any topic, technology, URL, or arxiv:XXXX.XXXXX
--lang No both en, zh, or both
--output No ./output/<slug>.json Custom output path

Topic Detection

Pattern Type Strategy
arxiv:XXXX.XXXXX Paper arXiv Advanced Search + ar5iv deep read
Academic keywords Academic topic arXiv Advanced Search + Google
URL Specific page Actionbook browser fetch and analyze
General text Topic research Google search + arXiv if relevant

More Examples

# Research a specific website's data (like X.com, Reddit, HackerNews)
/deep-research "Research how many tweets Elon Musk posted today on X.com"

# Deep dive a technology ecosystem
/deep-research "WebAssembly 2026 ecosystem"

# Analyze an arXiv paper
/deep-research "arxiv:2501.12599"

# Search by research topic (uses arXiv Advanced Search)
/deep-research "large language model agent papers 2025"

# Report in Chinese only
/deep-research "LLM inference optimization" --lang zh

# Custom output path
/deep-research "RISC-V ecosystem" --output ./reports/riscv.json

How It Works

┌──────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  Claude   │────▶│  Actionbook  │────▶│  Web Pages   │────▶│ Extract  │
│  Code     │     │  Browser CLI │     │  (multiple)  │     │ Content  │
└──────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────┬────┘
      │                                                           │
      │          ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐           │
      ├─────────▶│  Actionbook  │     │ arXiv Adv.   │           │
      │          │  search/get  │────▶│ Search Form  │──────────▶│
      │          │  (selectors) │     │ (40+ fields) │           │
      │          └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘           │
      │                                                           │
┌──────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐           │
│  Open in │◀────│   json-ui    │◀────│  Write JSON  │◀──────────┘
│  Browser │     │   render     │     │  Report      │  Synthesize
└──────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘

Workflow Steps

Step Action Description
1 Plan Decide search strategy based on topic type
2 Query Actionbook API Get verified selectors for known sites (arXiv, X.com, etc.) BEFORE browsing
3 arXiv Advanced Search Multi-field academic search using Actionbook selectors (if topic is academic)
4 Google / Bing Supplement with blogs, news, code, non-academic sources
5 Deep Read Visit top sources, extract content via verified selectors
6 Synthesize Organize findings into structured sections
7 Generate Write a json-ui JSON report (bilingual EN/ZH)
8 Render Produce self-contained HTML via @actionbookdev/json-ui
9 View Open the report in your browser
10 Close Close the Actionbook browser session

Features

Bilingual Reports (EN/ZH)

All reports are bilingual by default. The Chinese content follows quality guidelines to ensure natural, native Chinese writing — not machine translation.

Key principles:

  • Chinese text is written independently, not translated from English
  • Active voice preferred over passive voice
  • Technical terms with established Chinese names use Chinese; others keep English
  • Short sentences preferred (Chinese readers prefer concise phrasing)

Actionbook Browser Automation

The skill uses actionbook browser CLI commands exclusively (not WebFetch/WebSearch):

actionbook browser open <url>        # Navigate to page
actionbook browser text [selector]   # Extract text content
actionbook browser click <selector>  # Click element
actionbook browser snapshot          # Get accessibility tree
actionbook browser close             # Close browser

json-ui Report Components

Reports use 20+ @actionbookdev/json-ui components:

Component Use For
BrandHeader / BrandFooter Actionbook branding
Section Major report sections with icons
Prose Rich text content (Markdown)
ContributionList Numbered key findings
MetricsGrid Key stats dashboard
Table Data tables
LinkGroup Source links
Callout Important notes / warnings
CodeBlock Code snippets
Formula LaTeX equations (for papers)

See skills/deep-research/SKILL.md for the full component catalog.

Troubleshooting

Issue Solution
actionbook: command not found npm i -g @actionbookdev/cli
json-ui: command not found npm i -g @actionbookdev/json-ui
claude: command not found npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
Browser won't open actionbook browser status — ensure Chromium browser is installed
Empty report Check internet connection, try a simpler topic
HTML render fails The JSON report is saved at ./output/<slug>.json — install json-ui and render manually: json-ui render <file>.json -o <file>.html
[object Object] in HTML Update json-ui: npm i -g @actionbookdev/json-ui@latest (fixed in v0.1.0+)
Skill not found Ensure SKILL.md is at ~/.claude/skills/deep-research/SKILL.md
Chinese text reads like machine translation The skill includes quality guidelines — re-run to regenerate

Dependencies

This skill requires two npm packages installed globally:

Package npm Name Purpose Install
Actionbook CLI @actionbookdev/cli Browser automation, web search, selector queries npm i -g @actionbookdev/cli
json-ui @actionbookdev/json-ui JSON report → self-contained HTML rendering npm i -g @actionbookdev/json-ui

One-command install:

npm install -g @actionbookdev/cli @actionbookdev/json-ui

These dependencies are also declared in .claude-plugin/plugin.json under the dependencies and setup fields, enabling future auto-install support in Claude Code skill managers.

Project Structure

playground/deep-research/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   ├── plugin.json              # Plugin manifest
│   └── marketplace.json         # Marketplace metadata
├── .mcp.json                    # Actionbook MCP server config
├── skills/
│   └── deep-research/
│       └── SKILL.md             # Main skill definition (core logic)
├── commands/
│   └── analyze.md               # /deep-research command
├── agents/
│   └── researcher.md            # Research agent (sonnet, Bash+Read+Write)
├── examples/
│   └── sample-report.json       # Sample json-ui report
├── output/                      # Generated reports (gitignored)
│   ├── musk-tweets-2026-02-09.json
│   ├── webassembly-2026-ecosystem-v2.json
│   └── ...
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

License

Apache-2.0