GPT-Researcher Skill

Use this skill to run GPT-Researcher's multi-agent deep research framework locally with OpenAI's GPT-5.2 model.

What is GPT-Researcher?

GPT-Researcher is an autonomous multi-agent research framework that:

• Uses parallel agent execution for faster research
• Researches 100+ sources across the web
• Provides comprehensive citations and source validation
• Benchmarks competitively with ChatGPT Deep Research and Claude Research
• Runs locally with full control over configuration

Default Model: OpenAI GPT-5.2 (latest flagship model, 2025)

GPT-5.2 Highlights:

• Best general-purpose model for complex reasoning and agentic tasks
• Improved instruction following and accuracy over GPT-5.1
• Enhanced code generation and tool calling
• Better context management and token efficiency
• Knowledge cutoff: August 2025

Carnegie Mellon Benchmark (DeepResearchGym, May 2025): GPT-Researcher outperformed Perplexity, OpenAI Deep Research, and other tools on:

• Citation quality
• Report quality
• Information coverage

When to Use This Skill

Use GPT-Researcher for deep research tasks in the podcast episode workflow:

1. Phase 3: Industry & Technical Research (replaces ChatGPT Deep Research browser automation)
2. Phase 3: Comprehensive Synthesis (alternative to Claude Deep Research)
3. Any multi-dimensional research requiring parallel information gathering

Advantages over browser automation:

• No Chrome/browser required
• Fully scriptable and reproducible
• Choose any LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
• Run in background or CI/CD pipelines
• Complete control over configuration

Installation

This skill requires uv, a fast Python package manager:

# Install uv (if not already installed)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Install dependencies
cd /Users/valorengels/src/research/podcast/tools
uv pip install gpt-researcher langchain-openai python-dotenv

Configuration

API keys are stored in /Users/valorengels/.env and auto-loaded via ~/.zshenv for all shells.

Required for default:

• OPENAI_API_KEY - For GPT-5.2, GPT-5.2-Pro, etc.

Optional providers:

• OPENROUTER_API_KEY - Unified access to 400+ models
• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY - Claude Opus, Sonnet
• XAI_API_KEY - Grok models

Usage

Basic Usage (GPT-5.2)

cd /Users/valorengels/src/research/podcast/tools
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "Your research prompt here"

This uses GPT-5.2 by default - OpenAI's latest and most capable general-purpose model.

Read Prompt from File

cd /Users/valorengels/src/research/podcast/tools
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py --file ../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/prompt.txt

Save to File

uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --output results.md

Specify Different Model

# Use GPT-5.2-Pro for harder thinking (more compute)
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:gpt-5.2-pro

# Use GPT-5-Mini for cost-optimized research
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:gpt-5-mini

# Use Anthropic Claude Opus 4
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model anthropic:claude-opus-4

# Use OpenRouter for any model
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.5

Report Types

# Standard research report (default, 6-10 min)
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --report-type research_report

# Detailed comprehensive report (10-20 min)
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --report-type detailed_report

# Quick report (3-5 min, fewer sources)
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --report-type quick_report

Integration with Podcast Workflow

Phase 3: Industry & Technical Research

Replaces: ChatGPT Deep Research browser automation

Use Case: Industry reports, technical documentation, case studies

cd podcast/tools
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py --file ../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/phase3_prompt.txt \
    --model openai:gpt-5.2 \
    --report-type research_report \
    --output ../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/research-results-industry.md

Expected time: 6-10 minutes Output: Research report with 50-100+ sources, industry and technical focus

Phase 3: Comprehensive Synthesis

Use Case: Deep multi-dimensional research with comprehensive synthesis

cd podcast/tools
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py --file ../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/phase3_prompt.txt \
    --model openai:gpt-5.2 \
    --report-type detailed_report \
    --output ../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/research-results-comprehensive.md

Expected time: 10-20 minutes Output: Comprehensive report with 100+ sources, multi-agent synthesis

Using GPT-5.2-Pro for Complex Problems

For particularly challenging research that requires deeper thinking:

cd podcast/tools
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py --file ../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/prompt.txt \
    --model openai:gpt-5.2-pro \
    --report-type detailed_report \
    --output ../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/research-results-pro.md

Expected time: 15-25 minutes Output: Highest quality research with extended reasoning

Output Format

The script outputs markdown-formatted research with:

• Header: Date, model, prompt
• Research report: Comprehensive findings with structure
• Citations: Inline citations with source URLs
• Sources: List of sources researched

Example output structure:

# GPT-Researcher Results

**Date:** 2025-12-14 14:30

**Model:** openai:gpt-5.2

**Prompt:** Research early childhood educator burnout interventions

---

## Executive Summary
[Comprehensive overview]

## Key Findings
[Detailed findings with citations]

## Methodology Considerations
[Study quality notes]

## Sources
[List of 100+ sources with URLs]

Why GPT-5.2 for Research?

