Web Search

Web Search Skill

When to Use

• Real-time information (news, prices, events)
• Looking up API documentation or SDK guides
• Current technical information beyond training data
• Verifying facts from authoritative sources

When NOT to Use

• Replit-specific features (use the replit-docs skill)
• Searching for real web images or logo files (use the image-search skill)
• Image or video generation (use the media-generation skill)
• Code search within the project (use grep/glob tools)

Available Functions

Single web search — webSearch(query)

Parameters:

• query (str, required): Natural language search query phrased as a complete question

Returns: Dict with searchAnswer and resultPages (list of title/url/snippet dicts)

Example:

const results = await webSearch({ query: "OpenAI API rate limits 2026" });
for (const page of results.resultPages) {
    console.log(`${page.title}: ${page.url}`);
}

Multiple web searches — webSearch({ queries })

Run multiple searches concurrently (max 10).

Parameters:

• queries (list[str]): List of natural language search queries phrased as complete questions

Returns: List of result dicts, each with searchAnswer and resultPages (list of title/url/snippet dicts)

Example:

const results = await webSearch({
    queries: ["OpenAI API rate limits 2026", "Anthropic API rate limits 2026"]
});

webFetch(url)

Fetch and extract content from a URL as markdown.

Parameters:

• url (str, required): Full HTTPS URL to fetch

Returns: Dict with markdown key containing page content

Example:

const content = await webFetch({ url: "https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/rate-limits" });
console.log(content.markdown.slice(0, 1000));

Best Practices

1. Use natural language queries: write queries as complete questions with context.
2. Chain search and fetch: search first, then fetch specific pages for details.
3. Be specific: include dates, versions, or other specifics in queries.
4. Verify with fetch: don't rely only on search snippets for critical information.
5. Use branding for design matching: when replicating a site's visual style, use extractBranding to get exact colors, fonts, and spacing.
6. Use screenshot for visual reference: when you need to see what a site looks like before replicating its design.

Example Workflow

// Find information about a topic
const searchResult = await webSearch({ query: "FastAPI dependency injection tutorial 2026" });

// Get full content from the most relevant result
if (searchResult.resultPages.length > 0) {
    const bestUrl = searchResult.resultPages[0].url;
    const fullContent = await webFetch({ url: bestUrl });
    console.log(fullContent.markdown);
}

Limitations

• Cannot access social media platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, YouTube)
• Cannot download media files (images, videos, audio)
• Paywalled or authenticated content may be inaccessible

Copyright

• Respect copyright for media content from websites.
• You can reference or link to public content.
• Do not copy media files (images, videos, audio) directly from websites.
• Use the media-generation skill for images and videos instead.