openclaw/docs/tools/exa-search.md at 1c60e00a348ec8bdabdcd4e6a96b758c5f85a601

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Vincent Koc 1c60e00a34 docs(tools): update Exa Search notes for current API behavior

Add notes about default highlights contents, highlightScores/summary
preservation from responses, description resolution order, and
100-result cap.

2026-03-22 21:39:33 -07:00

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summary, read_when, title

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Exa AI search -- neural and keyword search with content extraction

You want to use Exa for web_search

You need an EXA_API_KEY

You want neural search or content extraction

Exa Search

OpenClaw supports Exa AI as a web_search provider. Exa offers neural, keyword, and hybrid search modes with built-in content extraction (highlights, text, summaries).

Get an API key

Sign up at [exa.ai](https://exa.ai/) and generate an API key from your dashboard. Set `EXA_API_KEY` in the Gateway environment, or configure via:

```bash
openclaw configure --section web
```

Config

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      exa: {
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "exa-...", // optional if EXA_API_KEY is set
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "exa",
      },
    },
  },
}

Environment alternative: set EXA_API_KEY in the Gateway environment. For a gateway install, put it in ~/.openclaw/.env.

Tool parameters

Parameter	Description
`query`	Search query (required)
`count`	Results to return (1-100)
`type`	Search mode: `auto`, `neural`, `fast`, `deep`, `deep-reasoning`, or `instant`
`freshness`	Time filter: `day`, `week`, `month`, or `year`
`date_after`	Results after this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`date_before`	Results before this date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`contents`	Content extraction options (see below)

Content extraction

Exa can return extracted content alongside search results. Pass a contents object to enable:

await web_search({
  query: "transformer architecture explained",
  type: "neural",
  contents: {
    text: true, // full page text
    highlights: { numSentences: 3 }, // key sentences
    summary: true, // AI summary
  },
});

Contents option	Type	Description
`text`	`boolean \| { maxCharacters }`	Extract full page text
`highlights`	`boolean \| { maxCharacters, query, numSentences, highlightsPerUrl }`	Extract key sentences
`summary`	`boolean \| { query }`	AI-generated summary

Search modes

Mode	Description
`auto`	Exa picks the best mode (default)
`neural`	Semantic/meaning-based search
`fast`	Quick keyword search
`deep`	Thorough deep search
`deep-reasoning`	Deep search with reasoning
`instant`	Fastest results

Notes

If no contents option is provided, Exa defaults to { highlights: true } so results include key sentence excerpts
Results preserve highlightScores and summary fields from the Exa API response when available
Result descriptions are resolved from highlights first, then summary, then full text — whichever is available
freshness and date_after/date_before cannot be combined — use one time-filter mode
Up to 100 results can be returned per query (subject to Exa search-type limits)
Results are cached for 15 minutes by default (configurable via cacheTtlMinutes)
Exa is an official API integration with structured JSON responses

Web Search overview -- all providers and auto-detection
Brave Search -- structured results with country/language filters
Perplexity Search -- structured results with domain filtering

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