lirrensi NEXI for Agents
Use the command that matches the job:
nexi- full agentic search with synthesized answers and citationsnexi-search- direct search-provider execution without the agent loopnexi-fetch- direct page fetching (cleaned text) without the agent loopnexi-extract- direct LLM-guided extraction from URLs without the agent loop
Quick use
nexi --plain "your search query"
nexi-search --json "your search query"
nexi-fetch --json "https://example.com"
nexi-extract --json "https://example.com"
nexi --plain= synthesized answer + citations.nexi-search --json= raw search results for scripts or post-processing.nexi-fetch --json= cleaned page text for scripts or post-processing.nexi-extract --json= LLM-guided extraction payloads.
nexi --plain outputs plain text with [1], [2] citations and a sources section.
Effort levels
Control search depth with -e:
| Level | Use When |
|---|---|
-e s |
Quick facts, simple lookups |
-e m |
Default, most queries |
-e l |
Deep research, complex topics |
Example:
nexi --plain -e l "compare React vs Svelte performance 2024"
Common flags
| Flag | Purpose |
|---|---|
--plain |
Plain output for scripts and agents |
-v |
Verbose: show tool calls and debug output |
--query-text TEXT |
Pass the query explicitly instead of positionally |
--last N |
Show the last N saved search previews |
--prev |
Show the latest saved full result |
--show ID |
Show one saved result by ID |
--json |
Structured output for nexi-search, nexi-fetch, and nexi-extract |
--guidance TEXT |
Focus extraction on specific topics (nexi-extract only) |
Multi-key provider support
Every credentialed provider accepts api_key as either a single string or a list of strings. This means a provider can try multiple API keys before falling through to the next provider in the chain.
Configure per-provider key strategy in ~/.config/nexi/config.toml:
[providers.tavily]
type = "tavily"
api_key = ["<key_one>", "<key_two>"]
api_key_strategy = "fallback" # try in order (default)
# api_key_strategy = "round_robin" # rotate starting key per request
"fallback"(default) — keys are tried in order until one succeeds; only then does NEXI move to the next provider"round_robin"— the starting key advances on each call, distributing load across keys in long-lived processes
Zero-key providers (special_trafilatura, markdown_new, snitchmd, etc.) are unaffected.
If all keys for a provider fail, failure metadata includes failure_kind: "api_key_exhausted" without exposing real key values.
Direct provider override
Use a specific provider when the fallback chain keeps failing or the user explicitly wants one provider.
nexi-search --provider NAMEtargets one configured search provider only.nexi-fetch --provider NAMEtargets one configured fetch provider only.nexi-extract --provider NAMEtargets one configured extract provider only.- This bypasses fallback chaining, so missing or mismatched providers fail fast.
Configuration commands
nexi config
nexi onboard
nexi doctor
nexi config= open the current config filenexi onboard= guided LLM + search setupnexi doctor= checknexi,nexi-search,nexi-fetch, andnexi-extract
When to read refs
- New install or runtime setup issues: references/installation.md
- Config file lifecycle and shape: references/configuration.md
- Provider-specific setup (Tavily, Exa, SearXNG, Playwright, etc.): references/providers.md