Imported from BrettRey/erdos-problem-993 (.claude/skills/hyperresearch-11-synthesize/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add BrettRey/erdos-problem-993 --skill hyperresearch-11-synthesize. Copyright stays with the author.

Step 11 — Synthesize the final report

Tier gate: SKIP entirely for light tier — light tier wrote research/notes/final_report_<vault_tag>.md directly in step 10 and proceeds straight to step 15 (polish). For full: run as documented below.

Goal: turn the 3 angle-specific drafts from step 10 into ONE integrated final report at research/notes/final_report_<vault_tag>.md. The orchestrator preps the strategic brief; the synthesizer subagent writes the report in two passes (rough integrated draft, then voice/redundancy/length cleanup).

Why split orchestrator + synthesizer: the orchestrator has been running for 30+ minutes and 200K+ tokens of context. Writing a coherent 5000-10000 word report at this point is the highest cognitive load step in the pipeline, and orchestrator context is full of stale subagent dispatch logic. The synthesizer is a fresh session with [Read, Write] tool-lock, focused exclusively on producing the final report. This is the same architectural move that made the patcher and polish-auditor reliable.

Recover state

Read these inputs:

• research/runs/<vault_tag>/scaffold.md — vault_tag
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/prompt-decomposition.json — atomic items, required_section_headings, response_format, citation_style
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-a.md, research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-b.md, research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-c.md — the 3 angle-specific drafts from step 10
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/comparisons.md (full tier) — cross-locus tensions
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/source-tensions.json (full tier) — expert disagreements
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/evidence-digest.md — load-bearing claims with verbatim quotes
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/query.md — canonical research query (GOSPEL)

Step 11.1 — Read all 3 drafts in full

1. Read each draft in full from research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-{a,b,c}.md. Don't skim — actually read. Hold them in context.

2. Re-read each sub-orchestrator's report-back (from your own task results in step 10). Note each draft's:

   • Core thesis
   • How many notes from must_read_note_ids it actually read
   • Strongest argumentative beat
   • Word/character count

Step 11.2 — Spot-check factual conflicts (orchestrator only)

The synthesizer is tool-locked to [Read, Write] — it cannot run Bash to query the vault. So YOU resolve factual conflicts here, before spawning it.

For each substantive contradiction between drafts:

1. Identify the cited source IDs on both sides
2. $HPR note show <id1> <id2> -j to read the actual source bodies
3. Decide which side is correct. Write the verdict to research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-conflicts.md:

   ## Conflict 1: <one-line description>
   - Draft A says: <claim with citation>
   - Draft B says: <opposing claim with citation>
   - Source check: <what the source actually says, verbatim where possible>
   - **Verdict:** <which side, with reason>

If there are no substantive conflicts, write a one-line file: "No factual conflicts found across drafts."

Step 11.3 — Write the synthesis plan

Write research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-plan.md. This is your strategic brief for the synthesizer:

# Synthesis plan

## Core thesis (1-2 sentences)
<the final report's central argument>

## The 3-7 strongest argumentative beats
1. **<short name>** — sourced from Draft <A/B/C>. <one sentence on the beat and why it's load-bearing>
2. ...

## Section structure
<list required_section_headings if present, OR the inferred H2 structure>

## Per-section commitments
### Section 1: <heading>
- Evidence to pull from: Draft A's <topic>, Draft C's <topic>
- Argumentative beat: <which committed position to argue here>
- Cross-locus tension to engage (if any): <name from comparisons.md>

### Section 2: ...

## Where drafts disagreed
- **<Disagreement 1>:** Draft A says X; Draft B says Y. **Commit to <side>** because <reason>. The other side gets explicit engagement, not equal hedging.
- ...

## Length target
- response_format: <short|structured|argumentative>
- Pass 1 target: <middle of pass-1 range>
- Pass 2 final target: <middle of pass-2 range>

Step 11.4 — Write the synthesis outline

Write research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-outline.md. This is the per-section contract — 1-2 sentences per H2 naming what evidence and argument lives there:

# Synthesis outline

## Executive summary
<1-2 sentences: the direct answer to the research_query, with top-line numbers if applicable>

## I. <First H2 from required_section_headings or plan>
<1-2 sentences: what this section establishes, which evidence anchors it, what argumentative beat lives here>

## II. <Second H2>
<1-2 sentences>

...

## Conclusion / Opinionated synthesis
<1-2 sentences: the committed reading, the strongest forward-looking implication>

## Sources
<only emitted when citation_style == "inline" — N numbered entries, deduplicated. For "wikilink" style (default), the wiki-link markers in the body are self-resolving and no separate Sources section is needed.>

The outline is short (50-200 words total). It's the structural anchor that prevents pass-1 sections from rambling.

Step 11.5 — VERIFICATION GATE

Before spawning the synthesizer, verify these files exist with non-trivial content:

• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-plan.md — must include the core thesis and at least one per-section commitment
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-outline.md — must include one outline entry per H2 in the planned structure
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-conflicts.md — exists (may say "no conflicts found")
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-{a,b,c}.md — all three exist

If any are missing or trivial, fix them before proceeding. The synthesizer cannot do strategic planning — it can only execute the plan. Skipping plan/outline produces a thin synthesizer output that doesn't beat the original drafts.

Step 11.6 — Spawn the synthesizer

Spawn ONE hyperresearch-synthesizer subagent. Single spawn, runs once.

