feat: auto-route research-prefixed prompts to research agent

README.md

@@ -497,6 +497,13 @@ Then use:
 /research compare k0s vs k3s for a 3-node homelab in 2026
 ```
 
+You can also trigger this without the slash command:
+
+```text
+research compare k0s vs k3s for a 3-node homelab in 2026
+look up best practices for k8s backup retention
+```
+
 If the `research` agent is not configured, Flynn returns a setup hint with available agent names.
 
 ## Running as Service

docs/plans/state.json

@@ -3,6 +3,19 @@
   "updated_at": "2026-02-17",
   "description": "Tracks the status of all Flynn plans and implementation phases",
   "plans": {
+    "research-prefix-auto-routing": {
+      "status": "completed",
+      "date": "2026-02-17",
+      "updated": "2026-02-17",
+      "summary": "Added automatic research routing: when intents are disabled but a `research` agent exists, messages prefixed with `research ...` or `look up ...` now route to the research agent and strip the prefix before processing. Added routing regression tests and README usage examples.",
+      "files_modified": [
+        "src/daemon/routing.ts",
+        "src/daemon/routing.test.ts",
+        "README.md",
+        "docs/plans/state.json"
+      ],
+      "test_status": "pnpm test:run src/daemon/routing.test.ts passing"
+    },
     "research-agent-command-quickstart": {
       "status": "completed",
       "date": "2026-02-17",

src/daemon/routing.test.ts

@@ -510,6 +510,84 @@ describe('daemon command fast-path integration', () => {
     expect(keys.some(key => key.includes(':coder'))).toBe(true);
   });
 
+  it('auto-routes research-prefixed messages to research agent when configured', async () => {
+    const processSpy = vi.spyOn(AgentOrchestrator.prototype, 'process').mockResolvedValue('ok');
+    const session = {
+      id: 'telegram:user-research',
+      addMessage: vi.fn(),
+      getHistory: vi.fn(() => []),
+      clear: vi.fn(),
+      replaceHistory: vi.fn(),
+      getConfig: vi.fn(() => undefined),
+      setConfig: vi.fn(),
+      deleteConfig: vi.fn(),
+    };
+
+    const commandRegistry = new CommandRegistry();
+    registerBuiltinCommands(commandRegistry);
+
+    const agentConfigRegistry = new AgentConfigRegistry();
+    agentConfigRegistry.loadFromConfig({
+      assistant: { model_tier: 'default', sandbox: false },
+      research: { model_tier: 'complex', sandbox: false },
+    });
+
+    const agentRouter = new AgentRouter({
+      default_agent: 'assistant',
+      channels: {},
+      senders: {},
+    });
+
+    const router = createMessageRouter({
+      sessionManager: {
+        getSession: vi.fn(() => session),
+      } as unknown as MessageRouterDeps['sessionManager'],
+      modelRouter: {
+        getAvailableTiers: () => ['fast', 'default', 'complex', 'local'],
+        getAllLabels: () => ({ fast: 'fast', default: 'default', complex: 'complex', local: 'local' }),
+        getLabel: (tier: string) => tier,
+      } as unknown as MessageRouterDeps['modelRouter'],
+      systemPrompt: 'test prompt',
+      toolRegistry: {
+        clone() { return this; },
+        register: vi.fn(),
+      } as unknown as MessageRouterDeps['toolRegistry'],
+      toolExecutor: {} as unknown as MessageRouterDeps['toolExecutor'],
+      config: {
+        intents: { enabled: false },
+        agents: {
+          primary_tier: 'default',
+          delegation: {
+            compaction: 'fast',
+            memory_extraction: 'fast',
+            classification: 'fast',
+            tool_summarisation: 'fast',
+            complex_reasoning: 'complex',
+          },
+          max_delegation_depth: 3,
+          max_iterations: 10,
+        },
+        compaction: { enabled: false },
+        models: { default: { provider: 'anthropic', model: 'claude' } },
+      } as unknown as MessageRouterDeps['config'],
+      commandRegistry,
+      agentConfigRegistry,
+      agentRouter,
+    });
+
+    await router.handler({
+      id: 'm-research',
+      channel: 'telegram',
+      senderId: 'user-research',
+      text: 'research compare k0s vs k3s for a homelab',
+      timestamp: Date.now(),
+    } as MessageRouterInput, vi.fn(async () => {}));
+
+    const keys = Array.from(router.agents.keys());
+    expect(keys.some(key => key.includes(':research'))).toBe(true);
+    expect(processSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith('compare k0s vs k3s for a homelab', undefined);
+  });
+
   it('falls back to llm path when confidence is below fast threshold', async () => {
     const session = {
       id: 'telegram:user-3',

src/daemon/routing.ts

@@ -72,6 +72,19 @@ function tierFromUseCase(config: Config, useCaseRaw: unknown): ModelTier | undef
   return undefined;
 }
 
+function parseResearchPrefix(text: string): string | undefined {
+  const trimmed = text.trim();
+  const researchMatch = trimmed.match(/^research(?:\s*[:,-])?\s+(.+)$/i);
+  if (researchMatch?.[1]) {
+    return researchMatch[1].trim();
+  }
+  const lookupMatch = trimmed.match(/^(?:look\s+up|lookup)(?:\s*[:,-])?\s+(.+)$/i);
+  if (lookupMatch?.[1]) {
+    return lookupMatch[1].trim();
+  }
+  return undefined;
+}
+
 /**
  * Create the unified message handler for the channel registry.
  * Each channel+sender pair gets its own AgentOrchestrator backed by a persistent session.
@@ -362,6 +375,13 @@ export function createMessageRouter(deps: {
 
     let intentAgentOverride: string | undefined;
     let intentSkillOverride: string | undefined;
+    if (!deps.config.intents?.enabled && deps.agentConfigRegistry?.get('research')) {
+      const researchTask = parseResearchPrefix(incomingText);
+      if (researchTask) {
+        intentAgentOverride = 'research';
+        incomingText = researchTask;
+      }
+    }
     if (deps.config.intents?.enabled && deps.intentRegistry) {
       const intentMatch = deps.intentRegistry.match(incomingText);