Multi-Engine Web Search

Unified multi-engine web search. Use when the user wants to search the web, find information, look up sources, or perform research. Supports Tavily API (fast) and browser-based search (Google, Bing, Baidu, DuckDuckGo). Can aggregate results from multiple engines. Triggers on "搜索", "search", "查一下", "找一下", "搜一下", "查找", "search the web", "look up", "google it", "bing", "百度".

Web Search

Unified search interface across multiple search engines with result aggregation support.

Quick Start

bash

# Default search (Tavily API - fastest)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "your search query"

# Specify engine
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "你的搜索内容" --engine baidu
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "search terms" --engine google

# Aggregate from multiple engines
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "关键词" --engine all

# Limit results
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --max-results 10

Search Engines

Engine	Method	Best For	Speed
tavily	API	General web search, fast results	⚡ Fastest
google	Browser	Comprehensive results, international	🐢 Slow
bing	Browser	Microsoft ecosystem, image search	🐢 Slow
baidu	Browser	Chinese content, domestic sites	🐢 Slow
duckduckgo	Browser	Privacy-focused, no tracking	🐢 Slow
all	Aggregated	Maximum coverage, research	🐌 Slowest

Commands

Tavily Search (Recommended)

Fast API-based search, best for most use cases:

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine tavily

# With answer summary
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine tavily --include-answer

# Markdown output
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine tavily --format md

Requirements: TAVILY_API_KEY in environment or ~/.openclaw/.env

Browser-Based Search

Use agent-browser to access search engines directly:

bash

# Google search
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine google

# Baidu (for Chinese content)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "关键词" --engine baidu

# Bing
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine bing

# DuckDuckGo (privacy-focused)
python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine duckduckgo

Aggregated Search

Search multiple engines and combine results:

bash

python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine all --max-results 5

This searches Tavily + Google + Baidu and deduplicates results.

Output Format

JSON (default)

json

{
  "query": "search query",
  "engine": "tavily",
  "results": [
    {
      "title": "Result Title",
      "url": "https://example.com",
      "snippet": "Brief description..."
    }
  ]
}

Markdown (--format md)

markdown

## Search Results: "query"

1. **[Title](url)**
   Description...

2. **[Title](url)**
   Description...

Decision Guide

Use Tavily when:

• Need quick results
• General web search
• API available

Use Google when:

• Need comprehensive results
• International content
• Tavily unavailable

Use Baidu when:

• Searching Chinese content
• Looking for domestic Chinese sites
• Researching Chinese topics

Use DuckDuckGo when:

• Privacy is important
• Avoiding tracking
• Alternative perspective

Use Aggregated when:

• Research needs comprehensive coverage
• Important topic requiring multiple sources
• Comparing results across engines

Workflow

1. Determine engine preference

   • Default: Tavily (fastest)
   • Chinese content: Baidu
   • Research: all engines

2. Run search

   bash

   python3 {baseDir}/scripts/web_search.py --query "..." --engine tavily --max-results 5
   

3. If more depth needed

   • Increase --max-results
   • Switch to --engine all
   • Use agent-browser directly for interactive search

Integration with agent-browser

For complex search tasks requiring interaction:

bash

# Open Google
agent-browser open "https://www.google.com/search?q=query"

# Open Baidu
agent-browser open "https://www.baidu.com/s?wd=关键词"

# Extract results
agent-browser snapshot -i

See Agent Browser skill for full browser automation capabilities.

Notes

• Keep --max-results small (3-5) by default to reduce token usage
• Browser-based searches are slower due to page loading
• Aggregated search combines and deduplicates results from multiple engines
• For Chinese queries, Baidu often returns better localized results