Spawn template:

subagent_type: hyperresearch-synthesizer
prompt: |
  RESEARCH QUERY (verbatim, gospel):
  > {{paste research/runs/<vault_tag>/query.md body}}

  QUERY FILE: research/runs/<vault_tag>/query.md

  PIPELINE POSITION: You are step 11 of the hyperresearch V8 pipeline.
  Step 10 produced 3 angle-specific drafts. The orchestrator wrote a
  synthesis plan and outline. You read everything and write the final
  report in TWO passes (pass 1 = rough integrated draft, pass 2 = voice/
  redundancy/length cleanup). You are tool-locked to [Read, Write] — you
  cannot Bash, cannot spawn subagents. After you return, step 12 (4
  critics) reads your final report.

  YOUR INPUTS:
  - query_file_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/query.md
  - draft_paths: [research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-a.md, research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-b.md, research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/draft-c.md]
  - synthesis_plan_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-plan.md
  - synthesis_outline_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-outline.md
  - synthesis_conflicts_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-conflicts.md
  - decomposition_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/prompt-decomposition.json
  - comparisons_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/comparisons.md
  - source_tensions_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/source-tensions.json
  - evidence_digest_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/evidence-digest.md
  - pass1_output_path: research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-pass1.md
  - final_output_path: research/notes/final_report_<vault_tag>.md
  - response_format: "<short|structured|argumentative>"
  - citation_style: "<wikilink|inline|none>"

  RUN DIRECTIVES: append the FULL contents of research/runs/<vault_tag>/shims/drafting.md here, verbatim.

  Read everything. Write pass 1 to pass1_output_path. Then audit pass 1
  for redundancy, voice consistency, weak sections, and length, and
  write the cleaned pass 2 to final_output_path. Do not paste paragraphs
  from the input drafts — synthesize them in your own voice.

  **Citation rendering:**
  - If citation_style == "wikilink" (default): every citation is a
    `[[note-id]]` marker pointing at the source note in the vault. No
    separate `## Sources` section. The wiki-link IS the citation —
    readers click through to the source note's frontmatter for title +
    URL. Do NOT add numbered references.
  - If citation_style == "inline": every citation is a `[N]` marker
    (multiple sources at one point grouped in a single bracket:
    `[7, 12]`, never stacked `[7][12]`), AND the report ends with a
    `## Sources` section listing each cited source as `[N] Title. URL`
    (read each cited note's YAML frontmatter for title + URL).
  - If citation_style == "none": no citation markers anywhere, no
    Sources section.

CRITICAL: never emit bare text while the synthesizer is running. It will take 5-15 minutes (two passes). Use the wait time to think — append notes to research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/orchestrator-notes.md about what you'll watch for in step 12 (the critics) based on the synthesis plan you just wrote.

Step 11.7 — Validate the synthesizer output

When the synthesizer returns:

1. Confirm both files exist:

   • research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-pass1.md (pass 1, rough integrated)
   • research/notes/final_report_<vault_tag>.md (pass 2, final)

2. Read the synthesizer's report-back. It tells you:

   • Word/character count
   • Pass 1 vs pass 2 length delta (should be NEGATIVE — pass 2 cuts)
   • Top redundancies cut
   • Top voice fixes
   • Sections flagged as still weak

3. Sanity checks on the final report:

   • LENGTH GATE (mechanical, not a judgment call): count the words (wc -w or python). The profile ceiling for the response_format is a HARD limit — the ship gate (run finish) fails any report more than 20% over target, so an over-long report here is guaranteed rework later. Check it now, when fixing is cheapest.
   • Has all H2s from required_section_headings
   • Citations match citation_style: [[note-id]] markers for "wikilink" (no Sources section); [N] markers + a ## Sources section for "inline"; no markers for "none"
   • No adjacent citation stacks (grep -c '][' should be 0 — grouped brackets like [7, 12] are the style)
   • Major body sections open with a plain-language primer before the analysis (spot-check 3 sections)
   • No YAML frontmatter, no scaffold leaks, no pipeline vocabulary

If pass 2 is longer than pass 1 (positive delta), something went wrong — pass 2 is supposed to cut. Investigate before proceeding.

If the length gate fails (word count above the target high): re-spawn the synthesizer ONCE for a compression pass — input is its own final report, directive is "cut to words: collapse redundant sections, cut the weakest evidence per point, keep every load-bearing claim and citation." This is the ONE permitted regeneration, because the write-once invariant starts only after this step's exit criteria pass; length violations discovered later can only be fixed by exactly this move at higher cost.

If any other sanity check fails, hand-craft an Edit on research/notes/final_report_<vault_tag>.md yourself to fix it. Do NOT re-spawn the synthesizer for non-length issues — that's regeneration, which violates the patch-not-regenerate invariant once we have a final draft.

Write-once after synthesis

After this step, the final report is only modified by Edit hunks from the patcher (step 14) and polish auditor (step 15). Do NOT re-write or re-synthesize.

Exit criterion

• research/notes/final_report_<vault_tag>.md exists, word count verified ≤ target high (counted mechanically, not estimated)
• research/runs/<vault_tag>/temp/synthesis-pass1.md exists (debugging artifact)
• All H2s from required_section_headings present
• Citations match citation_style (wikilink → [[note-id]] no Sources section; inline → [N] + Sources section; none → no markers), with no adjacent citation stacks
• No YAML frontmatter, no pipeline vocabulary, no scaffold leaks

Next step

Return to the entry skill (hyperresearch). Invoke step 12:

Skill(skill: "hyperresearch-12-critics")