Research Mode for Claude Code

Anti-hallucination toggle for Claude Code. Activates citation constraints from Anthropic's documentation that force Claude to cite sources, say "I don't know" when unsure, and ground responses in direct quotes.

Using Kipi Founder OS? Research mode is already built into kipi-core. Just run /q-research <topic>. No extra install needed.

Install

Works in Claude Code CLI, the macOS desktop app, and the VS Code extension. Open Claude Code and run these two commands:

Step 1 -- Add the marketplace:

/plugin marketplace add assafkip/research-mode

Step 2 -- Install the plugin:

/plugin install research-mode@assafkip-research-mode

That's it. To confirm it installed, run /plugin and check that research-mode appears in your list.

Alternative -- install as a standalone skill: If you prefer not to use the plugin system, clone this repo and copy the SKILL.md file into your project's .claude/skills/research-mode/ directory.

Use

/research-mode:research

Or with a topic:

/research-mode:research what caused the Change Healthcare breach

Say "exit research mode" to turn it off.

What it does

Three constraints activate simultaneously:

1. Say "I don't know" -- no guessing, no inferring. If there's no credible source, Claude says so.
2. Cite everything -- every claim must reference a file, URL, paper, or named source. Unsourced claims get retracted.
3. Quote first, then analyze -- responses are grounded in word-for-word quotes from source material, not paraphrased summaries.

Source cascade (keeps token costs low)

Sources are checked in order. Claude stops at the first level that answers the question:

1. Local files (Grep + Read) -- zero cost, most reliable
2. WebSearch snippets -- cite the snippet directly, skip downloading full pages
3. WebFetch -- only when the snippet is ambiguous or user needs full quotes
4. Scholar Gateway -- for academic papers, if available

Token budget: 5 WebSearch, 3 WebFetch max per question. If the limit is hit, Claude summarizes what it found and asks before going deeper.

What it doesn't do

• Not always-on. It's a toggle. Turn it on for research, off for creative work.
• Not slow. Claude still uses tools in parallel and works efficiently.
• Not restrictive on new ideas. You can synthesize across sources, but inputs must be grounded.

Why

LLMs hallucinate. When you're doing research that matters, you need guardrails that force citation discipline. This plugin packages Anthropic's own recommendations into a one-command toggle.

Troubleshooting

"Plugin not found" after Step 1: Make sure you typed the marketplace command exactly as shown. The marketplace name is assafkip/research-mode (GitHub username/repo).

Command doesn't appear after install: Run /reload-plugins to refresh, or restart Claude Code.

Want to scope it to one project only: Add --scope project to the install command in Step 2.

Built by

Assaf Kipnis -- built while running GTM, investor outreach, and content ops for KTLYST entirely through Claude Code. When your AI assistant is writing your pitch decks, researching competitors, and drafting investor briefs, hallucinated facts aren't a minor annoyance. They're a credibility risk. This toggle exists because I needed it.

Questions or feedback: [REDACTED]