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Research-OS

An agentic research engineering ecosystem for Claude Code

Research-OS is an orchestration system built on top of Claude Code that combines rigorous research planning with spec- and test-driven engineering. It provides a structured workflow for transforming research ideas into fully implemented, production-ready code through spec- and test-driven development principles with sophisticated context engineering.

Overview

Research-OS separates the cognitive work of research planning from the execution work of engineering implementation through two specialized, marketplace-compatible plugins that can be used independently or together:

• Researcher Plugin: Focuses on hypothesis development, literature review, and experiment planning
• Engineer Plugin: Handles spec-driven development with implementation and verification workflows

This separation enables:

• Clear distinction between "what to build" (research) and "how to build it" (engineering)
• Reusable research artifacts that inform multiple implementations
• Professional development practices with automated verification
• Sophisticated context engineering through standards and templates

Key Features

🔬 Research-First Development

• Systematic hypothesis refinement and validation
• Comprehensive literature review and related work analysis
• Experiment roadmap with dependency tracking
• Mission-driven project planning

🏗️ Spec-Driven Implementation

• Requirements gathering with visual asset support
• Detailed specification generation
• Strategic task breakdown with agent assignments
• Automated verification and testing

🤖 Multi-Agent Orchestration

• 19 specialized agents across research and engineering domains
• Intelligent task delegation based on agent expertise
• Parallel execution for independent tasks
• Context passing between agents via file artifacts

📐 Standards & Quality

• Customizable coding standards and conventions
• Automatic code quality checks (via ruff)
• Test-driven development support
• Comprehensive documentation at every phase

Installation

Research-OS is compatible with the Claude Code marketplace and plugin system. Add this marketplace to Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add wielandbrendel/research-os

Then browse and install individual plugins (commands or agents):

/plugin

For more details on the Claude Code plugin system, see the official documentation

Usage

Phase 0: Idea Brainstorming (Optional but Recommended)

Start by brainstorming and refining your initial research idea:

Step 1: Create research-os/project/idea.md with your initial research concept:

# Initial Research Idea

[Your research idea, hypothesis, or problem statement]

Step 2: Run the brainstorm command:

/brainstorm

This iterative refinement command will:

1. Assess your idea: Perform extensive related work research and create a critical assessment
2. Refine the assessment: Verify claims and focus on substantive concerns
3. Present key questions: Extract the 3 most crucial questions with context and potential approaches
4. Update your idea: Incorporate your responses to improve idea.md

Output is created in research-os/project/:

• idea.md - Your refined research idea (updated after each iteration)
• assessment.md - Critical assessment with strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations
• research-journal.md - Related work exploration and searches

Iterate: Run /brainstorm multiple times to progressively refine your research concept. Each iteration deepens the analysis and sharpens the focus.

When satisfied with your refined idea, proceed to full research planning with /plan-research.

Phase 1: Research Planning

Develop your comprehensive research vision with the Researcher plugin:

/plan-research

This comprehensive command will:

1. Guide you through iterative hypothesis refinement
2. Research related work and existing solutions
3. Create a compelling mission statement
4. Generate an experiment roadmap with phases
5. Document technical requirements

Output is created in research-os/project/:

• research-journal.md - Iterative refinement history
• related-work.md - Literature review and analysis
• mission.md - Project vision and goals
• roadmap.md - Phased experiment plan
• tech-stack.md - Technical requirements

Phase 2: Engineering Implementation

Use the Engineer plugin to implement your research vision:

1. Initialize a new artifact

/new-artifact [feature-description]

• Gathers requirements through targeted questions
• Processes visual references if provided
• Creates initial planning documentation

2. Create detailed specifications

/create-artifact

• Analyzes requirements and context
• Generates comprehensive spec.md
• Creates strategic tasks.md with agent assignments