Parallel Deep Research

Comprehensive research reports with multi-source synthesis. Use pro (3-9 min, $0.10) or ultra (5-25 min, $0.30) for deep analysis.

CLI alternative (recommended): Install parallel-cli for official skill: npx skills add parallel-web/parallel-agent-skills --skill parallel-deep-research

Setup

API_KEY=$(grep "^PARALLEL_API_KEY=" .env.local | cut -d= -f2)

Create Research Task

curl -s -X POST "https://api.parallel.ai/v1/tasks/runs" \
  -H "x-api-key: $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input": "Analyze the AI chatbot market. Include: size, growth, key players, trends, competitive threats",
    "processor": "pro"
  }'

Response: {"run_id": "trun_abc123...", "status": "queued"}

Get Result (polling)

The result endpoint returns both status and output in one call. Poll until status is completed.

RUN_ID="trun_abc123..."
MAX_POLLS=180  # 30 min max (180 × 10s)

for i in $(seq 1 $MAX_POLLS); do
  RESULT=$(curl -s "https://api.parallel.ai/v1/tasks/runs/$RUN_ID/result" \
    -H "x-api-key: $API_KEY")

  STATUS=$(echo "$RESULT" | grep -o '"status":"[^"]*"' | head -1 | cut -d'"' -f4)

  if [ "$STATUS" = "completed" ]; then
    echo "$RESULT"
    break
  elif [ "$STATUS" = "failed" ]; then
    echo "Task failed: $RESULT"
    break
  fi

  echo "Poll $i/$MAX_POLLS — Status: $STATUS"
  sleep 10
done

if [ "$i" = "$MAX_POLLS" ] && [ "$STATUS" != "completed" ] && [ "$STATUS" != "failed" ]; then
  echo "Timeout: task did not complete within 30 minutes"
fi

Processors

Processor	Speed	Cost	Use For
pro	3-9 min	$0.10/task	Market analysis, strategic reports
ultra	5-25 min	$0.30/task	Comprehensive deep research

Example: Market Analysis

{
  "input": "Analyze the AI chip market in 2024. Include market size, growth rate, key players (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel), emerging competitors, and 2025 outlook.",
  "processor": "pro"
}

Result: Markdown report with citations.

When to Use

• Market research and competitive analysis
• Strategic reports requiring multiple sources
• Research that needs synthesis across many documents
• Any task that would need more than 3-4 web searches to answer properly

For quick facts or single-source lookups, use built-in WebSearch instead.

Timeout

Set polling timeout to 1800s (30 min) for ultra tasks. Pro tasks typically complete in 3-9 min.