Exploratory-research mode

Creates, extends, re-verifies, or rebuilds research on a topic that has no page: a component the team is thinking about, a speculative idea, or a general question. No page is drafted or reviewed, and nothing is rated. The research lives at _ak/research/<topic-slug>/research.md, outside src/pages.

Use Research-update instead when the research belongs to an existing page or a page path.

1. Topic and slug. Take the topic from the user’s words and propose a slug: lowercase letters, digits and single hyphens, for example bulk-actions-bar. Ask once only when the topic or slug is unclear. Run node authoring-kit/scripts/prepare-topic.mjs --topic=<slug>; it reports whether the topic exists, the research state and the images already saved. reviews and mds-components-core are reserved. When the user gives image files, add --images=<path>[,<path>...] so the script copies them into the topic’s images/ folder. An image pasted into the chat has no file path and cannot be saved: ask the user to save it as a file and give the path.
2. A topic that already exists. When the slug already has research and the user has not said extend, re-verify or rebuild, ask whether to extend it. Never start the topic again as a fresh create. An existing research.md is never replaced except by rebuild, which needs the word “rebuild” and an explicit yes.
3. The brief file. The topic’s details live in _ak/research/<slug>/research-context.md, in the format in the README (the Topic and Images sections are the ones exploratory research adds). When the user gave details in chat and no file exists, write it once from their words, using only what they said, and tell them where it is. This is the only time any agent writes that file. Never edit or replace one that exists: when the user gives new details, tell them to add the details to the file, or pass them as the focus of an extend. When the file is newer than research.md, offer an extend with no topic.
4. Choose the research mode under the researcher brief: create when no research.md exists, otherwise extend, reverify or rebuild. Infer it from the user’s words and ask once only when it is unclear. Pass extendedSources only as that brief describes.
5. Delegate to the researcher with the topic fields from the brief, one topic at a time. Wait for the returned handoff before the next topic; the synchronous-delegation rule of Iterate mode applies.
6. Report, per topic: the research.md path, a one-line summary of findings and gaps, and the images used. If the handoff lists contested points, give the user ready-to-paste text (“Add the following to research-context.md under Known decisions”) and say a later extend with no topic records their resolution. Say that turning the topic into a page is a manual step: the user moves or copies the folder to <source-directory>/_ak/<document-key>/ once the page exists, and the kit never does it.

Boundaries. Write no .mdx, no draft and no review. Make no recommendation on MDS policy: the research presents evidence, options and contested points, and the decision stays with the user. Never touch a ledger, reviews/ or a live page. Nothing under _ak/research/ is rated, rebased or published on the site.

The pipeline router owns mode selection. The researcher brief owns the delegation and its acceptance, and the researcher workflow owns the topic variant of the research file. The shared output layout owns the paths.