Perplexity Search Skill

Search the web using Perplexity's Search API for ranked, real-time web results with advanced filtering. Use when you need to search for current information, market research, trending topics, or when Brave Search is unavailable. Supports recency filtering (day/week/month/year) and returns structured results with titles, URLs, and snippets.

Security Scan

The skill's code, instructions, and required PERPLEXITY_API_KEY are consistent with a web-search wrapper for Perplexity's Search API; nothing requested or installed appears disproportionate to that purpose.

Purpose & Capability

Name/description, required env var (PERPLEXITY_API_KEY), and included Python script all align with a Perplexity Search API wrapper. Minor provenance inconsistency: registry metadata at the top states 'Source: unknown / Homepage: none' while skill.json and README reference a GitHub homepage; this is a documentation/packaging mismatch but not a functional threat.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md instructs running the bundled Python script and setting PERPLEXITY_API_KEY via OpenClaw config or environment. The runtime instructions and script only access the declared env var and make HTTPS requests to api.perplexity.ai; they do not read other system files or exfiltrate unrelated data.

Install Mechanism

No install spec (instruction-only distribution) and no external downloads; code is bundled in the skill. The script uses only the Python standard library—no external packages or remote installers are invoked.

Credentials

Only PERPLEXITY_API_KEY is required and declared as the primary credential; that is proportional and expected for an API wrapper. The SKILL.md and script only reference that environment variable.

Persistence & Privilege

Skill is not marked always:true and does not request elevated or persistent system privileges. It does not modify other skills' configs; typical agent-invocation settings apply (autonomous invocation is allowed by default).

Assessment

This skill appears to be a straightforward Perplexity Search API wrapper and requests only a single API key. Before installing, verify the skill's source (the metadata had inconsistent homepage info — skill.json points to a GitHub repo), review the included scripts yourself, and confirm the API endpoint (https://api.perplexity.ai/search) matches Perplexity's official docs. Store your PERPLEXITY_API_KEY in your OpenClaw config (or otherwise secure it), monitor API usage/billing after first use, and rotate the key if anything looks suspicious. If you need stronger guarantees, run the script locally first and inspect network calls or host it in a sandboxed environment before enabling agent-autonomous invocation.

Perplexity Search

Search the web using Perplexity's Search API for ranked, real-time results.

Quick Start

Basic search:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search.py "your search query"

With options:

# Get 10 results
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search.py "AI trends 2024" --count 10

# Filter by recency
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search.py "recent AI news" --recency week

# Get raw JSON output
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search.py "market research" --json

API Key Setup

The script requires a PERPLEXITY_API_KEY environment variable.

Option 1: Set in OpenClaw config (recommended)

Add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "skills": {
    "perplexity-search": {
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Environment variable

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Get your API key from: https://perplexity.ai/account/api

Parameters

• query - Search query string (required)
• --count N - Number of results (1-10, default: 5)
• --recency FILTER - Recency filter: day, week, month, or year
• --json - Output raw JSON instead of formatted results

Response Format

The API returns:

{
  "results": [
    {
      "title": "Article title",
      "url": "https://example.com/article",
      "snippet": "Brief excerpt from the page...",
      "date": "2024-01-15",
      "last_updated": "2024-02-01"
    }
  ],
  "id": "search-request-id"
}

Use Cases

Market Research:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search.py "golf coaching Instagram trends" --count 10

Recent News:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search.py "AI regulation updates" --recency week

Competitive Analysis:

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/search.py "AI golf training apps" --count 10

Pricing

Perplexity Search API: $5 per 1,000 requests

Track your usage at: https://perplexity.ai/account/api

Security

• API key loaded from environment only - never hardcoded
• Output sanitization prevents terminal injection
• Error messages don't expose sensitive information
• 30-second timeout prevents hanging requests
• Input validation on all parameters

Notes

• Results are ranked by relevance
• Includes real-time web data
• Supports filtering by recency
• Returns structured JSON or formatted text
• Rate limits apply based on your Perplexity plan