adeelahmad · Oct 18, 2026 · Oct 18, 2026 · Oct 18, 2026 · Oct 18, 2026 · Oct 18, 2026
diff --git a/ci/clicks/baseline-phone.json b/ci/clicks/baseline-phone.json
diff --git a/ci/clicks/baseline.json b/ci/clicks/baseline.json
diff --git a/ci/clicks/fake-model.mjs b/ci/clicks/fake-model.mjs
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 // A stand-in OpenAI-compatible model server, so the journeys that need a model (the install wizard finding one, the
 // setup wizard testing one, the assistant answering) run without a real one. Every answer is the same short reply,
-// except that the assistant asked the same again (an answer regenerated) says which version it's writing, and a
-// conversation's title (asked for after its first answer) is its first question's words, as a real model's would be.
+// except that the assistant asked the same again (an answer regenerated) says which version it's writing, a
+// conversation's title (asked for after its first answer) is its first question's words, as a real model's would be,
+// and deep research gets a plan for its goal.
 import http from "node:http";
 
 const REPLY = "This is the survey's stand-in model answering.";
@@ -20,6 +21,26 @@ function title(payload) {
   return question.trim().replace(/[?.!]+$/, "").split(/\s+/).slice(0, 8).join(" ") || "A conversation";
 }
 
+/** Structured output: a research plan for a deep research goal ("Goal: ..."), with no questions to answer first, so
+ * it can be approved as it is; an empty object for anything else, which satisfies most schemas' optional fields. */
+function structured(payload) {
+  const system = (payload.messages ?? []).find((m) => m.role === "system")?.content;
+  if (typeof system !== "string" || !system.startsWith("You plan deep research")) return "{}";
+  const said = String((payload.messages ?? []).find((m) => m.role === "user")?.content ?? "");
+  const goal = said.match(/^Goal: (.*)$/m)?.[1]?.trim() || "Research";
+  return JSON.stringify({
+    questions: [],
+    plan: {
+      title: goal.replace(/[?.!]+$/, ""),
+      goal,
+      sub_questions: ["What was said about it?", "Who said it?", "What is still open?"],
+      sources: ["archive"],
+      max_tool_calls: 3,
+      report_outline: ["What was said", "What is still open"],
+    },
+  });
+}
+
 function reply(payload) {
   const system = (payload.messages ?? []).find((m) => m.role === "system")?.content;
   if (typeof system === "string" && system.startsWith("You title conversations")) return title(payload);
@@ -72,8 +93,7 @@ export function startFakeModel(port) {
           res.write(chunk({}, "stop"));
           return res.end("data: [DONE]\n\n");
         }
-        // structured output: an empty object satisfies most schemas' optional fields
-        const content = payload.response_format ? "{}" : reply(payload);
+        const content = payload.response_format ? structured(payload) : reply(payload);
         return json(200, {
           id: "survey",
           object: "chat.completion",

diff --git a/ci/clicks/journeys.mjs b/ci/clicks/journeys.mjs
@@ -795,6 +795,33 @@ export const JOURNEYS = [
       await page.getByRole("button", { name: /^Tools: \d+ picked · 10 calls\. / }).waitFor();
     },
   },
+  {
+    id: "chat-research",
+    ns: "podcasts",
+    module: "Chat",
+    feature: "Research a goal, approve its plan and save the report as a note",
+    note: "A new conversation in one namespace: the Deep research switch beside the composer, the goal and Enter; the plan comes back as a card to approve (Approve, or Enter in it), then the run's progress, then the cited report with Save as note. The stand-in model plans three sub-questions without asking anything first.",
+    from: "/",
+    async run(ctx) {
+      const { page, meter } = ctx;
+      await go(ctx, "Chat");
+      const question = page.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Your question" });
+      // A phone's Chat opens on the list of conversations once there is one
+      if (!(await question.waitFor({ timeout: 3000 }).then(() => true, () => false)))
+        await meter.click(page.getByRole("button", { name: "New conversation" }), "New conversation");
+      await meter.click(page.getByRole("button", { name: "Deep research", exact: true }), "Deep research");
+      await meter.type(question, "What was said about Raspberry Pi?", "the goal");
+      await meter.press("Enter", "Enter to plan it");
+      const plan = page.getByRole("form", { name: "Research plan" });
+      await plan.waitFor({ timeout: 60000 });
+      await meter.click(plan.getByRole("button", { name: "Approve", exact: true }), "Approve");
+      // it runs in the background: the progress card, then the report and what can be done with it
+      const actions = page.getByRole("group", { name: "Report actions" });
+      await actions.waitFor({ timeout: 120000 });
+      await meter.click(actions.getByRole("button", { name: "Save as note" }), "Save as note");
+      await page.getByText("Saved as a note in podcasts").first().waitFor();
+    },
+  },
   {
     // Last: it points Lens at a cloud model, which the stand-in model behind the journeys above isn't
     id: "cloud-model",

