Deep Current

A research thread manager for agents. Track topics you care about, accumulate notes and sources over time, and pair with a scheduled cron job to produce regular research digests.

Architecture

This skill ships one component: a Python CLI (scripts/deep-current.py) that manages research threads as local JSON data. It handles:

• - Creating, listing, and updating research threads
• Storing notes, sources, and findings per thread
• Thread lifecycle (active/paused/resolved) and decay

What this skill does NOT ship: web search, link following, or report generation. Those capabilities come from the agent's built-in tools (web_search, web_fetch). The cron job prompt instructs the agent to use those tools to research threads, then write findings to a report file.

In short: the CLI manages what to research. The agent's existing tools do the how.

How It Works

1. 1. Threads — Long-running research topics stored in INLINECODE3
2. Nightly job — A cron job tells the agent which threads to research (agent uses its own web_search/web_fetch tools)
3. Reports — Each night's findings are written to deep-current-reports/YYYY-MM-DD.md (one file per run)
4. Thread CLI — Manage threads between sessions (add, note, source, finding, status)

Setup

1. Create data directory

CODEBLOCK0

2. Initialize currents.json

CODEBLOCK1

3. Schedule the cron job

Create an isolated cron job that runs nightly. The agent will use its own web_search and web_fetch tools to research each thread, then use the CLI to record findings. Example prompt:

CODEBLOCK2

Recommended: run at 1-3am, use a capable model, 30min timeout.

Thread CLI

Manage research threads with scripts/deep-current.py:

Command	Purpose
INLINECODE10	Show all threads with status
INLINECODE11

Full thread details |
| add <title> | Create new thread |
| note <id> <text> | Add dated research note |
| source <id> <url> [desc] | Add source/reference |
| finding <id> <text> | Record key finding |
| status <id> <active\|paused\|resolved> | Change thread status |
| digest | Summary of all active threads |
| decay | Prune stale threads (>90 days inactive + no recent notes) |
| covered [days] | Show topics & URLs from recent reports (default 14 days) to avoid duplication |

Thread IDs are auto-generated slugs from the title. Prefix matching works for short IDs.

Report Format

Each run creates a standalone file in deep-current-reports/YYYY-MM-DD.md. Each report contains:

• - Date header
• 2+ research threads with catchy titles
• Dense findings with inline source links
• Actionable flags for anything the user should act on

One file per run — easy to browse, search, or archive.

Research Quality Guidelines

When running a research session (nightly or manual), the agent should:

• - Use web_search to find sources, web_fetch to read them
• Cross-reference claims across multiple sources
• Cite sources inline with markdown links
• Flag actionable items explicitly
• Write for a smart reader — dense, no filler
• Use catchy thread titles (this is morning reading, make it engaging)
• Distinguish speculation from sourced facts