johnlindquist / johnlindquist/mdflow
feat: Self-correcting research loop with into.md
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 604
- Forks
- 43
- PR merge metrics
- No merged PRs in 30d
Description
Summary
Create a self-correcting research loop where agents can search the web, read results via into.md, and refine their answers - enabling RAG-like capabilities without a vector database.
Concept
---
harness: claude
research: true # Enable web research mode
---
What are the best practices for React Server Components in 2024?
# Agent behavior:
# 1. Generate search queries based on the question
# 2. Fetch top results via into.md
# 3. Synthesize answer from sources
# 4. Optionally: identify knowledge gaps and repeat
How It Would Work
- Agent generates search queries (via tool call or structured output)
- Execute search (via existing search tools or new integration)
- For each result URL, fetch through into.md
- Feed converted markdown back to agent as context
- Agent synthesizes final answer with citations
- Optional: agent identifies gaps, requests more searches
Architecture Options
Option A: Built-in Research Mode
research:
enabled: true
max_searches: 3
sources_per_search: 5
synthesize: true
Option B: Research Agent Template
Provide a RESEARCHER.md agent that users can chain:
ma RESEARCHER.md "React Server Components best practices" | ma SUMMARIZER.md
Option C: Tool Integration
Expose into.md as a tool the agent can call:
Agent: I need to look up the React docs
Tool call: fetch_url("https://react.dev/reference/rsc/...")
Tool result: [converted markdown]
Agent: Based on the docs, here's the answer...
Use Cases
- Technical Research: Deep dives with source citations
- Fact Checking: Verify claims against live sources
- Trend Analysis: What's the current state of X?
- Documentation Q&A: Answer questions from live docs
Implementation Notes
- This is a higher-level feature building on URL imports
- Requires search integration (Google, Bing, or existing MCP tools)
- Token management crucial - sources can be large
- Need to track and cite sources in output
Questions for Discussion
- Which search provider to integrate with?
- How to handle token limits when sources are large?
- Should this be a core feature or a separate "research" harness?
- How to format citations in output?
Related
This is part of exploring into.md integration opportunities. Builds on:
- URL imports feature
- Command inlines feature
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
The issue names no files or tests. Start by reviewing the existing URL imports and command inlines features, then compare the three proposed architectures and resolve the search provider, token limits, citation format, and feature ownership. Done means a selected design with defined behavior and implementation scope.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- markdown, typescript
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100