Research Skill

Use Gemini CLI for deep research tasks in a background sub-agent to save Claude tokens.

Why Use This Skill?

Token Savings: Offload research-heavy tasks to Gemini instead of burning Claude tokens.

• Gemini is excellent for: web research, summarization, data extraction, Q&A
• Save Claude for: complex reasoning, code generation, orchestration

Background Execution: Runs in sub-agent so you don't block main conversation.

Quick Start

1. Install Gemini CLI

brew install gemini-cli

Or via npm:

npm install -g @google/generative-ai-cli

2. Authenticate

Run once interactively to login:

gemini

Follow the authentication flow. API key is stored in:

• ~/clawd/secrets/gemini-api-key.txt (main)
• ~/clawd-spock/secrets/gemini-api-key.txt (spock)

3. Basic Usage

# Simple Q&A
gemini "What is quantum computing?"

# With specific model
gemini --model gemini-3-pro "Explain AI safety"

# JSON output
gemini --output-format json "List top 5 programming languages as JSON"

# From file
gemini --file research-notes.md "Summarize this document"

Research Workflow

When to Use

• Web research queries
• Document summarization
• Data extraction from text
• Comparative analysis
• Literature reviews
• Factual Q&A

When NOT to Use

• Code generation (use Claude)
• Complex multi-step reasoning (use Claude)
• Tasks requiring tool use (use Claude)

Background Sub-Agent Pattern

// Example: Spawn research sub-agent
const research = await spawnSubAgent({
  task: "Research quantum computing breakthroughs in 2025",
  skill: "research",
  background: true
});

// Sub-agent will:
// 1. Use Gemini CLI for research
// 2. Save results to file
// 3. Notify when done
// 4. Return summary

Token Economics

Claude Sonnet 4.5:

• Input: $3 / 1M tokens
• Output: $15 / 1M tokens

Gemini 3 Pro:

• Input: $0.125 / 1M tokens (24x cheaper)
• Output: $0.50 / 1M tokens (30x cheaper)

Example: A 10,000-word research task:

• Claude: ~$0.30
• Gemini: ~$0.01
• Savings: 97%

Available Models

# List available models
gemini --list-models

# Recommended for research:
gemini --model gemini-3-pro "..."           # Best balance
gemini --model gemini-3-flash "..."         # Fast, cheaper
gemini --model gemini-3-pro-vision "..."    # For images

Extensions

# List available extensions
gemini --list-extensions

# Install extension
gemini extensions install <name>

# Manage extensions
gemini extensions list
gemini extensions enable <name>
gemini extensions disable <name>

Tips

1. Batch queries: Combine multiple questions into one prompt
2. Use JSON output: Easier to parse programmatically
3. Save to file: Use --output flag for long responses
4. Check rate limits: Free tier has limits, consider paid tier
5. Keep prompts focused: Better results than vague queries

Safety

• Avoid --yolo flag (disables safety checks)
• Review results before using in production
• Don't expose API keys in logs

Troubleshooting

Not Installed

brew install gemini-cli
# or
npm install -g @google/generative-ai-cli

Auth Issues

# Re-authenticate
gemini --logout
gemini

API Key Missing

Check: ~/clawd/secrets/gemini-api-key.txt Or set: export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Rate Limited

Wait a few minutes or upgrade to paid tier.

Examples

Research Query

gemini "What are the latest developments in quantum computing? Focus on 2025 breakthroughs."

Document Summary

gemini --file paper.pdf "Summarize this research paper in 3 paragraphs"

Comparative Analysis

gemini "Compare Python vs Rust for systems programming. Include pros, cons, and use cases."

Data Extraction

gemini --output-format json "Extract all company names, funding amounts, and dates from this text: ..."

Integration with Clawdbot

This skill is designed to be invoked by Claude when:

1. User requests research
2. Task involves large context (>10k tokens)
3. Background execution is preferred
4. Token savings are important

The sub-agent will handle the research and report back with results.