Tanso

Use tanso to explore Chinese internet signals through provider APIs and return source-backed answers. Prefer --json for agent workflows.

Before Running

Check availability:

tanso version
tanso config show --json

If tanso is missing and the user asked for setup, install it:

npm install -g @geekjourneyx/tanso

Never print .env, API keys, bearer tokens, raw config files, or CI secrets. Treat redacted config values as expected.

Choose A Source

Use the narrowest source that matches the task:

Need	Command
Multi-source default search	tanso "<query>" --json --limit 5
All search and answer sources	tanso all "<query>" --json --limit 5
Broad web evidence	tanso bocha "<query>" --json --limit 5
Web-grounded direct answer	tanso volc "<query>" --json --limit 1
Zhihu opinions and discussions	tanso zhihu "<query>" --json --limit 5
Zhihu-backed global web search	tanso zhihu web "<query>" --json --limit 5
Current Zhihu hotlist	tanso zhihu hot --json
Available source IDs	tanso sources --json

Use Zhihu for opinion-rich questions, Bocha for broad corroboration, Volcengine for synthesized direct answers, and hotlist for current attention. Use tanso --help or tanso <command> --help to inspect the installed command surface before assuming a command exists.

For Zhihu global search only, filters are valid:

tanso zhihu web "<query>" --filter 'host=="example.com"' --search-db realtime --json

Research Workflow

1. Rewrite the user request into 2-5 concrete Chinese queries with aliases, product names, and time qualifiers when useful.
2. Start with --limit 3 to --limit 5; increase only when coverage is weak.
3. Inspect status, results, source_status, and errors in JSON output.
4. Cross-check important claims across sources before presenting them as facts.
5. Separate source claims from your inference. Mention provider failures when they reduce confidence.

Answer Shape

For research answers:

**Conclusion**
One concise answer.

**Evidence**
- Source, title, URL, key point.
- Source, title, URL, key point.

**Assessment**
What is likely true, what is uncertain, and what to verify next.

For topic discovery:

**Topic Candidates**
1. Topic: why it matters, source signal, suggested angle.
2. Topic: why it matters, source signal, suggested angle.

**Counterintuitive Point**
What contradicts common assumptions.

**Next Step**
Exact follow-up searches or validation steps.

Failure Handling

Signal	Action
credential_missing or exit 4	Check redacted config; ask for the relevant provider key if needed.
Exit 2	Remove incompatible flags and rerun the simplest valid command.
Exit 5	Retry once with a smaller limit, then switch provider.
Exit 6	Narrow the query and reduce --limit.
Exit 7	Rewrite with alternate Chinese terms or broaden to Bocha/Zhihu global search.

When one provider fails, continue with configured alternatives if the user asked for research rather than debugging.

Guardrails

• Do not scrape browsers or websites when a Tanso provider can answer the task.
• Do not use --filter or --search-db outside tanso zhihu web.
• Do not treat tanso sources --json as proof that credentials work; configured only means local credential material is present.
• Do not present one provider's output as verified fact when sources conflict.
• Do not expand a narrow question into broad trend research unless the user asks for topic discovery.