diff --git a/ci/clicks/survey.mjs b/ci/clicks/survey.mjs
@@ -144,11 +144,14 @@ async function surveyPages(page, base, phone) {
   // On a phone the navigation sits behind the menu button: one more tap to reach every page
   const menu = phone ? 1 : 0;
   for (const item of items) {
+    // one of each kind of page: the notes in the navigation are one page, whichever notes the journeys left there
+    if (item.href && pages.some((p) => p.page === pageKey(base + item.href))) continue;
     await page.goto(base + "/", { waitUntil: "domcontentloaded" });
     await settle();
     if (phone) await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Open navigation" }).tap();
-    const name = new RegExp(`^${item.label.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&")}( \\d+)?$`);
-    const link = page.getByRole("navigation", { name: "Primary" }).getByRole("link", { name }).first();
+    // found by where it goes: a link's name can carry more than its label (a note the assistant wrote is "Written by
+    // the assistant" and its title)
+    const link = page.getByRole("navigation", { name: "Primary" }).locator(`a[href="${item.href}"]`).first();
     await (phone ? link.tap() : link.click());
     await page.waitForLoadState("domcontentloaded");
     await settle();

diff --git a/docs/assistant.md b/docs/assistant.md
@@ -558,8 +558,8 @@ Built: the web app, the API, MCP, chat rooms and the assistant's tools.
 Give the assistant a goal that needs many look-ups, and it comes back with a plan; once you approve it, the research
 runs in the background and a cited report comes back in the conversation.
 
-- **Asking.** Turn on the composer's Deep research switch (the telescope) and type the goal, start a question with
-  `/research` (`/research what changed in the capsid work this year?`), send it with
+- **Asking.** Turn on the composer's Deep research switch (the telescope; the cursor stays in the box) and type the
+  goal, start a question with `/research` (`/research what changed in the capsid work this year?`), send it with
   `research: true` (`POST /api/v1/chats/<id>/messages`), call `POST /api/v1/chats/<id>/research {goal}`, or ask the
   assistant for research: its `start_research` tool (the `research` [tool group](#choosing-tools-namespaces-and-a-limit))
   works from chat, voice and [chat rooms](chat-rooms.md). It needs a language model that uses tools.
@@ -626,8 +626,9 @@ runs in the background and a cited report comes back in the conversation.
   checking are two or three calls. Every call is in the activity ledger for the conversation and `research:<id>`.
 
 Refine later: sub-questions in parallel, research on a schedule, sharing a report with a namespace's members, research
-as an automation action, a report template people can edit, and the report posted back into the chat room it was
-asked in (today the room gets the plan, and the report is in the conversation in Lens).
+as an automation action, a report template people can edit, the report posted back into the chat room it was asked
+in (today the room gets the plan, and the report is in the conversation in Lens), and one way to read a report aloud
+(today its Read aloud and the answer's speaker button both do).
 
