How do I install the Pi Web Search skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add davidondrej/pi-web-search in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Pi Web Search safe to use?

SkillMD's automated safety review verdict for this skill is PASS. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Pi Web Search?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Pi Web Search free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Pi Web Search?

David Ondrej (@davidondrej) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Pi Web Search by davidondrej — Agent Skill

Name: Pi Web Search
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: David Ondrej

Pi Web Search

ONLY for Pi Agents — all other agents have their own web tools. How Pi accesses the web via the pi-web-access package — search, fetch URLs/PDFs/YouTube/GitHub. Use whenever a Pi task needs current info, docs, news, prices, or content from a specific URL.

David Ondrej Updated Sep 8, 2026

File contents

Web Search

The pi-web-access package is installed globally. Zero-config via Exa MCP (no API key), with fallback Exa → Perplexity → Gemini.

CRITICAL: always pass `workflow: "none"`

Every web_search call MUST include workflow: "none". This skips the interactive browser curator popup (the user does not want it opening). No exceptions — single query or batched queries, always set workflow: "none".

web_search({ queries: ["query 1", "query 2"], workflow: "none" })

Tools

web_search — search the web; returns synthesized answers with citations. Can be called many times per turn. Always pass workflow: "none".
code_search — zero-key Exa code-context. Use for library/API/code lookups instead of generic web_search.
fetch_content — fetch URL(s) → markdown; handles PDFs, YouTube, GitHub.
get_search_content — big pages (>30k chars) are truncated in responses but stored in full; call this to pull the rest on demand so they don't blow context.

fetch_content specifics

GitHub URLs are cloned, not scraped — you get real files + a local path to explore with read/bash (private repos need the gh CLI). Use this for dev work.
PDFs → auto-extracted to markdown in ~/Downloads/, readable in sections (text-only, no OCR).
YouTube/video → full raw transcripts + frame extraction. Needs a GEMINI_API_KEY (not zero-config); frame extraction also needs ffmpeg/yt-dlp.

Routing — match the user's phrasing

Always use the web_search tool. These counts are HARD MINIMUMS — count your queries before answering and do not stop short:

"web search" → at least 2 queries, varied keywords/angles, then synthesize.
"extensive web research" → at least 4 queries, totally different keywords and angles.
"deep research" → at least 8 queries, totally different keywords and angles, run across 2–3 successive batches (refine angles after each batch), to learn as much as possible about the topic.

A single batched web_search call counts each query in queries[] toward the total. If your first batch is under the minimum, fire another batch before synthesizing.

Ranked results with URLs — DeepAPI web search

web_search returns synthesized answers. When you need the ranked source list itself — URLs to cite, compare, or scrape — use DeepAPI instead. Also the path to take if the Exa → Perplexity → Gemini chain fails.

[ -n "$DEEPAPI_API_KEY" ] || . ~/.deepapi/env
curl -s --max-time 60 "https://deepapi.co/v1/search/web" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEEPAPI_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{"query": "your search terms", "maxResults": 5, "maxCostUsd": "0.05"}'

Results are in .output (title, url, snippet per item). Query under 500 chars. Full details: deepapi skill.

---name: pi-web-searchdescription: ONLY for Pi Agents — all other agents have their own web tools. How Pi accesses the web via the pi-web-access package — search, fetch URLs/PDFs/YouTube/GitHub. Use whenever a Pi task needs current info, docs, news, prices, or content from a specific URL.---# Web SearchThe `pi-web-access` package is installed globally. Zero-config via Exa MCP (no API key), with fallback Exa → Perplexity → Gemini.## CRITICAL: always pass `workflow: "none"`Every `web_search` call MUST include `workflow: "none"`. This skips the interactive browser curator popup (the user does not want it opening). No exceptions — single query or batched `queries`, always set `workflow: "none"`.```web_search({ queries: ["query 1", "query 2"], workflow: "none" })```## Tools- `web_search` — search the web; returns synthesized answers with citations. Can be called many times per turn. **Always pass `workflow: "none"`.**- `code_search` — zero-key Exa code-context. Use for library/API/code lookups instead of generic `web_search`.- `fetch_content` — fetch URL(s) → markdown; handles PDFs, YouTube, GitHub.- `get_search_content` — big pages (>30k chars) are truncated in responses but stored in full; call this to pull the rest on demand so they don't blow context.## fetch_content specifics- **GitHub URLs are cloned, not scraped** — you get real files + a local path to explore with `read`/`bash` (private repos need the `gh` CLI). Use this for dev work.- **PDFs** → auto-extracted to markdown in `~/Downloads/`, readable in sections (text-only, no OCR).- **YouTube/video** → full raw transcripts + frame extraction. Needs a `GEMINI_API_KEY` (not zero-config); frame extraction also needs `ffmpeg`/`yt-dlp`.## Routing — match the user's phrasingAlways use the `web_search` tool. These counts are HARD MINIMUMS — count your queries before answering and do not stop short:- **"web search"** → **at least 2** queries, varied keywords/angles, then synthesize.- **"extensive web research"** → **at least 4** queries, totally different keywords and angles.- **"deep research"** → **at least 8** queries, totally different keywords and angles, run across 2–3 successive batches (refine angles after each batch), to learn as much as possible about the topic.A single batched `web_search` call counts each query in `queries[]` toward the total. If your first batch is under the minimum, fire another batch before synthesizing.## Ranked results with URLs — DeepAPI web search`web_search` returns synthesized answers. When you need the ranked source listitself — URLs to cite, compare, or scrape — use DeepAPI instead. Also the path totake if the Exa → Perplexity → Gemini chain fails.```bash[ -n "$DEEPAPI_API_KEY" ] || . ~/.deepapi/envcurl -s --max-time 60 "https://deepapi.co/v1/search/web" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEEPAPI_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \ -d '{"query": "your search terms", "maxResults": 5, "maxCostUsd": "0.05"}'```Results are in `.output` (title, url, snippet per item). Query under 500 chars. Full details: `deepapi` skill.

Frequently asked questions