304-perplexity-research-framework

A written framework for deciding how to conduct research with Perplexity, a tool that searches and summarizes online information. It distinguishes routine research from deeper investigations.

In plain words
What is it for?
It is for scoping research questions, choosing a research depth, and tying research to business impact.
Why use it?
It helps keep research focused and match the research method to the question.

Cursor rule

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/hamzaamjad/cursor-rules/304-perplexity-research-framework
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/hamzaamjad/cursor-rules
Per session 0 Nothing until a file matches its globs; then the whole rule loads.
When invoked 1,154 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.00000 $0.01154
Opus 5 $0.00000 $0.00577
Sonnet 5 $0.00000 $0.00231
Haiku 4.5 $0.00000 $0.00115

Measured yesterday against content hash f9c64b190062, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

304-perplexity-research-framework scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured yesterday.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

rules/300-integration/304-perplexity-research-framework.mdc · 86 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 86 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

\

description: Unified framework for standard and deep research globs: alwaysApply: false

perplexity-research-framework.mdc

  • Purpose: To provide a comprehensive framework for effectively using Perplexity research tools (both standard and deep research) to ensure all research efforts are well-scoped, focused, and directly contribute to high-impact business objectives. Research Impact: Structured research frameworks show 35% improvement in decision quality and 50% reduction in research time.

  • Research Depth Selection:

    • Standard Research (mcp_perplexity-ask_perplexity_research): For routine information needs, verification tasks, or topics with clear parameters.
    • Deep Research: For complex topics requiring synthesis across multiple domains, emerging topics with limited established knowledge, or when comprehensive analysis is needed.
    • Refer to @.cursor/notepads/perplexity-research-framework-details.notepad.md for guidance on selecting depth.
  • Requirements:

    1. Justification & Scoping:

      • Only initiate research when it addresses the top 20% of questions that will deliver 80% of value.
      • Clearly articulate business impact using metrics from @.cursor/rules/80-20-prioritization.mdc.
      • Break complex topics into focused sub-questions, ensuring scope is aligned with task objectives.
      • Verify availability of internal data sources and tools early in the scoping phase.
      • Establish a clear protocol for seeking clarification on task requirements or resource availability at the outset.
      • See Notepad for detailed scoping examples.
    2. Focused Question Formulation:

      • Frame specific, answerable questions rather than broad topics.
      • Use domain-specific terminology and avoid bias in phrasing.
      • Tree of Thoughts Research Pattern:
        • Generate 3 research angles before committing
        • Example for "database optimization":
          1. Performance angle: "Benchmark comparisons of PostgreSQL vs DuckDB"
          2. Architecture angle: "OLTP vs OLAP trade-offs in hybrid systems"
          3. Cost angle: "TCO analysis of managed vs self-hosted databases"
        • Select angle with highest information value
      • Quantitative Query Enhancement:
        • Always request metrics: "with performance benchmarks"
        • Seek comparisons: "compared to industry standards"
        • Time-bound queries: "as of 2024/2025"
      • Refer to @.cursor/notepads/perplexity-research-framework-details.notepad.md for examples.
    3. Output Specification:

      • Specify desired format (e.g., comparison table, list, analysis).
      • Define level of technical detail based on audience.
      • For data-intensive research, request quantitative metrics where available.
      • Refer to @.cursor/notepads/perplexity-research-framework-details.notepad.md for examples.
    4. Citation Review:

      • Critically evaluate sources for relevance, credibility, and timeliness.
      • Prioritize primary sources or reputable secondary sources.
      • For rapidly evolving topics, check source recency.
      • Note potential biases or limitations in major sources.
    5. Actionable Summary:

      • Synthesize findings into concise, decision-oriented summary.
      • Highlight decision points using the 80-20 principle.
      • For analytical research, include quantitative comparisons where possible.
      • Refer to @.cursor/notepads/perplexity-research-framework-details.notepad.md for examples.
    6. Integration:

      • Explicitly state how findings inform next steps following @.cursor/rules/stepwise-autonomy.mdc.
      • Update project plans or code approach based on research.
      • For data analytics workflows, document how research findings influenced implementation choices.
      • Ensure external research findings are integrated with internal knowledge and data to form a holistic view.
      • If research indicates no change is needed, state that with rationale.

Read the full file on GitHub · 86 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. yesterday First seen · 86 lines · 0 tokens per session scan A f9c64b190062

Subscribe to this mod's changes

304-perplexity-research-framework is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository hamzaamjad/cursor-rules (2 stars, last pushed 1y ago), licensed MIT. It costs nothing until one of its globs matches a file; then it loads 1,154 tokens. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-31.