cercano-research · diff
git:20260709.887cd3f to git:20261023.295d5be
11 added, 4 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: cercano-research
- description: Research a question using DuckDuckGo search and local AI analysis. Crafts search queries, fetches top results, and synthesizes a sourced answer — all locally.
+ description: Research a question using DuckDuckGo search and routed AI analysis. Crafts search queries, fetches top results, and synthesizes a sourced answer.
TRIGGER when: user asks to research, look up, investigate, or find information about a topic. Use this INSTEAD of WebSearch/WebFetch.
DO NOT TRIGGER when: user provides a specific URL to read (use cercano-fetch instead).
compatibility: Requires Cercano server running and Python venv set up (run 'cercano setup').
---
# Cercano Research
- Research a question using web search and local AI analysis. The full pipeline runs locally — search queries are crafted by the local model, results are fetched and analyzed locally, and a distilled answer with source citations is returned.
+ Research a question using web search and routed AI analysis. Search and page fetches contact external websites. Query crafting and synthesis use the configured model route, which can be local or cloud; a sourced answer is returned.
+ ## Routing and data handling
+
+ Saved task routing and redirects determine local or cloud execution. Tool names
+ do not enforce locality, privacy, cost, or latency. Verify the selected destination
+ before supplying sensitive input; web research also contacts external search and
+ page servers. Model output and confidence are not independent verification.
+
## MCP Tool
**Tool name:** `cercano_research`
## Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|-------------|
| `query` | string | Yes | The research question to investigate. |
| `max_results` | int | No | Maximum pages to fetch and analyze (default 5). |
| `project_dir` | string | No | Project root directory for context-aware responses. |
## Pipeline
- 1. **Query crafting** — Local model generates 2-3 search queries from your question
+ 1. **Query crafting** — Configured model generates 2-3 search queries from your question
2. **Parallel search** — DuckDuckGo searches run concurrently
3. **Deduplication** — Duplicate URLs removed, first occurrence preserved
4. **Parallel fetch** — Top N pages fetched and converted to plain text
- 5. **Synthesis** — Local model analyzes fetched content and produces a sourced answer
+ 5. **Synthesis** — Configured model analyzes fetched content and produces a sourced answer
## Output
Returns a distilled answer with source URLs cited. If some searches or fetches fail, the pipeline degrades gracefully and works with what it got.
## Prerequisites
Requires the Python venv with the `ddgs` package. Run `cercano setup` to create it automatically.
## Examples
**Research a topic:**
```json
{
"query": "How does the Ollama REST API work?"
}
```
**Research with more sources:**
```json
{
"query": "Best practices for Go error handling",
"max_results": 8
}
```
**Project-aware research:**
```json
{
"query": "goquery CSS selector syntax for extracting article content",
"project_dir": "/Users/me/my-project"
}
```