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Web Search

The web_search tool searches the web using your configured provider and returns results. Results are cached by query for 15 minutes (configurable). OpenClaw also includes x_search for X (formerly Twitter) posts and web_fetch for lightweight URL fetching. In this phase, web_fetch stays local while web_search and x_search can use xAI Responses under the hood.
web_search is a lightweight HTTP tool, not browser automation. For JS-heavy sites or logins, use the Web Browser. For fetching a specific URL, use Web Fetch.

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Quick start

1

Get an API key

Pick a provider and get an API key. See the provider pages below for sign-up links.
2

Configure

openclaw configure --section web
This stores the key and sets the provider. You can also set an env var (e.g. BRAVE_API_KEY) and skip this step.
3

Use it

The agent can now call web_search:
await web_search({ query: "OpenClaw plugin SDK" });
For X posts, use:
await x_search({ query: "dinner recipes" });

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Choosing a provider

Brave Search

Structured results with snippets. Supports llm-context mode, country/language filters. Free tier available.

DuckDuckGo

Key-free fallback. No API key needed. Unofficial HTML-based integration.

Exa

Neural + keyword search with content extraction (highlights, text, summaries).

Firecrawl

Structured results. Best paired with firecrawl_search and firecrawl_scrape for deep extraction.

Gemini

AI-synthesized answers with citations via Google Search grounding.

Grok

AI-synthesized answers with citations via xAI web grounding.

Kimi

AI-synthesized answers with citations via Moonshot web search.

Perplexity

Structured results with content extraction controls and domain filtering.

Tavily

Structured results with search depth, topic filtering, and tavily_extract for URL extraction.

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Provider comparison

ProviderResult styleFiltersAPI key
BraveStructured snippetsCountry, language, time, llm-context modeBRAVE_API_KEY
DuckDuckGoStructured snippets—None (key-free)
ExaStructured + extractedNeural/keyword mode, date, content extractionEXA_API_KEY
FirecrawlStructured snippetsVia firecrawl_search toolFIRECRAWL_API_KEY
GeminiAI-synthesized + citations—GEMINI_API_KEY
GrokAI-synthesized + citations—XAI_API_KEY
KimiAI-synthesized + citations—KIMI_API_KEY / MOONSHOT_API_KEY
PerplexityStructured snippetsCountry, language, time, domains, content limitsPERPLEXITY_API_KEY / OPENROUTER_API_KEY
TavilyStructured snippetsVia tavily_search toolTAVILY_API_KEY

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Auto-detection

Codex-capable models can optionally use the provider-native Responses web_search tool instead of OpenClaw’s managed web_search function.
  • Configure it under tools.web.search.openaiCodex
  • It only activates for Codex-capable models (openai-codex/* or providers using api: "openai-codex-responses")
  • Managed web_search still applies to non-Codex models
  • mode: "cached" is the default and recommended setting
  • tools.web.search.enabled: false disables both managed and native search
{
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        enabled: true,
        openaiCodex: {
          enabled: true,
          mode: "cached",
          allowedDomains: ["example.com"],
          contextSize: "high",
          userLocation: {
            country: "US",
            city: "New York",
            timezone: "America/New_York",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
If native Codex search is enabled but the current model is not Codex-capable, OpenClaw keeps the normal managed web_search behavior. Provider lists in docs and setup flows are alphabetical. Auto-detection keeps a separate precedence order: If no provider is set, OpenClaw checks for API keys in this order and uses the first one found:
  1. Brave — BRAVE_API_KEY or plugins.entries.brave.config.webSearch.apiKey
  2. Gemini — GEMINI_API_KEY or plugins.entries.google.config.webSearch.apiKey
  3. Grok — XAI_API_KEY or plugins.entries.xai.config.webSearch.apiKey
  4. Kimi — KIMI_API_KEY / MOONSHOT_API_KEY or plugins.entries.moonshot.config.webSearch.apiKey
  5. Perplexity — PERPLEXITY_API_KEY / OPENROUTER_API_KEY or plugins.entries.perplexity.config.webSearch.apiKey
  6. Firecrawl — FIRECRAWL_API_KEY or plugins.entries.firecrawl.config.webSearch.apiKey
  7. Tavily — TAVILY_API_KEY or plugins.entries.tavily.config.webSearch.apiKey
If no keys are found, it falls back to Brave (you will get a missing-key error prompting you to configure one).
All provider key fields support SecretRef objects. In auto-detect mode, OpenClaw resolves only the selected provider key — non-selected SecretRefs stay inactive.