OpenAI's GPT-5.2 is their latest flagship model optimized for:

• Complex reasoning - Multi-step analysis and synthesis
• Research tasks - Information gathering and validation
• Agentic workflows - Tool calling and context management
• Accuracy - Improved instruction following and token efficiency
• Code generation - Especially front-end UI creation
• Multimodality - Enhanced vision capabilities

This makes it ideal for deep research compared to previous models.

Model comparison:

• gpt-5.2: Best for complex reasoning and comprehensive research
• gpt-5.2-pro: Best for hardest problems requiring extended thinking
• gpt-5-mini: Best for cost-optimized research
• claude-opus-4: Best for synthesis and writing quality

Comparison: GPT-Researcher vs ChatGPT Deep Research

Feature	GPT-Researcher (Local)	ChatGPT Deep Research (Browser)
Model	GPT-5.2 (latest)	ChatGPT (whatever's enabled)
Control	Full local control	Browser automation
Setup	API key only	Chrome + auth + browser automation
Reliability	High (API)	Medium (UI changes)
Sources analyzed	100+	25-50
Processing time	6-20 min	5-10 min
Cost	Pay-per-use (~$0.27-2)	$200/mo subscription
Headless	Yes	No (needs browser)
Maintenance	Low	High (UI changes)
Benchmark	CMU winner	Commercial

Decision: GPT-Researcher with GPT-5.2 replaces ChatGPT Deep Research browser automation.

Advanced Usage

Environment Variables

GPT-Researcher uses these environment variables (set in .env):

# Required: At least one API key
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...
XAI_API_KEY=...

# Optional: Override via --model flag
FAST_LLM=openai:gpt-5.2          # Quick tasks
SMART_LLM=openai:gpt-5.2         # Deep analysis
STRATEGIC_LLM=openai:gpt-5.2     # Planning

# Optional: Search provider
RETRIEVER=tavily  # Default (best quality)
# or: duckduckgo (free fallback)

Custom Model Selection

# Latest OpenAI GPT-5 family (2025)
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:gpt-5.2          # Best for research
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:gpt-5.2-pro      # Harder thinking
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:gpt-5-mini       # Cost-optimized
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:gpt-5-nano       # High-throughput

# Legacy OpenAI models
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:o1               # Legacy reasoning
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openai:gpt-4o           # Legacy multimodal

# Anthropic Claude
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model anthropic:claude-opus-4
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model anthropic:claude-sonnet-4

# Via OpenRouter (single API key for all)
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openrouter/openai/gpt-5.2
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.5
uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "prompt" --model openrouter/x-ai/grok-4

Troubleshooting

Error: "No API keys found"

• Check .env files exist in root or podcast/tools/
• Ensure OPENAI_API_KEY is set for default GPT-5.2 model
• Verify .env format: KEY=value (no spaces around =)

Error: "gpt-researcher not installed"

• Run: cd podcast/tools && uv pip install gpt-researcher langchain-openai python-dotenv
• Or ensure you're using: uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py (auto-installs dependencies)

Research times out or fails

• Try --report-type quick_report for faster results
• Check API key has sufficient credits
• Verify OpenAI API key is valid
• Use --model openai:gpt-5-mini for faster/cheaper alternative

Model not found

• For OpenRouter models, use format: openrouter/provider/model
• Check model names at https://openrouter.ai/models
• For native providers, use format: provider:model

GPT-5.2 model errors

• Ensure you have access to GPT-5.2 in your OpenAI account
• Fallback to --model openai:gpt-5-mini if GPT-5.2 unavailable
• Check OpenAI API status page

Example Commands

Basic research with GPT-5.2:

uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py "Research quantum computing applications in healthcare"

From file with output:

uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py \
  --file research-prompt.txt \
  --output results.md

Industry research (typical Phase 3):

uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py \
  --file ../episodes/episode-dir/prompt.txt \
  --model openai:gpt-5.2 \
  --report-type research_report \
  --output ../episodes/episode-dir/research-industry.md

Hardest problems with GPT-5.2-Pro:

uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py \
  --file prompt.txt \
  --model openai:gpt-5.2-pro \
  --report-type detailed_report \
  --output results-pro.md

Cost-optimized with GPT-5-Mini:

uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py \
  --file prompt.txt \
  --model openai:gpt-5-mini \
  --report-type quick_report \
  --output results-mini.md

Comprehensive with Claude:

uv run python gpt_researcher_run.py \
  --file prompt.txt \
  --model anthropic:claude-opus-4 \
  --report-type detailed_report \
  --output results-comprehensive.md

Notes

• Default model: OpenAI GPT-5.2 (latest flagship, 2025)
• Processing time: Budget 6-20 minutes for comprehensive research
• API costs: Typically $0.27-2 per research session (varies by model and sources)
• Quality: Competitive with ChatGPT Deep Research on benchmarks
• Local execution: Runs on your machine, full control over configuration
• No browser required: Pure API-based, works in any environment
• Replaces: ChatGPT Deep Research browser automation (deprecated)
• Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5.2 has August 2025 cutoff (most current)

Further Reading

• OpenAI GPT-5.2 Documentation
• GPT-Researcher Framework
• Carnegie Mellon Benchmark Results