LibreAI / AI Agents / deep-research
// agents · u14app/deep-research

deep-research

Deep Research with any LLM: in-depth reports in minutes, with an SSE API and MCP server built in

★ 4.7k stars⑂ 1.1k forksMITupdated 2026-06
▦ visual — this project's README ships no embeddable screenshot,
so here's a placeholder. The guide below is complete regardless.
// project facts

Project facts

deep-research is an open-source ai agents project by u14app (u14app/deep-research on GitHub). It has 4,694 GitHub stars and 1,059 forks, is released under the MIT license, and was last updated on GitHub on 18 June 2026.

GitHub stars
4,694
Forks
1,059
License
MIT
Last updated on GitHub
18 June 2026
Category
AI Agents
Listing
Full install guide
Official site
Official site
// how it works

How it works

  1. Choose a model setup

    The recommended path is a free Gemini API key; alternatively configure any supported LLM and search provider.

  2. Deploy or run locally

    Use the one-click Vercel/Cloudflare deploy, the Docker image, or a local dev install.

  3. Configure keys

    Set your LLM (and optional search) API keys in the environment file or settings.

  4. Run your first research

    Enter a topic, answer the clarifying questions, review the plan, and generate the report.

// features

Why people love it

Fast, staged research flow

Topic → clarifying questions → research plan → SERP-driven collection → report, with the option to re-research from any stage.

Multi-LLM and multi-search

Thinking/Task model split across many providers, and search via SearXNG, Tavily, Firecrawl, Exa, Bocha, Brave, or the model itself.

Local knowledge base

Upload text, Office, and PDF files to ground research in your own documents.

Editable artifacts

Edit reports in WYSIWYM or Markdown modes, adjust reading level and length, translate the full text, and generate a knowledge graph with one click.

SSE API and MCP server

Expose research as a service: a streaming SSE API and an MCP server (Streamable HTTP and SSE transports) for other AI tools.

Privacy-focused and portable

Research data stays in local browser storage; deploy to Vercel, Cloudflare, Docker, or as a static export, and install it as a PWA.

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// run it

Run it yourself

  1. Clone the repository

    Clone the project and enter its directory.

    git clone https://github.com/u14app/deep-research.git
    cd deep-research
  2. Install and configure

    Install dependencies with pnpm and copy the environment template (Node.js 18.18+ recommended).

    pnpm install
    cp env.tpl .env.local
  3. Run the dev server

    Start the app and open it in your browser; add your LLM API key in .env.local or the UI first.

    pnpm dev
    # then open http://localhost:3000
// use cases

What you can build

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// faq

Questions, answered

Who maintains deep-research?

The u14app team; a hosted instance runs at research.u14.app.

Is deep-research free?

The software is MIT-licensed and free. You bring your own model access — a free Gemini API key is the recommended path, and local models via Ollama avoid per-call costs.

Does it need a paid API key?

It needs an LLM; Gemini's free tier works per the README, and search providers are optional since some models and SearXNG can cover search.

How does it compare to OpenAI or Gemini Deep Research?

It offers a similar staged research workflow but is open source, model-agnostic, self-hostable, and keeps data in your browser — with API and MCP access the hosted products don't offer in the same way.

How do I get started?

Get a Gemini API key, use the one-click Vercel deploy or run `pnpm install && pnpm dev` locally, then start a research topic at http://localhost:3000.

// keep exploring

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// alternatives

Alternatives in AI Agents

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Get deep-research

Free and open — grab the source, star the repo, and start creating.