> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cryptoclawdocs.termix.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Web Tools # Web tools OpenClaw ships two lightweight web tools: * `web_search` — Search the web via Brave Search API (default) or Perplexity Sonar (direct or via OpenRouter). * `web_fetch` — HTTP fetch + readable extraction (HTML → markdown/text). These are **not** browser automation. For JS-heavy sites or logins, use the [Browser tool](/tools/browser). ## How it works * `web_search` calls your configured provider and returns results. * **Brave** (default): returns structured results (title, URL, snippet). * **Perplexity**: returns AI-synthesized answers with citations from real-time web search. * Results are cached by query for 15 minutes (configurable). * `web_fetch` does a plain HTTP GET and extracts readable content (HTML → markdown/text). It does **not** execute JavaScript. * `web_fetch` is enabled by default (unless explicitly disabled). ## Choosing a search provider | Provider | Pros | Cons | API Key | | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | **Brave** (default) | Fast, structured results, free tier | Traditional search results | `BRAVE_API_KEY` | | **Perplexity** | AI-synthesized answers, citations, real-time | Requires Perplexity or OpenRouter access | `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` or `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` | See [Brave Search setup](/brave-search) and [Perplexity Sonar](/perplexity) for provider-specific details. Set the provider in config: ```json5 theme={null} { tools: { web: { search: { provider: "brave", // or "perplexity" }, }, }, } ``` Example: switch to Perplexity Sonar (direct API): ```json5 theme={null} { tools: { web: { search: { provider: "perplexity", perplexity: { apiKey: "pplx-...", baseUrl: "https://api.perplexity.ai", model: "perplexity/sonar-pro", }, }, }, }, } ``` ## Getting a Brave API key 1. Create a Brave Search API account at [https://brave.com/search/api/](https://brave.com/search/api/) 2. In the dashboard, choose the **Data for Search** plan (not “Data for AI”) and generate an API key. 3. Run `openclaw configure --section web` to store the key in config (recommended), or set `BRAVE_API_KEY` in your environment. Brave provides a free tier plus paid plans; check the Brave API portal for the current limits and pricing. ### Where to set the key (recommended) **Recommended:** run `openclaw configure --section web`. It stores the key in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` under `tools.web.search.apiKey`. **Environment alternative:** set `BRAVE_API_KEY` in the Gateway process environment. For a gateway install, put it in `~/.openclaw/.env` (or your service environment). See [Env vars](/help/faq#how-does-openclaw-load-environment-variables). ## Using Perplexity (direct or via OpenRouter) Perplexity Sonar models have built-in web search capabilities and return AI-synthesized answers with citations. You can use them via OpenRouter (no credit card required - supports crypto/prepaid). ### Getting an OpenRouter API key 1. Create an account at [https://openrouter.ai/](https://openrouter.ai/) 2. Add credits (supports crypto, prepaid, or credit card) 3. Generate an API key in your account settings ### Setting up Perplexity search ```json5 theme={null} { tools: { web: { search: { enabled: true, provider: "perplexity", perplexity: { // API key (optional if OPENROUTER_API_KEY or PERPLEXITY_API_KEY is set) apiKey: "sk-or-v1-...", // Base URL (key-aware default if omitted) baseUrl: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", // Model (defaults to perplexity/sonar-pro) model: "perplexity/sonar-pro", }, }, }, }, } ``` **Environment alternative:** set `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` or `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` in the Gateway environment. For a gateway install, put it in `~/.openclaw/.env`. If no base URL is set, OpenClaw chooses a default based on the API key source: * `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` or `pplx-...` → `https://api.perplexity.ai` * `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` or `sk-or-...` → `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` * Unknown key formats → OpenRouter (safe fallback) ### Available Perplexity models | Model | Description | Best for | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------- | | `perplexity/sonar` | Fast Q\&A with web search | Quick lookups | | `perplexity/sonar-pro` (default) | Multi-step reasoning with web search | Complex questions | | `perplexity/sonar-reasoning-pro` | Chain-of-thought analysis | Deep research | ## web\_search Search the web using your configured provider. ### Requirements * `tools.web.search.enabled` must not be `false` (default: enabled) * API key for your chosen provider: * **Brave**: `BRAVE_API_KEY` or `tools.web.search.apiKey` * **Perplexity**: `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`, `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`, or `tools.web.search.perplexity.apiKey` ### Config ```json5 theme={null} { tools: { web: { search: { enabled: true, apiKey: "BRAVE_API_KEY_HERE", // optional if BRAVE_API_KEY is set maxResults: 5, timeoutSeconds: 30, cacheTtlMinutes: 15, }, }, }, } ``` ### Tool parameters * `query` (required) * `count` (1–10; default from config) * `country` (optional): 2-letter country code for region-specific results (e.g., "DE", "US", "ALL"). If omitted, Brave chooses its default region. * `search_lang` (optional): ISO language code for search results (e.g., "de", "en", "fr") * `ui_lang` (optional): ISO language code for UI elements * `freshness` (optional, Brave only): filter by discovery time (`pd`, `pw`, `pm`, `py`, or `YYYY-MM-DDtoYYYY-MM-DD`) **Examples:** ```javascript theme={null} // German-specific search await web_search({ query: "TV online schauen", count: 10, country: "DE", search_lang: "de", }); // French search with French UI await web_search({ query: "actualités", country: "FR", search_lang: "fr", ui_lang: "fr", }); // Recent results (past week) await web_search({ query: "TMBG interview", freshness: "pw", }); ``` ## web\_fetch Fetch a URL and extract readable content. ### Requirements * `tools.web.fetch.enabled` must not be `false` (default: enabled) * Optional Firecrawl fallback: set `tools.web.fetch.firecrawl.apiKey` or `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY`. ### Config ```json5 theme={null} { tools: { web: { fetch: { enabled: true, maxChars: 50000, maxCharsCap: 50000, timeoutSeconds: 30, cacheTtlMinutes: 15, maxRedirects: 3, userAgent: "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 14_7_2) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/122.0.0.0 Safari/537.36", readability: true, firecrawl: { enabled: true, apiKey: "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY_HERE", // optional if FIRECRAWL_API_KEY is set baseUrl: "https://api.firecrawl.dev", onlyMainContent: true, maxAgeMs: 86400000, // ms (1 day) timeoutSeconds: 60, }, }, }, }, } ``` ### Tool parameters * `url` (required, http/https only) * `extractMode` (`markdown` | `text`) * `maxChars` (truncate long pages) Notes: * `web_fetch` uses Readability (main-content extraction) first, then Firecrawl (if configured). If both fail, the tool returns an error. * Firecrawl requests use bot-circumvention mode and cache results by default. * `web_fetch` sends a Chrome-like User-Agent and `Accept-Language` by default; override `userAgent` if needed. * `web_fetch` blocks private/internal hostnames and re-checks redirects (limit with `maxRedirects`). * `maxChars` is clamped to `tools.web.fetch.maxCharsCap`. * `web_fetch` is best-effort extraction; some sites will need the browser tool. * See [Firecrawl](/tools/firecrawl) for key setup and service details. * Responses are cached (default 15 minutes) to reduce repeated fetches. * If you use tool profiles/allowlists, add `web_search`/`web_fetch` or `group:web`. * If the Brave key is missing, `web_search` returns a short setup hint with a docs link.