Unified Web Search 🐧
Reliable web search via 3-tier fallback strategy: Brave API → DuckDuckGo → claude.ai browser
Search Strategy
Tier 1: web_search (Brave API) — ⚡ Fast and Reliable (Recommended)
Use OpenClaw built-in
web_search
tool.
web_search(query="search query", count=5, freshness="pw")
Pros:
- Fast response (1-2s)
- Structured JSON results
- freshness parameter support (pd=24h, pw=1 week, pm=1 month)
- search_lang, country parameters for Korean/regional search
Cons:
- Requires Brave API key
missing_brave_api_key
error without key
Tier 2: duckduckgo-search — 🔒 Privacy-focused (Fallback)
Use DuckDuckGo API when Brave fails.
python -c "
from duckduckgo_search import DDGS
with DDGS() as ddgs:
results = list(ddgs.text('query', region='wt-wt', max_results=5))
for r in results:
print(f"{r['title']}: {r['href']}")
"
Pros:
- No API key required
- Privacy-friendly
- Various search types (text, news, images, videos)
Cons:
- Lower result quality than Brave
- Request limits (blocks if too many consecutive requests)
Tier 3: web-claude (Browser) — 🧠 Analysis+Search (Last Resort)
Trigger web search in claude.ai browser tab.
1. browser navigate → https://claude.ai/new
2. browser act type → "search question"
3. browser act press → Enter
4. sleep 15-30s
5. browser snapshot → extract response
Pros:
- No API key required
- claude.ai auto web search + analyze + summarize
- Useful for complex research
Cons:
- Slow (15-30s)
- Requires browser (port 18800, openclaw profile)
- Daily message limit (free account)
- Automation detection risk
Auto-fallback Logic
if web_search available:
try web_search(query)
if success: return results
if web_search failed or unavailable:
try duckduckgo-search
if success: return results
if both failed:
fallback to web-claude browser method
Search Results Auto-cache
All search results automatically saved to
memory/research/
folder:
Filename Convention:
memory/research/search-YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-[keyword].md
Saved Content:
- Search query
- Timestamp
- Search method used (Brave/DuckDuckGo/claude.ai)
- Search results (links + summaries)
- Extracted insights
Example:
# Web Search: AI Agent Market Size
- Search Time: 2026-02-14 07:56 KST
- Search Method: web_search (Brave API)
- Query: "AI agent market size 2026"
Results
-
AI Agent Market to Reach $47B by 2030 - TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/...
- CAGR 43.2% growth forecast
- Enterprise agents account for 60%
-
Korean AI Market Exceeds 1 Trillion KRW - Chosun Ilbo
https://chosun.com/...
- Q1 2026 basis
- Led by generative AI
...
Insights
AI agent market growing rapidly
Enterprise automation is core driver
Korean market also active
Usage
General Search
"Search for latest AI agent trends"
"Find 2026 Korean SaaS investment status"
→ Auto-attempts Tier 1 Brave → Tier 2 DDG → Tier 3 claude.ai
Force Specific Method
# Brave only
"Search with web_search: AI market size"
DuckDuckGo only
"Search with duckduckgo: privacy-focused"
claude.ai browser only
"Analyze with web-claude: complex market research"
Using freshness Parameter
# Last 24 hours news
web_search(..., freshness="pd")
Last week
web_search(..., freshness="pw")
Last month
web_search(..., freshness="pm")
Korean Search
web_search(query="query", search_lang="ko", country="KR")
Browser Method (web-claude) Details
Prerequisites
- OpenClaw browser running (port 18800)
- claude.ai logged in (openclaw profile)
Automation Steps
1. browser navigate → https://claude.ai/new (or existing tab)
2. browser snapshot → save targetId
3. Find input field (contenteditable div or textarea)
4. browser act type → enter question
5. browser act press → Enter
6. sleep 15-30s (wait for response)
7. browser snapshot → extract response text
8. Return result to caller + save to memory/research/
Tips
- Clear search intent: Include time keywords like "latest data", "as of 2026", "current"
- Explicit request: Specify "search and tell me"
- Recommend new chat: Prevent previous context pollution
- Automation detection caution: Don't ask consecutive questions too quickly
Integration with Other Skills
competitor-watch
Use this unified search skill when monitoring competitors:
- quick-check: Prioritize web_search
- deep-dive: Combine web_search + duckduckgo
- Complex analysis: web-claude fallback
cardnews
Use search results for card news research:
- Topic research → unified search
- Search results → cardnews content planning
yt-digest
Search for related info after YouTube summary:
- Video topic → additional web search
- Search results → supplementary insights
When to Use Which Method
| Situation | Recommended Method |
|---|
| Need fast search | web_search (Brave) |
| No Brave key | duckduckgo-search |
| Privacy important | duckduckgo-search |
| Need analysis+summary | web-claude |
| Complex research | web-claude |
| Image/video search | duckduckgo-search |
| Latest news (24h) | web_search (freshness="pd") |
Cautions
- web_search: Requires Brave API key (auto-fallback if unavailable)
- duckduckgo: Blocks if too many consecutive requests (wait 1s between requests)
- web-claude: Daily message limit, requires browser
- Search result cache:
memory/research/
folder auto-created
🐧 Built by 무펭이 — Mupengism ecosystem skill
