Comet Skill: Claude Code Research Delegation Pattern (2026)

An r/codex post in May 2026 shipped Comet Skill — open-source bridge from Codex/Claude Code to a logged-in Perplexity Comet browser via Chrome DevTools Protocol. The OP's framing: web research inside coding agents still sucks. Comet Skill delegates and returns a URL instead of dumping 10K tokens into the agent's context.

The problem it solves

Coding agents that need deep research have two bad options: block for 5+ minutes waiting on a Perplexity Sonar API call, or dump tens of thousands of tokens into context after a search returns. Both kill agent throughput.

How Comet Skill works

Agent receives a research task → Comet Skill connects over CDP → opens a clean Perplexity tab → selects Deep Research → uploads files if needed → submits the query → returns the /search/<id> URL. Codex/Claude Code does NOT sit waiting; it hands the job to Comet, keeps working, and the user reviews the finished research thread when ready.

The cost shape

Free if you already pay for Perplexity Pro ($20/mo). The Comet desktop + your existing Pro subscription does the work. No Perplexity API spend on top. For solo developers who use Comet daily, the marginal cost of Comet-Skill-driven research is zero.

Why pair with Scavio MCP

Two roles, two tools. Comet Skill handles deep multi-step research (5+ minutes, returns URL). Scavio MCP handles fast typed-JSON lookups inside the same session. Clean separation, no overlap.

# Install Comet Skill per the repo README
git clone https://github.com/ammarshah1n/comet-skill.git
cd comet-skill
# Follow install steps

# Attach Scavio MCP for fast typed lookups
claude mcp add scavio https://mcp.scavio.dev/mcp \
  --header 'x-api-key: $SCAVIO_API_KEY'

The system-prompt routing rule

Explicit, in CLAUDE.md or the system prompt: "For fast typed lookups call scavio.search. For deep multi-step research call comet_research; do NOT block waiting; review the URL when ready." The LLM routes correctly without re-reading the prompt every turn.

Where it doesn't fit

Headless production agents. Comet Skill needs a real Chrome instance with a logged-in Pro session. For server-to-server multi-tenant production, swap Comet Skill for Perplexity Sonar API. Same shape (delegated deep research) but headless.

The user's flow

Open Claude Code, ask the agent to research a topic. Agent calls comet_research, returns "Research started; URL: /search/<id>" within seconds. Agent continues other work. When you're ready, open Comet, view the finished thread.

Why this pattern matters beyond Comet

The delegation pattern (return a URL/handle, don't block) generalizes. Long-running tasks — video transcoding, large LLM summarization, slow API calls — benefit from the same shape. Build the tool to return a handle, not blocking output. Keep the agent throughput up.

What this means for vendor choice

For solo devs paying for Perplexity Pro: Comet Skill + Scavio MCP is the cheapest research stack at $30/mo extra (Scavio Project) or $50/mo total if Pro is new. Cheaper than Claude Max ($100-200/mo) for most use cases. The right pick depends on your daily flow shape.

Honest tradeoffs

Solo, Pro-subscriber, Claude Code/Codex flow: Comet Skill is great. Multi-tenant production: skip Comet, use Sonar API. Cost-aware solo dev who doesn't need deep research often: just Scavio MCP, skip Comet entirely.

Verified-online May 2026 against the Comet Skill repo and the source post.