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Commands, package names, and image names on this page come from the open-source project that Mibyan Desktop is built on, and can differ from the Mibyan Desktop installer. For the supported Mibyan install and update path, see Install and update.
Agent-native web search, deep research, and enrichment.

Skill metadata

Reference: full SKILL.md

The following is the complete skill definition that Mibyan loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active.

Parallel CLI

Use parallel-cli when the user explicitly wants Parallel, or when a terminal-native workflow would benefit from Parallel’s vendor-specific stack for web search, extraction, deep research, enrichment, entity discovery, or monitoring. This is an optional third-party workflow, not a Mibyan core capability. Important expectations:
  • Parallel is a paid service with a free tier, not a fully free local tool.
  • It overlaps with Mibyan native web_search / web_extract, so do not prefer it by default for ordinary lookups.
  • Prefer this skill when the user mentions Parallel specifically or needs capabilities like Parallel’s enrichment, FindAll, or monitor workflows.
parallel-cli is designed for agents:
  • JSON output via --json
  • Non-interactive command execution
  • Async long-running jobs with --no-wait, status, and poll
  • Context chaining with --previous-interaction-id
  • Search, extract, research, enrichment, entity discovery, and monitoring in one CLI

When to use it

Prefer this skill when:
  • The user explicitly mentions Parallel or parallel-cli
  • The task needs richer workflows than a simple one-shot search/extract pass
  • You need async deep research jobs that can be launched and polled later
  • You need structured enrichment, FindAll entity discovery, or monitoring
Prefer Mibyan native web_search / web_extract for quick one-off lookups when Parallel is not specifically requested.

Installation

Try the least invasive install path available for the environment.

Homebrew

npm

Python package

Standalone installer

If you want an isolated Python install, pipx can also work:

Authentication

Interactive login:
Headless / SSH / CI:
API key environment variable:
Verify current auth status:
If auth requires browser interaction, run with pty=true.

Core rule set

  1. Always prefer --json when you need machine-readable output.
  2. Prefer explicit arguments and non-interactive flows.
  3. For long-running jobs, use --no-wait and then status / poll.
  4. Cite only URLs returned by the CLI output.
  5. Save large JSON outputs to a temp file when follow-up questions are likely.
  6. Use background processes only for genuinely long-running workflows; otherwise run in foreground.
  7. Prefer Mibyan native tools unless the user wants Parallel specifically or needs Parallel-only workflows.

Quick reference

Common flags and patterns

Commonly useful flags:
  • --json for structured output
  • --no-wait for async jobs
  • --previous-interaction-id <id> for follow-up tasks that reuse earlier context
  • --max-results <n> for search result count
  • --mode one-shot|agentic for search behavior
  • --include-domains domain1.com,domain2.com
  • --exclude-domains domain1.com,domain2.com
  • --after-date YYYY-MM-DD
Read from stdin when convenient:
Use for current web lookups with structured results.
Useful constraints:
  • --include-domains to narrow trusted sources
  • --exclude-domains to strip noisy domains
  • --after-date for recency filtering
  • --max-results when you need broader coverage
If you expect follow-up questions, save output:
When summarizing results:
  • lead with the answer
  • include dates, names, and concrete facts
  • cite only returned sources
  • avoid inventing URLs or source titles

Extraction

Use to pull clean content or markdown from a URL.
Use --objective when the page is broad and you only need one slice of information.

Deep research

Use for deeper multi-step research tasks that may take time. Common processor tiers:
  • lite / base for faster, cheaper passes
  • core / pro for more thorough synthesis
  • ultra for the heaviest research jobs

Synchronous

Async launch + poll

Context chaining / follow-up

Recommended Mibyan workflow:
  1. launch with --no-wait --json
  2. capture the returned run/task ID
  3. if the user wants to continue other work, keep moving
  4. later call status or poll
  5. summarize the final report with citations from the returned sources

Enrichment

Use when the user has CSV/JSON/tabular inputs and wants additional columns inferred from web research.

Suggest columns

Plan a config

Inline data

Non-interactive file run

YAML config run

Status / polling

Use explicit JSON arrays for column definitions when operating non-interactively. Validate the output file before reporting success.

FindAll

Use for web-scale entity discovery when the user wants a discovered dataset rather than a short answer.
This is a better fit than ordinary search when the user wants a discovered set of entities that can be reviewed, filtered, or enriched later.

Monitor

Use for ongoing change detection over time.
Creation is usually the sensitive part because cadence and delivery matter:
Use this when the user wants recurring tracking of a page or source rather than a one-time fetch.

Fast answer with citations

  1. Run parallel-cli search ... --json
  2. Parse titles, URLs, dates, excerpts
  3. Summarize with inline citations from the returned URLs only

URL investigation

  1. Run parallel-cli extract URL --json
  2. If needed, rerun with --objective or --full-content
  3. Quote or summarize the extracted markdown

Long research workflow

  1. Run parallel-cli research run ... --no-wait --json
  2. Store the returned ID
  3. Continue other work or periodically poll
  4. Summarize the final report with citations

Structured enrichment workflow

  1. Inspect the input file and columns
  2. Use enrich suggest or provide explicit enriched columns
  3. Run enrich run
  4. Poll for completion if needed
  5. Validate the output file before reporting success

Error handling and exit codes

The CLI documents these exit codes:
  • 0 success
  • 2 bad input
  • 3 auth error
  • 4 API error
  • 5 timeout
If you hit auth errors:
  1. check parallel-cli auth
  2. confirm PARALLEL_API_KEY or run parallel-cli login / parallel-cli login --device
  3. verify parallel-cli is on PATH

Maintenance

Check current auth / install state:
Update commands:

Pitfalls

  • Do not omit --json unless the user explicitly wants human-formatted output.
  • Do not cite sources not present in the CLI output.
  • login may require PTY/browser interaction.
  • Prefer foreground execution for short tasks; do not overuse background processes.
  • For large result sets, save JSON to ~/.mibyan/cache/scratch/*.json (the Mibyan scratch dir) instead of stuffing everything into context.
  • Do not silently choose Parallel when Mibyan native tools are already sufficient.
  • Remember this is a vendor workflow that usually requires account auth and paid usage beyond the free tier.