 ## Third-party content and prompt injection
 

diff --git a/docs/requirements.md b/docs/requirements.md
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ request, to another check that proves the same thing; loosening a requirement or
 | Web search and reading pages, cited like the archive, off until an admin turns it on | [test_web_search.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/api/test_web_search.py) `test_an_answer_cites_the_web_and_the_conversation_keeps_it`, `test_reading_pages_and_pdfs`; [chat-web-citations.test.tsx](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/nextjs-frontend/__tests__/chat-web-citations.test.tsx) |
 | An admin's assistant searches and reads connected mail, calendars and files, cites messages and events, and brings them in only once approved | [test_connection_tools.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/api/test_connection_tools.py) `test_only_admins_get_them_and_only_for_what_is_connected`, `test_searching_and_reading_gmail`, `test_calendar_events_between_two_times`, `test_finding_and_reading_files_in_storage`, `test_bringing_things_in_waits_for_the_persons_yes`; [chat-web-citations.test.tsx](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/nextjs-frontend/__tests__/chat-web-citations.test.tsx) `a message from a connected mailbox` |
 | Python and bash in a sandbox of each conversation's own, off until an admin turns it on | [test_sandbox.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/api/test_sandbox.py) `test_python_and_bash_share_one_sandbox_per_conversation`, `test_the_sandbox_is_off_until_an_admin_turns_it_on_for_the_people_it_names` |
+| Deep research: a goal gets a plan to approve, runs in the background and comes back as a cited report, saved as a note or a podcast episode | [test_research.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/api/test_research.py) `test_a_goal_gets_a_plan_that_waits_for_approval_and_can_be_revised`, `test_an_approved_plan_runs_and_its_report_comes_back_checked`, `test_a_report_becomes_a_note_and_a_podcast`; [chat-research.test.tsx](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/nextjs-frontend/__tests__/chat-research.test.tsx) `approves the plan with Enter, sending the edits`, `saves it as a note, asking where when it could go in several namespaces`, `turns the next message into a research goal, and says when it can't`; [journeys.mjs](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/ci/clicks/journeys.mjs) `chat-research`; [baseline.json](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/ci/clicks/baseline.json) `chat-research` ≤ 4 clicks |
 | Regenerating an answer or editing a question makes a new version beside the old one | [test_chat_versions.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/api/test_chat_versions.py) `test_regenerate_edit_switch_and_go_on`; [chat-versions.test.tsx](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/nextjs-frontend/__tests__/chat-versions.test.tsx) `regenerating an answer`, `the version switch`; [journeys.mjs](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/ci/clicks/journeys.mjs) `chat-regenerate`; [baseline.json](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/ci/clicks/baseline.json) `chat-regenerate` ≤ 4 clicks |
 | Each answer keeps a record of what produced it: the model, its tools, how long it took and what it cost | [test_chat_records.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/api/test_chat_records.py) `test_an_answer_records_what_produced_it`, `test_a_regenerated_answer_has_its_own_record`; [chat-details.test.tsx](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/nextjs-frontend/__tests__/chat-details.test.tsx) `says what produced it: model and host, scope, tools, use, tokens, cost, time and how it ended` |
 | Answers read aloud by a speech provider, macOS `say` or StyleTTS2 (opt-in) | [test_voice.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/api/test_voice.py) `test_answers_are_read_aloud_by_a_speech_model`; [test_speech.py](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/fastapi_backend/tests/domain/test_speech.py) `test_macos_say_reads_aloud_on_a_mac`, `test_styletts2_reads_aloud_from_its_own_service`; [styletts2.yml](https://github.com/adeelahmad/lense/blob/main/.github/workflows/styletts2.yml) `Read a sentence aloud` |

diff --git a/nextjs-frontend/__tests__/chat-research.test.tsx b/nextjs-frontend/__tests__/chat-research.test.tsx
@@ -294,6 +294,8 @@ describe("the Deep research switch", () => {
     );
     fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Deep research" }));
     expect(onToggle).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    // the goal is typed next, without a click into the box
+    expect(screen.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Your question" })).toHaveFocus();
     rerender(
       <Composer
         value=""

diff --git a/nextjs-frontend/components/chat/composer.tsx b/nextjs-frontend/components/chat/composer.tsx
@@ -489,6 +489,11 @@ export function Composer({
   research?: { on: boolean; onToggle: () => void; off?: string | null };
 }) {
   const ref = useRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>(null);
+  // the switch hands the cursor back to the box, so the goal (or the question) is typed next without a click
+  const toggleResearch = () => {
+    research?.onToggle();
+    ref.current?.focus();
+  };
   const [over, setOver] = useState(false);
   useEffect(() => {
     const el = ref.current;
@@ -529,7 +534,7 @@ export function Composer({
           Deep research: you approve a plan first
           <button
             type="button"
-             class="x x-first x-last">research.onToggle
+             class="x x-first x-last">toggleResearch
             aria-label="Turn deep research off"
             className="grid size-5 place-items-center rounded-full hover:bg-black/5"
           >
@@ -564,7 +569,7 @@ export function Composer({
                 : "Research a goal: a plan to approve, then a cited report")
             }
             disabled={Boolean(research.off) && !research.on}
-             class="x x-first x-last">research.onToggle
+             class="x x-first x-last">toggleResearch
             className={cn(
               "grid size-9 shrink-0 place-items-center rounded-full transition-colors duration-fast disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-50",
               research.on