Deep Research

API key required
MCP Tools

26-tool autonomous research agent — academic papers, arXiv, PubMed, PubChem, Census, web search, and more via x402 micropayments.

Install

openclaw skills install deep-research-x402

Deep Research

Autonomous multi-domain research agent with 26 specialized endpoints spanning academic papers, preprints, biomedical literature, chemistry, demographics, and live web search. Each call is a real x402 micropayment ($0.001–$0.03 USDC).

How to call endpoints

Use the helper script for all gateway calls:

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh METHOD ENDPOINT 'JSON_BODY'

GET endpoints pass JSON as query params. POST endpoints send JSON body.

Research workflow

When the user asks you to research a topic, follow this strategy:

  1. Start broad — use web_search or web_qna to get an overview of the topic.
  2. Go deep — based on initial results, call domain-specific tools (papers, preprints, biomedical, chemistry, demographics) for authoritative sources.
  3. Extract details — use web_extract to pull full content from promising URLs found in step 1.
  4. Cross-reference — search the same topic across multiple databases (OpenAlex + Crossref + arXiv) for comprehensive coverage.
  5. Trace citations — use papers_citations or scholarly_citations_count to find influential related work.
  6. Synthesize — combine all findings into a structured, sourced answer.

Be cost-aware. Each call costs real micropayments. Don't make redundant calls, but don't skimp when thoroughness matters.

Always cite sources with DOIs, URLs, PMIDs, or arXiv IDs when available.

Available endpoints (26 tools)

Search & RAG

Web Search — $0.02 Search the live web via Tavily. Returns ranked URLs with snippets.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh POST /api/v1/search/web '{"query":"ethereum restaking 2026"}'

Web Extract — $0.02 Extract clean readable content from one or more URLs.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh POST /api/v1/search/extract '{"urls":["https://example.com/article"]}'

Web Q&A — $0.03 Question-answering over fresh web results. RAG out of the box.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh POST /api/v1/search/qna '{"query":"What is the current state of restaking?"}'

Dictionary

Define — $0.001 Dictionary definition with phonetics and examples.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/dictionary/define '{"word":"cryptography"}'

Synonyms — $0.001 Synonyms and antonyms for a word.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/dictionary/synonyms '{"word":"decentralized"}'

Phonetics — $0.001 Phonetic transcription and audio URL.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/dictionary/phonetics '{"word":"ethereum"}'

Academic Papers (OpenAlex — 250M+ papers)

Papers Search — $0.002 Search academic papers. Returns titles, abstracts, authors, DOIs.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/papers/search '{"query":"zero knowledge proofs scalability"}'

Papers by DOI — $0.001 Paper metadata by DOI.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/papers/by-doi '{"doi":"10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2"}'

Papers by Author — $0.002 Papers by author name or ORCID.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/papers/by-author '{"author":"Vitalik Buterin"}'

Papers Citations — $0.002 Citation graph — cited-by count and references.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/papers/citations '{"doi":"10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2"}'

Papers Trending — $0.002 Trending papers by topic in the last N days.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/papers/trending '{"topic":"large language models","days":7}'

Preprints (arXiv)

Preprints Search — $0.002 Search arXiv preprints by keyword and category.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/preprints/search '{"query":"transformer architectures","category":"cs.AI"}'

Preprints by ID — $0.001 arXiv preprint metadata by ID.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/preprints/by-id '{"id":"2301.07041"}'

Preprints Recent — $0.002 Latest arXiv preprints by category.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/preprints/recent '{"category":"cs.CR"}'

Scholarly Works (Crossref — 150M+ works)

Scholarly Search — $0.002 Search books, papers, datasets, conference proceedings, and more.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/scholarly/search '{"query":"decentralized finance protocols"}'

Scholarly by DOI — $0.001 Full Crossref metadata for any DOI.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/scholarly/by-doi '{"doi":"10.1145/3292500.3330647"}'

Scholarly Citations Count — $0.001 Citation count and reference list for a DOI.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/scholarly/citations-count '{"doi":"10.1145/3292500.3330647"}'

Scholarly Journal Info — $0.001 Journal metadata by ISSN.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/scholarly/journal-info '{"issn":"0028-0836"}'

Chemistry (PubChem)

Compound Lookup — $0.002 PubChem compound by name, formula, or CID.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/chemistry/compound '{"query":"aspirin"}'

Similarity Search — $0.002 Find structurally similar compounds.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/chemistry/similarity '{"cid":"2244"}'

Bioactivity — $0.002 Biological assay results for a compound.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/chemistry/bioactivity '{"cid":"2244"}'

Biomedical (PubMed — 36M+ papers)

Biomedical Search — $0.002 Search biomedical literature across PubMed.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/biomedical/search '{"query":"CRISPR gene therapy clinical trials"}'

By PubMed ID — $0.001 Paper metadata by PMID.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/biomedical/by-pmid '{"pmid":"33116299"}'

Related Articles — $0.002 Related articles for a PubMed ID.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/biomedical/related '{"pmid":"33116299"}'

Demographics

US Census — $0.001 US Census data by state, county, or zip code.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/demographics/census '{"location":"California"}'

Data.gov Datasets — $0.001 Search open government datasets by keyword.

bash {baseDir}/scripts/research.sh GET /api/v1/research/demographics/datasets '{"query":"renewable energy production"}'

Research modes

Adapt your strategy based on what the user needs:

Quick — 1-3 calls. Use web_qna for a fast answer, or one domain-specific search if the topic is clearly academic/biomedical/chemical.

Deep — 5-15 calls. Search multiple databases, cross-reference findings, trace citation graphs, extract full articles. Produce a comprehensive report with sections and citations.

Fact-check — 3-7 calls. Start with web_search to find the claim in context, then cross-reference with academic sources. Deliver a clear verdict with evidence.

Compare — 4-10 calls. Research each topic independently across the same databases, then structure findings side-by-side.

Data sources

Data sourced from OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed, PubChem, arXiv, US Census Bureau, Data.gov, and Tavily.