In short:
ak-researchsettles the scope of a technical question, searches with the runtime's web search, cross-checks several independent sources, then saves a cited report with concrete next steps. When it meets a GitHub repo link, it reads that repo withak-docs-seeker. You get a report, not code: the decision and the work stay with you.
Disclosure: I maintain AgentKit and have an affiliate relationship with it: the AgentKit link in this post is an affiliate link; buying through it gets you 30% off.
Summary
Use it when you need to know which technology to pick, which approach is considered right today, or whether a library has known vulnerabilities, before you start building. You do not need it when you have already settled the direction and only need code, or when you want it to choose for you.
flowchart LR
A["Technical question"] --> B["ak-research"]
B --> C["Cited report with next steps"]
C --> D["You decide, then build"]
B --> E["Stops if --ultra cannot run"]Before it searches, it settles 4 points:
| Aspect | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | What do you need to know, how recent must it be, which sources count? | Compare 2 queue libraries for Node 22, only this year's releases |
| When to stop searching | How many search rounds are enough? | Write "at most 3 searches" and it sticks to that; otherwise it stops when every question has a trusted source |
| Narrow or broad question | Do you need one answer or a full evaluation? | A narrow question gets a short answer with source, version and confidence |
| Sources and freshness | Which sources does it trust, and how far? | Official docs and changelogs first, information from the last 12 months |
With no budget set, it searches until it has enough trusted sources; to cap it, state the number of searches in your prompt. Where sources disagree, it always records it instead of smoothing it over.
Sample prompt for picking a technology:
/ak-research Compare BullMQ and pg-boss as a job queue for <project name>.
Context: Node 22, PostgreSQL already in place, about 50 thousand jobs per day.
Need to know: stability, retry behavior, operating cost, how actively the community maintains it.
Only count information from the last 12 months.| Flag | What it is for | Since ak |
|---|---|---|
--ultra | 5 independent research passes, picks the best one | 2.13.0 |
--yagni | Researches only what the outcome needs | 2.8.0 |
Below is the detailed version: the run flow, 5 situations with prompts, each flag explained (when to use it, when you do not need it, what you get, which flags it combines with), the change history by ak release, and common pitfalls. The detailed version and the interactive page are for subscribers. Your agent can also search them through the portal's MCP.
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Use this piece in your agent
Get an API keyCopy the text below and paste it into Claude Code, Codex or whichever agent you use. The agent reads the piece and checks it against the repo you have open.
Read "ak-research: search, cross-check sources and write a technical report" on modernEngineer and apply it to this repo.
1. Call the content_get tool of the modernengineer MCP server with locale "en", slug "ak-research". If the modernengineer MCP server is not connected, stop and walk me through connecting it from https://modernengineer.dev/en/mcp.
2. Summarize the main steps of the piece and point out which apply to this repo.
3. Propose concrete changes and ask me before editing any file.Connect MCP in Claude Code (once)
claude mcp add --transport http modernengineer \
https://api.modernengineer.dev/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer <API key>"Reading the full piece over MCP needs an API key from a subscriber account or one that bought this guide. Without access, the agent only gets the opening.
- Version
- v1.0.0
- Updated
- 22/10/2026
- Licence
- All rights reserved
- Slug
- ak-research
