# Get a research report

Ask a bot to research a topic, watch it work, and download the finished report from its computer.

Canonical page: https://themachine.myapps.ai/docs/desktop/guides/research-report

In this guide you ask a bot to research a topic for you and save the result
as a report file. Then you read it, ask for changes, and download it. At the
end you save the method so the bot can do the same kind of report again.

**What you'll end up with:** a report file on your own computer, and a bot
that knows how you like your reports done.

**Time needed:** about 10 minutes of your time, plus however long the bot
takes to research.

**What you need first:**

- Machine Desktop installed and signed in. See [Your first 15
  minutes](/docs/desktop/get-started/first-steps) if you haven't done that yet.
- A bot. Any bot works, but the **Researcher** starting point (a bot called
  *Scout*) is made for this.

### Pick a bot and start a fresh thread

If you don't have a research bot yet, press **Ctrl+N** (**⌘N** on Mac), or
click **+** at the top of the sidebar and choose **New Project**. Pick
**Researcher**. Setting up a new bot can take a minute or two.

Then start a new thread for this topic: right-click the bot in the sidebar
and choose **New thread**. One topic per thread keeps the work tidy and the
cost down.

Check the chip above the message box. It should say **Cloud**. That means the
bot works on its own computer in the cloud, not on yours, which is what you
want for research.

### Write a clear request

A bot is like a capable new colleague who knows nothing about your
situation. Tell it:

- **the topic**, as precisely as you can,
- **who the report is for**, and what you'll do with it,
- **what to put in it**, like a table, a summary, or sources,
- **what to call the file**, so you can find and download it later.

For example:

> Research the 5 most popular project management tools for small teams.
> Compare their price, best features, and biggest downsides in a table.
> Save the table as a file called comparison.md, and give me a one-paragraph
> recommendation in the chat.

> I'm deciding whether to open a second coffee shop in a busy city
> neighbourhood. Research what the main costs of opening a small coffee shop
> are, and what usually makes new ones fail. Lead with a 3-bullet summary,
> cite your sources with links, and save the full report as
> coffee-shop-report.md.

Have a long document the bot should use? Click the **paperclip** to attach
it, or drag it onto the window. It's copied onto the bot's computer so the
bot can read it.

Press **Enter** to send.

### Watch it work

You don't have to watch, but it's the best way to learn what a bot does.
While it works you'll see:

- **A label and a timer** under the bot's avatar, like *Searching the web*,
*Reading a file*, or *Writing…*. The first message in a new thread may show
*Setting up this bot's computer…* for a little longer.
- **Tool chips** for each action, like *web search* or *write*. Click a chip
to see exactly what went in and what came out.
- **A blue, pulsing dot** on the bot's avatar in the sidebar.

If the bot asks you to pick something, like which format you want, a
**question card** appears. Click an option, type your own answer, or choose
**Skip** to let the bot decide.

If a card appears saying **"… wants to …"**, the bot is asking for approval.
Read it and click **Allow once**. On a Cloud thread, everything happens on the
bot's own computer, so this is a safe place to let it work.

When it's done, its working notes fold into a line like **Worked for 2m 10s**,
its actions fold into a row like **6 steps · web search, write, bash**, and
the reply appears.

### Open the report

The bot saved the report on its computer. To read it:

1. Click the **monitor** icon in the chat header (**Bot's computer**). A
panel opens on the right.
2. On the **Computer** tab, find the file in the workspace. Use the search
box if there are a lot of files.
3. Click the file to open it. For Markdown files, switch between **Preview**
and **Source**.

You can also click the file's chip in the bot's reply.

### Ask for changes

Not quite right? Reply in the same thread, the way you would to a colleague.
The bot remembers everything in this thread, including the file it already
made.

> Good. Make the table shorter: only price and best feature. Then add a row
> for Notion.

To point at one part of a long reply, select that text with your mouse,
click **Comment**, type your note, and click **Add**. The comment is attached
to your next message.

With the file open in the computer panel, you can also click **Ask about it**
to send the bot a message about that file, like *"summarize this"*.

### Download it

With the file open in the computer panel, click **Download** to save a copy
to your computer. Or click **Save a copy** on the file's chip in the chat.

> **Download before you delete**
> Deleting a thread deletes its computer and every file on it. Download the
> report first if you want to keep it.

### Save the method for next time

If the bot did a great job and you'll want this kind of report again, turn
what it did into a **skill**: a saved recipe the bot can reuse.

- If a **This run** card shows above the message box, click **Save as
skill**.
- Or send `/learn` in the thread.

A request is added to your message box. Add any notes, like *"Always cite
sources with links and lead with a 3-bullet summary"*, then send it. The bot
drafts the skill, and you review it before it's used.

![A finished research report: a summary, a comparison table, and the saved file](/images/docs/desktop/main-window.webp)

## Tips

- **Ask for a file when you want to keep something.** A reply in the chat is
  easy to lose. A named file can be opened and downloaded later.
- **Break big reports into steps.** *"First make an outline and show me.
  Don't write the full thing yet."*
- **Put your standing preferences in the bot's Soul**, like *"Always cite
  your sources with links"*, so you don't repeat them in every message.
- **Need a better answer on a hard topic?** Try a more capable model from the
  **model chip** in the chat header.
- **Want the whole conversation as a document?** Click **Export
  conversation** in the chat header and choose **Download as .md**.
- **Start a new thread for each new topic.** Long threads get slower and more
  expensive, because the model re-reads the whole conversation every time.

![The steps the bot took, with one search expanded](/images/docs/desktop/tool-chips.webp)

## Next steps

- [Write better requests](/docs/desktop/chat/writing-requests)
- [Files on the bot's computer](/docs/desktop/cloud-computer/files)
- [Skills and memory](/docs/desktop/bots/skills-and-memory)
- [Write a Soul for your bot](/docs/desktop/bots/soul)
- [Get a briefing every weekday morning](/docs/desktop/guides/daily-briefing)