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Search the web and X (Twitter) using SkillBoss API Hub with real-time access, citations, and image understanding

Web & X Search via SkillBoss API Hub

Search the web and X (Twitter) using SkillBoss API Hub with real-time internet access, citations, and optional image/video understanding.

When to Use This Skill

Use Web Search For:

• Current information from websites, news articles, documentation
• Real-time data (stock prices, weather, recent events)
• Research topics with up-to-date web sources
• Finding information from specific websites/domains
• Verifying current facts

Use X Search For:

• What people are saying on X/Twitter about a topic
• Trending discussions and social sentiment
• Real-time reactions to events
• Posts from specific X handles/users
• Recent social media activity within date ranges

Do NOT use for:

• Historical facts that won't change
• General knowledge already available
• Mathematical calculations
• Code generation
• Creative writing

Setup

Required Environment Variables

bash

export SKILLBOSS_API_KEY="your-skillboss-api-key-here"

Get your API key from the SkillBoss API Hub dashboard.

Usage

The agent will automatically choose the right tool based on the user's query:

User: "What's the latest news about AI regulation?" → Uses web_search

User: "What are people saying about OpenAI on X?" → Uses x_search

API Reference

Function: search_web

Search the web using SkillBoss API Hub.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search query string
• allowed_domains (optional): Array of domains to restrict search (max 5)
• excluded_domains (optional): Array of domains to exclude (max 5)
• enable_image_understanding (optional): Enable image analysis (default: false)

Returns:

• content: The search response text
• citations: Array of sources with url, title, and snippet
• usage: Token usage statistics

Function: search_x

Search X (Twitter) using SkillBoss API Hub.

Parameters:

• query (required): Search query string
• allowed_x_handles (optional): Array of X handles to search (max 10, without @)
• excluded_x_handles (optional): Array of X handles to exclude (max 10, without @)
• from_date (optional): Start date in ISO8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
• to_date (optional): End date in ISO8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
• enable_image_understanding (optional): Enable image analysis (default: false)
• enable_video_understanding (optional): Enable video analysis (default: false)

Returns:

• content: The search response text
• citations: Array of X posts with url, title, and snippet
• usage: Token usage statistics

Implementation

This skill uses the SkillBoss API Hub (/v1/pilot endpoint) with type: "search" for automatic routing to the best available search provider.

Web Search

javascript

const API_KEY = process.env.SKILLBOSS_API_KEY
const API_BASE = 'https://api.skillbossai.com/v1'

async function pilot(body) {
  const r = await fetch(`${API_BASE}/pilot`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify(body)
  })
  return r.json()
}

async function search_web(options) {
  const { query, allowed_domains, excluded_domains } = options;

  let enhancedQuery = query;
  if (allowed_domains?.length > 0) {
    enhancedQuery += ' site:(' + allowed_domains.join(' OR ') + ')';
  }
  if (excluded_domains?.length > 0) {
    enhancedQuery += ' ' + excluded_domains.map(d => `-site:${d}`).join(' ');
  }

  const result = await pilot({
    type: 'search',
    inputs: { query: enhancedQuery },
    prefer: 'balanced'
  });

  const searchResults = result.data.result;
  return {
    content: typeof searchResults === 'string' ? searchResults : JSON.stringify(searchResults),
    citations: Array.isArray(searchResults) ? searchResults : []
  };
}

X Search

javascript

async function search_x(options) {
  const { query, allowed_x_handles, excluded_x_handles, from_date, to_date } = options;

  let xQuery = query + ' site:x.com OR site:twitter.com';
  if (allowed_x_handles?.length > 0) {
    xQuery += ' from:(' + allowed_x_handles.join(' OR from:') + ')';
  }
  if (excluded_x_handles?.length > 0) {
    xQuery += ' ' + excluded_x_handles.map(h => `-from:${h}`).join(' ');
  }
  if (from_date) xQuery += ` after:${from_date}`;
  if (to_date) xQuery += ` before:${to_date}`;

  const result = await pilot({
    type: 'search',
    inputs: { query: xQuery },
    prefer: 'balanced'
  });

  const searchResults = result.data.result;
  return {
    content: typeof searchResults === 'string' ? searchResults : JSON.stringify(searchResults),
    citations: Array.isArray(searchResults) ? searchResults : []
  };
}

Examples

Web Search - Current Events

javascript

const result = await search_web({
  query: "latest AI regulation developments"
});

Web Search - Specific Domains

javascript

const result = await search_web({
  query: "UN climate summit latest",
  allowed_domains: ["un.org", "gov.uk", "grokipedia.com"]
});

X Search - Social Sentiment

javascript

const result = await search_x({
  query: "new iPhone reactions opinions"
});

X Search - Specific Handles

javascript

const result = await search_x({
  query: "AI thoughts",
  allowed_x_handles: ["elonmusk", "cstanley"],
  from_date: "2025-01-01"
});

X Search - With Media

javascript

const result = await search_x({
  query: "Mars landing images",
  enable_image_understanding: true,
  enable_video_understanding: true
});

Best Practices

Web Search

• Use allowed_domains to limit to specific domains (max 5)
• Use excluded_domains for known bad sources (max 5)
• Cannot use both at same time
• Enable image understanding only when needed

X Search

• Use allowed_x_handles to focus on specific accounts (max 10)
• Use excluded_x_handles to filter noise (max 10)
• Cannot use both at same time
• Don't include @ symbol in handles
• Use ISO8601 date format: YYYY-MM-DD
• Media understanding adds API costs

Troubleshooting

"SKILLBOSS_API_KEY not found"

bash

export SKILLBOSS_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Rate Limiting

• Implement exponential backoff
• Cache frequent queries

Poor Results

• Add domain/handle filters
• Make queries more specific
• Narrow date ranges

Slow Responses

Search queries can take 30-60+ seconds to return. If the search is lagging, inform the user that results are still loading and ask them to type "poll" to check for the completed response.

API Documentation

• SkillBoss API Hub: https://api.skillbossai.com/v1/pilot