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Config

{
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        enabled: true, // default: true
        provider: "brave", // or omit for auto-detection
        maxResults: 5,
        timeoutSeconds: 30,
        cacheTtlMinutes: 15,
      },
    },
  },
}
Provider-specific config (API keys, base URLs, modes) lives under plugins.entries.<plugin>.config.webSearch.*. See the provider pages for examples. For x_search, configure tools.web.x_search.* directly. It uses the same XAI_API_KEY fallback as Grok web search. When you choose Grok during openclaw onboard or openclaw configure --section web, OpenClaw can also offer optional x_search setup with the same key. This is a separate follow-up step inside the Grok path, not a separate top-level web-search provider choice. If you pick another provider, OpenClaw does not show the x_search prompt.

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Storing API keys

Run openclaw configure --section web or set the key directly:
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      brave: {
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "YOUR_KEY", // pragma: allowlist secret
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

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Tool parameters

ParameterDescription
querySearch query (required)
countResults to return (1-10, default: 5)
country2-letter ISO country code (e.g. “US”, “DE”)
languageISO 639-1 language code (e.g. “en”, “de”)
freshnessTime filter: day, week, month, or year
date_afterResults after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
date_beforeResults before this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
ui_langUI language code (Brave only)
domain_filterDomain allowlist/denylist array (Perplexity only)
max_tokensTotal content budget, default 25000 (Perplexity only)
max_tokens_per_pagePer-page token limit, default 2048 (Perplexity only)
Not all parameters work with all providers. Brave llm-context mode rejects ui_lang, freshness, date_after, and date_before. Firecrawl and Tavily only support query and count through web_search — use their dedicated tools for advanced options.
x_search queries X (formerly Twitter) posts using xAI and returns AI-synthesized answers with citations. It accepts natural-language queries and optional structured filters. OpenClaw only enables the built-in xAI x_search tool on the request that serves this tool call.
xAI documents x_search as supporting keyword search, semantic search, user search, and thread fetch. For per-post engagement stats such as reposts, replies, bookmarks, or views, prefer a targeted lookup for the exact post URL or status ID. Broad keyword searches may find the right post but return less complete per-post metadata. A good pattern is: locate the post first, then run a second x_search query focused on that exact post.

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x_search config

{
  tools: {
    web: {
      x_search: {
        enabled: true,
        apiKey: "xai-...", // optional if XAI_API_KEY is set
        model: "grok-4-1-fast-non-reasoning",
        inlineCitations: false,
        maxTurns: 2,
        timeoutSeconds: 30,
        cacheTtlMinutes: 15,
      },
    },
  },
}

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x_search parameters

ParameterDescription
querySearch query (required)
allowed_x_handlesRestrict results to specific X handles
excluded_x_handlesExclude specific X handles
from_dateOnly include posts on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
to_dateOnly include posts on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
enable_image_understandingLet xAI inspect images attached to matching posts
enable_video_understandingLet xAI inspect videos attached to matching posts

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x_search example

await x_search({
  query: "dinner recipes",
  allowed_x_handles: ["nytfood"],
  from_date: "2026-03-01",
});

// Per-post stats: use the exact status URL or status ID when possible
await x_search({
  query: "https://x.com/huntharo/status/1905678901234567890",
});

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Examples

// Basic search
await web_search({ query: "OpenClaw plugin SDK" });

// German-specific search
await web_search({ query: "TV online schauen", country: "DE", language: "de" });

// Recent results (past week)
await web_search({ query: "AI developments", freshness: "week" });

// Date range
await web_search({
  query: "climate research",
  date_after: "2024-01-01",
  date_before: "2024-06-30",
});

// Domain filtering (Perplexity only)
await web_search({
  query: "product reviews",
  domain_filter: ["-reddit.com", "-pinterest.com"],
});

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Tool profiles

If you use tool profiles or allowlists, add web_search, x_search, or group:web: 
{
  tools: {
    allow: ["web_search", "x_search"],
    // or: allow: ["group:web"]  (includes web_search, x_search, and web_fetch)
  },
}
  • Web Fetch — fetch a URL and extract readable content
  • Web Browser — full browser automation for JS-heavy sites
  • Grok Search — Grok as the web_search provider