xAI Grok Search

Search the web and X (Twitter) using xAI's Grok API with real-time internet access, citations, and optional image/video understanding.

When to Use This Skill

Use Web Search For:

Current information from websites, news articles, documentation
Real-time data (stock prices, weather, recent events)
Research topics with up-to-date web sources
Finding information from specific websites/domains
Verifying current facts

Use X Search For:

What people are saying on X/Twitter about a topic
Trending discussions and social sentiment
Real-time reactions to events
Posts from specific X handles/users
Recent social media activity within date ranges

Do NOT use for:

Historical facts that won't change
General knowledge already available
Mathematical calculations
Code generation
Creative writing

Setup

Required Environment Variables

export XAI_API_KEY="your-xai-api-key-here"

Get your API key from: https://console.x.ai/

Usage

The agent will automatically choose the right tool based on the user's query:

User: "What's the latest news about AI regulation?" → Uses

web_search

User: "What are people saying about OpenAI on X?" → Uses

x_search

API Reference

Function: search_web

Search the web using xAI's Grok API.

Parameters:

```
query
```
(required): Search query string
```
model
```
(optional): Model to use (default: "grok-4-1-fast-reasoning")
```
allowed_domains
```
(optional): Array of domains to restrict search (max 5)
```
excluded_domains
```
(optional): Array of domains to exclude (max 5)
```
enable_image_understanding
```
(optional): Enable image analysis (default: false)

Returns:

```
content
```
: The search response text
```
citations
```
: Array of sources with url, title, and snippet
```
usage
```
: Token usage statistics

Function: search_x

Search X (Twitter) using xAI's Grok API.

Parameters:

```
query
```
(required): Search query string
```
model
```
(optional): Model to use (default: "grok-4-1-fast-reasoning")
```
allowed_x_handles
```
(optional): Array of X handles to search (max 10, without @)
```
excluded_x_handles
```
(optional): Array of X handles to exclude (max 10, without @)
```
from_date
```
(optional): Start date in ISO8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
```
to_date
```
(optional): End date in ISO8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
```
enable_image_understanding
```
(optional): Enable image analysis (default: false)
```
enable_video_understanding
```
(optional): Enable video analysis (default: false)

Returns:

```
content
```
: The search response text
```
citations
```
: Array of X posts with url, title, and snippet
```
usage
```
: Token usage statistics

Implementation

This skill uses the xAI Responses API (

/v1/responses

endpoint).

Web Search

async function search_web(options) {
  const { query, model = 'grok-4-1-fast-reasoning', 
          allowed_domains, excluded_domains, enable_image_understanding } = options;
const tool = { type: 'web_search' };
if (allowed_domains) tool.allowed_domains = allowed_domains;
if (excluded_domains) tool.excluded_domains = excluded_domains;
if (enable_image_understanding) tool.enable_image_understanding = true;
const response = await fetch('https://api.x.ai/v1/responses&#x27;, {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': 
Bearer ${process.env.XAI_API_KEY}
},
body: JSON.stringify({
model,
input: [{ role: 'user', content: query }],
tools: [tool]
})
});
const data = await response.json();
return {
content: data.output[data.output.length - 1].content,
citations: data.citations
};
}

X Search

async function search_x(options) {
  const { query, model = 'grok-4-1-fast-reasoning',
          allowed_x_handles, excluded_x_handles, from_date, to_date,
          enable_image_understanding, enable_video_understanding } = options;
const tool = { type: 'x_search' };
if (allowed_x_handles) tool.allowed_x_handles = allowed_x_handles;
if (excluded_x_handles) tool.excluded_x_handles = excluded_x_handles;
if (from_date) tool.from_date = from_date;
if (to_date) tool.to_date = to_date;
if (enable_image_understanding) tool.enable_image_understanding = true;
if (enable_video_understanding) tool.enable_video_understanding = true;
const response = await fetch('https://api.x.ai/v1/responses&#x27;, {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': 
Bearer ${process.env.XAI_API_KEY}
},
body: JSON.stringify({
model,
input: [{ role: 'user', content: query }],
tools: [tool]
})
});
const data = await response.json();
return {
content: data.output[data.output.length - 1].content,
citations: data.citations
};
}

Examples

Web Search - Current Events

const result = await search_web({ 
  query: "latest AI regulation developments" 
});

Web Search - Specific Domains

const result = await search_web({
  query: "UN climate summit latest",
  allowed_domains: ["un.org", "gov.uk", "grokipedia.com"]
});

X Search - Social Sentiment

const result = await search_x({
  query: "new iPhone reactions opinions"
});

X Search - Specific Handles

const result = await search_x({
  query: "AI thoughts",
  allowed_x_handles: ["elonmusk", "cstanley"],
  from_date: "2025-01-01"
});

X Search - With Media

const result = await search_x({
  query: "Mars landing images",
  enable_image_understanding: true,
  enable_video_understanding: true
});

Best Practices

Web Search

Use
```
allowed_domains
```
to limit to specific domains (max 5)
Use
```
excluded_domains
```
for known bad sources (max 5)
Cannot use both at same time
Enable image understanding only when needed

X Search

Use
```
allowed_x_handles
```
to focus on specific accounts (max 10)
Use
```
excluded_x_handles
```
to filter noise (max 10)
Cannot use both at same time
Don't include @ symbol in handles
Use ISO8601 date format: YYYY-MM-DD
Media understanding adds API costs

Troubleshooting

"XAI_API_KEY not found"

export XAI_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Rate Limiting

Implement exponential backoff
Cache frequent queries

Poor Results

Add domain/handle filters
Make queries more specific
Narrow date ranges

Slow Responses

Search queries using reasoning models (e.g.

grok-4-1-fast-reasoning

) can take 30-60+ seconds to return, especially when the model performs multiple web or X searches. If the search is lagging, inform the user that results are still loading and ask them to type "poll" to check for the completed response.

API Documentation

Web Search: https://docs.x.ai/developers/tools/web-search
X Search: https://docs.x.ai/developers/tools/x-search

xAI Grok Search

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xAI Grok Search

When to Use This Skill

Use Web Search For:

Use X Search For:

Setup

Required Environment Variables

Usage

API Reference

Function: search_web

Function: search_x

Implementation

Web Search

X Search

Examples

Web Search - Current Events

Web Search - Specific Domains

X Search - Social Sentiment

X Search - Specific Handles

X Search - With Media

Best Practices

Web Search

X Search

Troubleshooting

"XAI_API_KEY not found"

Rate Limiting

Poor Results

Slow Responses

API Documentation

Quick Start

Manual Installation

TEAR & SHARE

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