@companion-ai/feynman 0.5.1 → 0.5.2

package/.feynman/agents/researcher.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ thinking: high
 tools: read, write, edit, bash, grep, find, ls, web_search, fetch_content, get_search_content, feynman_science_database_search, hf_dataset_info, hf_repo_files, hf_repo_read_file
 output: research.md
 defaultProgress: true
+async: true
 ---
 
 You are Feynman's evidence-gathering subagent.

package/.feynman/agents/verifier.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ thinking: medium
 tools: read, bash, grep, find, ls, write, edit, web_search, fetch_content, get_search_content, feynman_science_database_search
 output: cited.md
 defaultProgress: true
+async: true
 ---
 
 You are Feynman's verifier agent.

package/RELEASES.md

@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ GitHub release notes are generated from the matching `## vX.Y.Z` section in this
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+## v0.5.2 - 2026-09-23
+
+### Faster, cheaper research runs
+
+- OpenAlex exact searches (`openalex_search_works`, citations, references, authors, venues) now return at most the tool's `limit` (default 5, max 20) instead of 50-100 full records; an explicit `max_records` is capped at 50. In live `/lit` runs these results were 100-240 KB per call and drove most of the multi-million-token usage.
+- The `researcher` and `verifier` subagents run in the background by default, where they get Feynman's web and literature tools. Foreground launches of these agents failed and had to be retried.
+- `alpha_ask_paper` now states it takes arXiv and alphaXiv papers only, and points DOI-only papers to `fetch_content` or Europe PMC full text.
+
 ## v0.5.1 - 2026-09-23
 
 ### Telemetry

package/extensions/research-tools/alpha.ts

@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ export function registerAlphaTools(pi: ExtensionAPI): void {
 	pi.registerTool({
 		name: "alpha_ask_paper",
 		label: "Alpha Ask Paper",
-		description: "Ask a targeted question about a paper. Uses AI to analyze the PDF and answer.",
+		description: "Ask a targeted question about an arXiv or alphaXiv paper. Uses AI to analyze the PDF and answer. DOI-only papers are not supported; read those with fetch_content on the open-access PDF or Europe PMC full text.",
 		parameters: Type.Object({
 			paper: Type.String({ description: "arXiv ID, arXiv URL, or alphaXiv URL." }),
 			question: Type.String({ description: "Question about the paper." }),

package/extensions/research-tools/science-database-openalex-exact.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-const MAX_EXACT_RECORDS = 500;
+const MAX_EXACT_RECORDS = 50;
 const REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 25_000;
 const OPENALEX_BASE = "https://api.openalex.org";
 const OPEN_ABSTRACT_LICENSES = new Set(["cc-by", "cc-by-sa", "cc0", "public-domain"]);
@@ -461,9 +461,9 @@ async function fetchWorkById(workId: string): Promise<{
 	};
 }
 
-async function exactWorkSearch(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+async function exactWorkSearch(query: string, commandQuery: string, defaultLimit?: number): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
 	const parsed = parseKeyValueQuery(commandQuery);
-	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), 50);
+	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), defaultLimit ?? 50);
 	const url = endpointPath("/works");
 	if (parsed.text) url.searchParams.set("search", parsed.text);
 	const filters: string[] = [];
@@ -518,12 +518,12 @@ async function exactGetWork(query: string, workId: string): Promise<Record<strin
 	}, "openalex_get_work", query, resolved.endpoints, resolved.credentialStatus);
 }
 
-async function exactCitations(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+async function exactCitations(query: string, commandQuery: string, defaultLimit?: number): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
 	const parsed = parseKeyValueQuery(commandQuery);
 	const workInput = parsed.text;
 	if (!workInput) throw new Error("openalex_citations requires an OpenAlex work id or DOI.");
 	const resolved = await fetchWorkById(workInput);
-	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), 50);
+	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), defaultLimit ?? 50);
 	const url = endpointPath("/works");
 	url.searchParams.set("filter", `cites:${resolved.workId}`);
 	const sort = exactSearchSort(parsed.flags.sort ?? "cited_by_count", false);
@@ -545,11 +545,11 @@ async function exactCitations(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Reco
 	}, "openalex_citations", query, [...resolved.endpoints, result.endpoint], result.credentialStatus);
 }
 
