Tool Specification: mshtools-web_search

Tool Specification: mshtools-web_search

Overview

General-purpose web search capability providing real-time information retrieval from internet sources. Returns top results with relevant snippets for open-ended information retrieval.

JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "queries": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {"type": "string"},
      "description": "Array of search queries (max 5). Executed in parallel within one step.",
      "maxItems": 5
    }
  },
  "required": ["queries"]
}

Streaming Mechanism

• Transport: Synchronous HTTP API call
• Response Format: Structured JSON with ranked results
• Content: Each result includes title, URL, snippet, and citation number
• Citation Format: Results tagged with [^N^] format for academic referencing
• Parallel Execution: Multiple queries execute simultaneously within single tool call

Integration Architecture

Internal Flow

1. Query Construction: Model formulates 1-6 word queries per guidelines
2. API Dispatch: Request routed to Moonshot search infrastructure
3. Result Aggregation: Search engine returns top-N results with metadata
4. Context Injection: Results streamed back to model context window
5. Citation Binding: Each result assigned numeric citation ID

External Dependencies

• Search Provider: Integrated with general web search index
• Rate Limiting: Subject to per-step budget (counts as 1 of 10 steps in Base Chat, 1 of 200-300 in OK Computer)
• Network Access: Requires outbound HTTPS to search endpoints

Operational Guidelines

Query Construction

• Optimal Length: 1-6 words per query
• Strategy: Start broad, narrow if needed
• Date Filtering: Use before: and after: operators for temporal constraints
• Domain Restrictions: Use site: operator to limit to specific domains
• Exclusions: Use - operator to exclude terms
• Phrase Matching: Use "exact phrase" for literal matching

Use Cases

• Frequently updated data (news, events, weather, prices)
• Unfamiliar entities recognition (people, companies, products)
• Fact-checking and verification requests
• High-impact topics requiring current information (health, finance, legal)

Limitations

• Result Volume: Returns only top-N results (not comprehensive)
• Freshness: Index may lag real-time by minutes to hours
• Paywall Content: May return snippets from restricted content

System Integration

• Base Chat: Available with 10-step budget per turn
• OK Computer: Available with extended 200-300 step budget per session
• Citation System: Integrates with automatic citation rendering using [^N^] format