# Research Agent Max

Dual-system research plugin. Produces rigorous, multi-method, fitness-gated research with an independent epistemic audit.

## Architecture

This is a **single plugin with two structurally isolated systems**:

- **Research Agent Max (RAM)** -- the producer. 8 component skills that type claims, retrieve across multiple corpora, screen source integrity, orchestrate parallel disciplines, run adversarial disconfirmation, govern warrant-based stopping, and emit three-axis confidence output.
- **Evaluator** -- the auditor. 9 component skills that verify plugin-level isolation, host independent epistemic frames, detect frame-divergence, run multi-level audit methods, map blind spots, score independently, enforce self-audit resistance, lock audit charters, and enforce reopen authority over RAM.

RAM and Evaluator share **no** library, state namespace, retrieval surface, or router. This is a non-negotiable architectural invariant, verified at packaging time.

## Commands

### Top-level (user-facing)

- `/research <question>` -- run the full research pipeline (RAM produces; Evaluator audits; reopen loop closes)
- `/research-status` -- show live status of an in-flight research run
- `/research-abort` -- operator-requested halt (NOT a stopping warrant)

### RAM subsystem

- `/ram-research <question>` -- RAM-only producer run (no Evaluator audit)
- `/ram-charter <question>` -- type claims and issue a charter without running retrieval/orchestration
- `/ram-stop` -- request RAM stop (S6 evaluates warrant gates)

### Evaluator subsystem

- `/eval-audit <ram-run-id>` -- audit a RAM run in isolation
- `/eval-charter` -- lock an audit charter (scope + frame + budget) before running the audit
- `/eval-abort` -- operator-requested audit halt

## Skills

20 skills total: 3 coordinators (top-level-loop, ram-router, evaluator-router) + 8 RAM components + 9 Evaluator components.

See `skills/` for the full directory.

## Architectural Commitments

- No partial coverage. Stacked-intent questions invoke every implicated method.
- Isolated Evaluator library. Zero file-path, content, or state overlap with RAM.
- Multi-method orchestration by default. Single-method is a justified exception.
- Warrant-based stopping. Never volume floors or time caps.
- Evaluator reopen authority. RAM cannot override.
- Three-axis confidence: evidence, transportability, decision. Never collapsed.
- Visible methodology. Every method, search, and rejection is in the ledger.

## Deliverables

Every `/research` (and `/ram-research`) run emits the audit-ready artifact **plus a companion `source-page.txt`**: a naked list of the links for the sources the research **kept**, one per line, no labels or sections. Discarded sources never appear. It is built to be selected and pasted straight into a notebook to seed it with exactly the vetted sources. Full spec: `skills/ram-epistemic-output-layer/references/SOURCE_PAGE_RENDER_SPEC.md`.

## Version

1.1.0 -- adds the kept-source Source Page deliverable (`source-page.txt`). No other behavior changed.

## Author

Corey McClain
