Google Search Skill

Dev Tools

Performs Google searches with rich results including news, images, videos, places, shopping, scholar papers, patents, and search suggestions via Serper.dev API.

Install

openclaw skills install serper-google-search

Google Search Skill

Google Search powered by Serper.dev API. Replaces Brave Search with richer results including Knowledge Graph, Answer Box, People Also Ask, and specialized search types.

When to Use

Use this skill for any Google search request. Auto-detect intent:

  • Default → search
  • "news about X" / "latest X" → news
  • "images of X" / "pictures of X" → images
  • "videos of X" / "how to X video" → videos
  • "restaurants near X" / "X near me" → places
  • "how much does X cost" / "buy X" → shopping (⚠️ 2 credits — only when explicitly requested)
  • "papers on X" / "research about X" → scholar
  • "patents for X" → patents
  • "suggestions for X" → suggest

Usage

SCRIPT_DIR="~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/google-search/scripts"

# Web search (default)
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts search "query" [--num 10] [--time day|week|month|year] [--country us] [--lang en]

# Specialized
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts news "query" [--num 10]
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts images "query"
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts videos "query"
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts places "query"
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts shopping "query"
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts scholar "query" [--year 2023]
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts patents "query"
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts suggest "query"
npx tsx $SCRIPT_DIR/google-search.ts credits

Add --json to any command for raw JSON output.

Environment

Requires SERPER_API_KEY env var.

Workflow

  1. Run the appropriate search command
  2. Parse the formatted output
  3. If deeper content is needed, use web_fetch on promising links
  4. Credit balance is shown in every response — monitor usage
  5. Shopping costs 2 credits — only use when user explicitly asks for prices/shopping

Time Filters

--time accepts: hour, day, week, month, year (or h, d, w, m, y)

Notes

  • Rate limit: 5 req/sec on free tier
  • All searches cost 1 credit except shopping (2 credits)
  • Results include rich data: Knowledge Graph, Answer Box, People Also Ask, Related Searches