-async function exactReferences(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+async function exactReferences(query: string, commandQuery: string, defaultLimit?: number): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
 	const parsed = parseKeyValueQuery(commandQuery);
 	if (!parsed.text) throw new Error("openalex_references requires an OpenAlex work id or DOI.");
 	const resolved = await fetchWorkById(parsed.text);
-	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), 100);
+	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), defaultLimit ?? 100);
 	const referenceIds = arrayValue(resolved.payload.referenced_works).map(shortOpenAlexId).filter((id): id is string => Boolean(id));
 	const selected = referenceIds.slice(0, maxRecords);
 	const endpoints = [...resolved.endpoints];
@@ -581,10 +581,10 @@ async function exactReferences(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Rec
 	}, "openalex_references", query, endpoints, credentialStatus);
 }
 
-async function exactSearchAuthors(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+async function exactSearchAuthors(query: string, commandQuery: string, defaultLimit?: number): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
 	const parsed = parseKeyValueQuery(commandQuery);
 	if (!parsed.text) throw new Error("openalex_search_authors requires a name query.");
-	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), 25);
+	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), defaultLimit ?? 25);
 	const url = endpointPath("/authors");
 	url.searchParams.set("search", parsed.text);
 	url.searchParams.set("per-page", String(Math.min(maxRecords, 200)));
@@ -625,7 +625,7 @@ async function exactGetAuthor(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Reco
 	}, "openalex_get_author", query, [result.endpoint, works.endpoint], works.credentialStatus);
 }
 
-async function exactVenueInfo(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+async function exactVenueInfo(query: string, commandQuery: string, defaultLimit?: number): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
 	const parsed = parseKeyValueQuery(commandQuery);
 	const venue = parsed.text;
 	if (!venue) throw new Error("openalex_venue_info requires a source id, ISSN, or venue name.");
@@ -640,7 +640,7 @@ async function exactVenueInfo(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Reco
 			records: [row],
 		}, "openalex_venue_info", query, [result.endpoint], result.credentialStatus);
 	}
-	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), 10);
+	const maxRecords = safeExactLimit(numberValue(parsed.flags.max_records), defaultLimit ?? 10);
 	const url = endpointPath("/sources");
 	url.searchParams.set("search", venue);
 	url.searchParams.set("per-page", String(Math.min(maxRecords, 200)));
@@ -657,15 +657,15 @@ async function exactVenueInfo(query: string, commandQuery: string): Promise<Reco
 	}, "openalex_venue_info", query, [result.endpoint], result.credentialStatus);
 }
 
-export async function searchExactOpenAlex(query: string): Promise<Record<string, unknown> | undefined> {
+export async function searchExactOpenAlex(query: string, defaultLimit?: number): Promise<Record<string, unknown> | undefined> {
 	const command = exactCommand(query);
 	if (!command) return undefined;
-	if (command.name === "openalex_search_works") return exactWorkSearch(query, command.rest);
+	if (command.name === "openalex_search_works") return exactWorkSearch(query, command.rest, defaultLimit);
 	if (command.name === "openalex_get_work") return exactGetWork(query, command.rest);
-	if (command.name === "openalex_citations") return exactCitations(query, command.rest);
-	if (command.name === "openalex_references") return exactReferences(query, command.rest);
-	if (command.name === "openalex_search_authors") return exactSearchAuthors(query, command.rest);
+	if (command.name === "openalex_citations") return exactCitations(query, command.rest, defaultLimit);
+	if (command.name === "openalex_references") return exactReferences(query, command.rest, defaultLimit);
+	if (command.name === "openalex_search_authors") return exactSearchAuthors(query, command.rest, defaultLimit);
 	if (command.name === "openalex_get_author") return exactGetAuthor(query, command.rest);
-	if (command.name === "openalex_venue_info") return exactVenueInfo(query, command.rest);
+	if (command.name === "openalex_venue_info") return exactVenueInfo(query, command.rest, defaultLimit);
 	return undefined;
 }

package/extensions/research-tools/science-database-openalex.ts

@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ async function resolveDoiWork(doiWorkId: string): Promise<{
 export async function searchOpenAlex(params: SearchParams): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
 	const query = cleanQuery(params.query);
 	const limit = safeLimit(params.limit);
-	const exact = await searchExactOpenAlex(query);
+	const exact = await searchExactOpenAlex(query, limit);
 	if (exact) return exact;
 	if (/^rate-limit$/i.test(query)) {
 		if (!openAlexApiKey()) {

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@companion-ai/feynman",
-  "version": "0.5.1",
+  "version": "0.5.2",
   "description": "Research-first CLI agent built on Pi and alphaXiv",
   "license": "MIT",
   "type": "module",