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PicoClaw provides web search capabilities through multiple search providers with intelligent fallback behavior. The agent can search the web to find current information, news, and answers to questions.

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Available Providers

PicoClaw supports four web search providers with automatic priority-based selection:

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1. Perplexity (Priority 1)

Best for: AI-powered search with synthesized answers
  • Uses Perplexity’s sonar model for intelligent search
  • Returns formatted results with titles, URLs, and descriptions
  • Slower than traditional search (30s timeout) due to LLM processing
  • Requires API key from Perplexity

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2. Brave Search (Priority 2)

Best for: High-quality search results optimized for AI agents
  • Fast and reliable search results (10s timeout)
  • Free tier: 2,000 queries per month
  • Requires API key from Brave Search API
  • Returns structured results with titles, URLs, and descriptions

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3. Tavily (Priority 3)

Best for: AI-optimized search with advanced depth
  • Designed specifically for AI agents
  • Free tier: 1,000 queries per month
  • Requires API key from Tavily
  • Advanced search depth with rich content extraction

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4. DuckDuckGo (Priority 4 - Fallback)

Best for: No-setup fallback option
  • No API key required
  • Free and unlimited
  • HTML-based extraction using regex
  • Automatically enabled as fallback when no other provider is configured

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Configuration

Add web search configuration to ~/.picoclaw/config.json: 
{
  "tools": {
    "web": {
      "perplexity": {
        "enabled": true,
        "api_key": "pplx-...",
        "max_results": 5
      },
      "brave": {
        "enabled": true,
        "api_key": "BSA...",
        "max_results": 5
      },
      "tavily": {
        "enabled": true,
        "api_key": "tvly-...",
        "max_results": 5
      },
      "duckduckgo": {
        "enabled": true,
        "max_results": 5
      }
    }
  }
}

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Configuration Options

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
enabledbooleanfalseEnable/disable the provider
api_keystring-API key for the provider (not needed for DuckDuckGo)
max_resultsinteger5Maximum number of search results to return

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Fallback Behavior

PicoClaw automatically selects the best available provider based on priority:
  1. Perplexity - If enabled and API key is configured
  2. Brave - If Perplexity unavailable and Brave is enabled
  3. Tavily - If Brave unavailable and Tavily is enabled
  4. DuckDuckGo - Always available as ultimate fallback (no API key needed)

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Usage

The agent automatically uses web search when needed: 
picoclaw agent -m "What are the latest AI news?"
The web_search tool is invoked automatically by the agent with the following parameters:

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Tool Parameters

ParameterTypeRequiredDescription
querystringYesSearch query
countintegerNoNumber of results (1-10, default: configured max_results)

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Tool Response Format

The tool returns formatted search results: 
Results for: AI news (via Brave)
1. Latest AI Developments
   https://example.com/ai-news
   Breaking news about artificial intelligence...

2. AI Industry Update
   https://example.com/industry
   Major tech companies announce new AI initiatives...

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Getting API Keys

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Brave Search API

  1. Visit https://brave.com/search/api
  2. Sign up for a free account
  3. Create an API key (starts with BSA)
  4. Free tier: 2,000 queries/month

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Tavily API

  1. Visit https://tavily.com
  2. Sign up for an account
  3. Get your API key (starts with tvly-)
  4. Free tier: 1,000 queries/month

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Perplexity API

  1. Visit https://perplexity.ai
  2. Access API settings
  3. Generate API key (starts with pplx-)
  4. Check pricing at Perplexity Pricing

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Minimal Setup (No API Key)

To use web search without any API keys, simply enable DuckDuckGo: 
{
  "tools": {
    "web": {
      "duckduckgo": {
        "enabled": true,
        "max_results": 5
      }
    }
  }
}
This configuration is automatically enabled by default if no other providers are configured.

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Implementation Details

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Search Timeouts

  • Standard providers (Brave, Tavily, DuckDuckGo): 10 seconds
  • Perplexity: 30 seconds (due to LLM processing)
  • Web fetch: 60 seconds

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HTTP Client Features

  • Configurable proxy support (HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5)
  • Connection pooling (10 max idle connections)
  • 30-second idle connection timeout
  • 15-second TLS handshake timeout
  • Custom User-Agent for compatibility

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Provider Implementation

All providers implement the SearchProvider interface: 
type SearchProvider interface {
    Search(ctx context.Context, query string, count int) (string, error)
}

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Troubleshooting

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”API key configuration issue”

This message appears when no API key is configured. The agent will:
  • Automatically fall back to DuckDuckGo if enabled
  • Provide helpful links for manual searching

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”No results found”

If a search returns no results:
  • Try rephrasing the query
  • Check internet connectivity
  • Verify API key is valid
  • Try a different provider

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Rate Limiting

Free tier limits:
  • Brave: 2,000 queries/month
  • Tavily: 1,000 queries/month
  • DuckDuckGo: Unlimited (rate-limited by IP)
When you hit the limit, PicoClaw automatically falls back to the next available provider.

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