Perplexity Deep Research API Automation

This skill automates research using Perplexity's Deep Research API with both synchronous and asynchronous modes.

Overview

The Perplexity Deep Research API provides programmatic access to comprehensive research:

1. Conducts multi-step research process
2. Searches across academic databases, official sources, peer-reviewed journals
3. Synthesizes findings with proper citations
4. Returns structured markdown-formatted reports

Modes:

• Sync (default): Blocking call, 30-120s typical, up to 10 minutes. Retries on failure.
• Async: Fire-and-poll. Submit returns immediately with job ID. Poll for results. No client-side timeout. Results stored 7 days.

Output: Comprehensive research report with inline citations and source links. Results are automatically saved to timestamped files. Metadata sidecar JSON includes citations, cost breakdown, and search results.

Focus Areas:

• Academic studies and peer-reviewed papers
• Meta-analyses and systematic reviews
• Official government/regulatory sources
• Authoritative industry reports

Prerequisites

• Perplexity API key in repository .env or /Users/valorengels/.env
• Python 3.x with requests and python-dotenv installed
• API key from: https://www.perplexity.ai/settings/api

API Key Setup

Check if API key exists:

grep PERPLEXITY_API_KEY .env 2>/dev/null || grep PERPLEXITY_API_KEY /Users/valorengels/.env 2>/dev/null || echo "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY not found"

If not found, add to repository .env file (preferred) or global .env file:

echo 'PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-your-api-key-here' >> .env

Complete Automation Workflow

Step 1: Verify API Key

grep PERPLEXITY_API_KEY .env 2>/dev/null || grep PERPLEXITY_API_KEY /Users/valorengels/.env 2>/dev/null || echo "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY not found"

Step 2: Prepare Research Prompt

Prompt format (3 lines, single newlines):

Research [TOPIC].
Focus on peer-reviewed studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and official government/regulatory sources.
Provide comprehensive findings with full citations, sample sizes, methodological details, and source URLs.

Step 3: Run Research

Synchronous (default — blocking, waits for result):

cd /Users/valorengels/src/research/podcast/tools
python perplexity_deep_research.py \
  --file ../episodes/[episode-dir]/prompts.md \
  --output ../episodes/[episode-dir]/research/p2-perplexity.md

Async (fire-and-poll — no blocking, no client-side timeout):

# Submit and wait for result
python perplexity_deep_research.py --async \
  --file ../episodes/[episode-dir]/prompts.md \
  --output ../episodes/[episode-dir]/research/p2-perplexity.md

# Submit and return immediately (fire-and-forget)
python perplexity_deep_research.py --no-wait "Research prompt here"
# Output: Job ID: abc123

# Poll for results later
python perplexity_deep_research.py --job-id abc123 \
  --output ../episodes/[episode-dir]/research/p2-perplexity.md

List all async jobs:

python perplexity_deep_research.py --list-jobs

Available CLI Options

Option	Description
--file FILEPATH	Read prompt from file
--output FILEPATH	Write results to file
--reasoning-effort LEVEL	Effort: low, medium, high (default: high)
--async	Use async API (submit, poll, return result)
--sync	Force synchronous API (default)
--no-wait	Submit async job, return job ID immediately
--job-id ID	Poll an existing async job by ID
--list-jobs	List all async jobs for this API key
--poll-interval SECS	Seconds between poll attempts (default: 10)
--timeout SECONDS	Timeout in seconds (default: 600)
--max-retries N	Max retry attempts for sync mode (default: 3)
--show-cost	Display cost breakdown
--quiet	Minimal output
--auto-save	Auto-save output with timestamp (default when no --output)
--no-auto-save	Disable automatic file saving
--log-dir DIR	Directory for output/log files

Step 4: Monitor Progress

Sync mode: Script will wait 30-120s (up to timeout), retry on failure, auto-save results.

Async mode: Script submits job and either polls until complete or returns job ID for later retrieval.

