research-review

Research Review

Single, safety-first review workflow.

Non-negotiable defaults

• Do not run untrusted project code (npm test, go test, build scripts, binaries) unless user explicitly asks.
• Do not clone into the main workspace.
• Prefer metadata + static reads over local execution.
• Always write a structured note to the notes repo.
• Always return a short TL;DR in chat.

If deep code execution is explicitly requested later, call that out as a mode change and confirm.

Quick execution flow

1. Ack immediately

• If work may exceed ~60–90s, send a quick "on it" response first.
• Use background/sub-agent execution for long jobs so the channel lane stays responsive.

2. Route by source type

• Use references/routing-cheatsheet.md.
• Route examples:
  • GitHub repo link → static repo review (no code execution).
  • X/Twitter link → bird first.
  • YouTube link → summarize first (--youtube auto), then fallback.
  • Direct URL/article link → summarize first, then fallback to web fetch/search if needed.
  • General topic → web search + fetch (include Reddit scan when useful).

3. URL/YouTube summarize-first lane

• For direct article URLs: run summarize "<url>" --cli codex first.
• For YouTube links: run summarize "<url>" --youtube auto --cli codex first.
• If --cli codex is unavailable, fall back to provider/API-backed summarize.
• If summarize fails or coverage is weak, fallback to web search/fetch and explicitly note fallback.
• Never run downloaded code/binaries from target content.

4. Synthesize

• Output sections (in this order):
  • TL;DR (2–5 bullets)
  • Why it matters (for the user/request)
  • Risks/caveats
  • Recommended next move

5. Write to notes repo

• Append/update using references/note-template.md.
• Default destination: {{NOTES_REPO}}/skill-notes/repo-reviews.md
• If it is a broader process/design topic, use a dedicated file under {{NOTES_REPO}}/skill-notes/.

6. Commit + push notes changes

• In {{NOTES_REPO}}:
  • git pull --rebase
  • apply changes
  • git add -A && git commit -m "..."
  • git push

Safety mode details

For repo reviews, these are allowed by default:

• README, manifests, file tree, recent commits, CI/workflow files, dependency metadata, docs.

These are blocked by default:

• test/build/run commands
• executing checked-out scripts from target repo
• running downloaded binaries

Optional deep-static mode (still safe):

• cloning to ephemeral scratch (e.g. /tmp/openclaw-research/<id>) for read-only file inspection, then cleanup.

Quality bar

• Prefer practical, opinionated conclusions over generic summaries.
• Be explicit about confidence and gaps.
• Avoid over-claiming from sparse evidence.
• Keep chat response concise; keep full detail in notes repo.