POST /v1/research
AI-powered deep research across the web
Multi-source research with citations, fully automated.
webclaw's /v1/research endpoint takes a research question, finds relevant sources, reads them, cross-references facts, and returns a synthesized answer with citations. Perfect for building research agents, competitive intelligence tools, or automated knowledge base updates.
The problem
Manual research means copying URLs, pasting content into a document, and hoping nothing was missed. Simple search-and-summarize is shallow and misses context across sources. Building a real research agent requires chaining many APIs and handling edge cases.
The webclaw solution
One endpoint takes a question, plans research, executes multi-hop web searches, reads sources with automatic bot bypass, synthesizes findings, and returns structured output with citations. Async job model means long-running research does not block your application.
Why webclaw for deep research
- Single endpoint replaces chaining search, scrape, and LLM APIs
- Multi-hop reasoning across multiple sources
- Structured output with citations and source URLs
- Async job model for long-running research
- Works on bot-protected sites that other tools cannot reach
Code example
TypeScript — deep research
import { Webclaw } from "@webclaw/sdk";
const wc = new Webclaw({ apiKey: "wc_..." });
// Start async research job
const job = await wc.research.create({
query: "What are the latest developments in Rust async runtimes in 2026?",
maxSources: 15,
depth: "deep",
});
// Poll for results
const result = await wc.research.wait(job.id);
console.log(result.summary); // Synthesized answer
console.log(result.sources); // URLs with snippets
console.log(result.citations); // Inline citation referenceswebclaw features for this use case
- Multi-hop web search and scraping
- Synthesized answers with citations
- Async job model
- Configurable depth and source count
- Works on bot-protected sources
Frequently asked questions
How does webclaw research compare to a normal LLM with web search?
Standard LLM web search typically reads 1-3 top results and summarizes them. webclaw research performs multi-hop reasoning, follows links, reads 10-30 sources, cross-references facts, and handles bot-protected sites. Output includes full source URLs and citations.
Can I use webclaw research for competitive intelligence?
Yes. Point the research endpoint at questions like 'What features did competitor X ship in Q1 2026?' and it will search, read changelogs, blog posts, and release notes, then return a synthesized timeline with source citations.
How long does a research job take?
Shallow research (5 sources) typically completes in 20-60 seconds. Deep research (15-30 sources) can take 2-5 minutes. Both run as async jobs so your application does not block waiting.