Step 5: Output Files

Research output:

• research/p2-perplexity.md — Research content with citations
• research/p2-perplexity.meta.json — Structured metadata (citations, cost, search results)
• research/p2-perplexity_log.txt — Progress log (sync mode)

Metadata JSON example:

{
  "timestamp": "2026-02-11T10:30:00",
  "model": "sonar-deep-research",
  "usage": {
    "prompt_tokens": 234,
    "completion_tokens": 5678,
    "total_tokens": 5912,
    "citation_tokens": 1200,
    "reasoning_tokens": 3400,
    "search_queries": 15
  },
  "cost": {
    "input_tokens": {"count": 234, "cost": 0.0005},
    "output_tokens": {"count": 5678, "cost": 0.0454},
    "total": 0.0894
  },
  "citations": ["https://...", "https://..."],
  "search_results": [{"title": "...", "snippet": "...", "date": "..."}]
}

API Details

Synchronous API

Endpoint: POST https://api.perplexity.ai/chat/completions

Request:

{
  "model": "sonar-deep-research",
  "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Research prompt"}],
  "reasoning_effort": "high"
}

Async API

Submit: POST https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions

{
  "request": {
    "model": "sonar-deep-research",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Research prompt"}],
    "reasoning_effort": "high"
  }
}

Response: {"id": "abc123", "status": "CREATED", "response": null}

Poll: GET https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions/{id}

Status values: CREATED → IN_PROGRESS → COMPLETED | FAILED

List: GET https://api.perplexity.ai/async/chat/completions

Results are stored for 7 days.

Cost Tracking

Pricing (as of 2025):

Component	Cost
Input tokens	$2/M
Output tokens	$8/M
Citation tokens	$2/M
Reasoning tokens	$3/M
Search queries	$5/1K

Typical deep research: $0.50-$1.00 per query.

Use --show-cost to display cost breakdown after research completes.

Error Handling

API Key Errors

Error: ERROR: PERPLEXITY_API_KEY not found

• Check .env file: grep PERPLEXITY_API_KEY .env
• Get API key: https://www.perplexity.ai/settings/api

API Request Failures

Error	Solution
401 Unauthorized	API key invalid/expired. Regenerate at perplexity.ai
429 Rate Limit	Wait 60s. Check usage limits
500 Server Error	Wait 30s, retry. Check Perplexity status
Timeout (sync)	Use --async mode, increase --timeout, or reduce --reasoning-effort

Async-Specific Errors

Error	Solution
Job FAILED	Check error_message in response. Simplify prompt or retry
Job not complete after timeout	Use --job-id to poll again later (results stored 7 days)

Integration with Podcast Workflow

Sync workflow (current default):

cd podcast/tools
python perplexity_deep_research.py \
  --file "../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/prompts.md" \
  --output "../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/research/p2-perplexity.md" \
  --reasoning-effort high

Async workflow (fire-and-forget for parallel research):

cd podcast/tools

# Fire off Perplexity research (returns immediately)
python perplexity_deep_research.py --no-wait \
  --file "../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/prompts.md"
# Output: Job ID: abc123

# ... run other research tools in parallel ...

# Retrieve results when ready
python perplexity_deep_research.py --job-id abc123 \
  --output "../episodes/YYYY-MM-DD-slug/research/p2-perplexity.md"

Script Location

Path: /Users/valorengels/src/research/podcast/tools/perplexity_deep_research.py

Comparison to Other Tools

Feature	Perplexity	Gemini	GPT-Researcher
Speed	30-120s	3-10 min	6-20 min
Cost	$$$	$$	$ (varies)
Academic Focus	High	Low	Medium
Async Support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Citations	Inline + structured	Inline	Comprehensive
API-Based	Yes	Yes	Yes

Recommendation: Use Perplexity for Phase 1 academic research. Use --async for parallel research workflows.

Best Practices

1. Always verify API key before running research
2. Use high reasoning effort for podcast research (default)
3. Use --async for parallel research — fire off Perplexity while running other tools
4. Use --no-wait + --job-id for true fire-and-forget workflows
5. Specify output file using --output for organized file structure
6. Check .meta.json for structured citations and cost data
7. Use --show-cost to monitor API spending
8. Trust the async API — no client-side timeouts or retries needed
9. Request citations explicitly in prompts
10. Use --sync as fallback if async has issues