skills/nimble-web-expert/references/nimble-search/search-focus-modes.md

---
name: nimble-search-focus-modes-reference
description: |
  Decision tree for selecting the right --focus mode for nimble search. Load when unsure which focus to use.
  Contains: mode-by-mode guide, example queries per mode, combination strategies, subagent scaling.
---

# Focus Modes Reference

Detailed guide for selecting the right `--focus` for your search query.

## Decision Tree

```
What are you searching for?
|
|-- A person? ................... --focus social  (+ parallel general)
|-- A company/organization? ..... --focus general (+ parallel news)
|-- Code, docs, or technical? ... --focus coding
|-- Current events or news? ..... --focus news   (+ parallel social for reactions)
|-- Research papers? ............ --focus academic
|-- Products or prices? ......... --focus shopping
|-- A local business or place? .. --focus location
|-- Geographic/regional data? ... --focus geo
|-- General/unsure? ............. --focus general
```

## Focus Selection by Intent

| Query Intent              | Primary Focus | Secondary (parallel) | Why                                                                                                  |
| ------------------------- | ------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Research a **person**     | `social`      | `general`            | Social searches LinkedIn/X/YouTube directly via subagents; general covers blogs, news, company pages |
| Research a **company**    | `general`     | `news`               | General for overview; news for recent developments                                                   |
| Find **code/docs**        | `coding`      | —                    | Targets Stack Overflow, GitHub, docs sites                                                           |
| Current **events**        | `news`        | `social`             | News for articles; social for reactions/commentary                                                   |
| Find a **product/price**  | `shopping`    | —                    | Searches e-commerce sites                                                                            |
| Find a **place/business** | `location`    | `geo`                | Local business lookup                                                                                |
| Find **research papers**  | `academic`    | —                    | Targets scholarly sources                                                                            |
| **General/unsure**        | `general`     | —                    | Broad web search (default)                                                                           |

**Always run parallel searches with multiple focus when depth matters.**

## Mode Details

### general (default)

Standard web search across all sources. Use when no specific mode applies or for broad queries.

- Best for: overviews, general questions, company pages, blogs
- Speed: fastest (1-2s with `--search-depth lite`)

### coding

Targets programming resources: Stack Overflow, GitHub, official docs, MDN, dev blogs.

- Best for: API references, code examples, debugging, framework docs
- Tip: include the language/framework name in the query for better targeting

### news

Current events and recent articles from news outlets and media sites.

- Best for: breaking news, recent developments, industry updates
- Tip: combine with `--time-range` to control recency (hour, day, week, month)

### academic

Scholarly content: research papers, journals, university publications.

- Best for: scientific research, citations, peer-reviewed studies
- Tip: use specific terminology and author names for better precision

### shopping

E-commerce sites and product listings. Uses subagents for Amazon, Target, etc.

- Best for: product comparisons, pricing, reviews, availability
- Note: uses `--max-subagents` (default 3) for parallel e-commerce searches

### social

Social media platforms: LinkedIn, X/Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, forums. Uses subagents.

- Best for: people research, public profiles, community discussions, opinions
- Note: returns LinkedIn/X/YouTube data directly via subagents — no need to extract those URLs
- Note: uses `--max-subagents` (default 3) for parallel social platform searches

### geo

Geographic and regional information.

- Best for: climate data, regional statistics, geographic features, area-specific info
- Tip: combine with `--country` for localized results

### location

Local business and place-specific queries.

- Best for: restaurants, shops, services in a specific area
- Tip: include the city/area name in the query

## Combination Strategies

For in-depth research, run 2-3 focus modes in parallel to maximize coverage:

| Research Goal        | Parallel Combination          | Query Strategy                                                  |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Person profile       | `social` + `general`          | Name + job title + company                                      |
| Company deep dive    | `general` + `news` + `social` | Company name, then news for recent events, social for sentiment |
| Technical evaluation | `coding` + `general`          | Technology name + use case                                      |
| Market research      | `shopping` + `news`           | Product category + "market" or "trends"                         |
| Local research       | `location` + `general`        | Business type + city name                                       |

## Mode Comparison

| Mode       | Speed  | Subagents | Best Sources      | Use Case           |
| ---------- | ------ | --------- | ----------------- | ------------------ |
| `general`  | Fast   | No        | All web           | Default, overviews |
| `coding`   | Fast   | No        | GitHub, SO, docs  | Programming        |
| `news`     | Fast   | No        | News outlets      | Current events     |
| `academic` | Fast   | No        | Journals, papers  | Research           |
| `shopping` | Medium | Yes (3)   | E-commerce        | Products, prices   |
| `social`   | Medium | Yes (3)   | LinkedIn, X, YT   | People, opinions   |
| `geo`      | Medium | Yes (3)   | Maps, regional    | Geographic data    |
| `location` | Medium | Yes (3)   | Local directories | Local business     |

Modes that use subagents (`shopping`, `social`, `geo`, `location`) are slightly slower but return richer, platform-specific data. Control parallelism with `--max-subagents` (1-10, default 3).