OpenClaw web search

The setting, plugin by plugin

Each block goes in your OpenClaw config, and tools.web.search.provider names the plugin the agent searches with. Install the plugin first if you have not. Each value below ran on production through the plugin's own request and reply code.

Parallel: OpenClaw adds /v1/search to the base and sends the key as x-api-key. Every parameter and field is in the Parallel migration guide.

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      parallel: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "<YOUR_SPECSTREAM_KEY>",
            baseUrl: "https://api.specstream.ai/parallel",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "parallel",
      },
    },
  },
}

Tavily: OpenClaw adds /search for web_search and /extract for page reads, so one baseUrl serves both. TAVILY_BASE_URL and TAVILY_API_KEY on the Gateway do the same when the config has no value. See the Tavily migration guide and the Tavily Extract migration guide.

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      tavily: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "<YOUR_SPECSTREAM_KEY>",
            baseUrl: "https://api.specstream.ai/tavily",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "tavily",
      },
    },
  },
}

Brave: OpenClaw puts /res/v1/web/search on the base itself and sends the key as X-Subscription-Token. Every parameter and field is in the Brave migration guide.

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      brave: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "<YOUR_SPECSTREAM_KEY>",
            baseUrl: "https://api.specstream.ai",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "brave",
      },
    },
  },
}

SearXNG: the plugin sends no key header, so the key goes in the address as its path part, and OpenClaw adds /search. SEARXNG_BASE_URL on the Gateway takes the same value. See the SearXNG migration guide.

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      searxng: {
        enabled: true,
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            baseUrl: "https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<YOUR_SPECSTREAM_KEY>",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "searxng",
      },
    },
  },
}

What OpenClaw's endpoint checks allow

OpenClaw's endpoint checks block only private network targets reached over plain http; a public https:// address is accepted. Its Firecrawl plugin is the exception: it takes only Firecrawl's own host or a private one, so point the Tavily plugin at SpecStream for page reads.

Check the key before you save it

This is the call OpenClaw's Tavily plugin makes for web_search. Run it once with your key and you see the results[] with title, url and content that the agent reads. A wrong key gets a 401.

curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/tavily/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "open source vector databases", "max_results": 5}'

$5 per 1,000 searches, with nothing to subscribe to

A search call of up to 10 results is one search at $0.005, on every provider you point at SpecStream. Each 10 results more in the same call add $0.006, up to 100 results. A page read is one Extract API page at $0.0008. A call stopped for load is not charged, and credit you buy never expires.

The most accurate web search API in the world

On SimpleQA Verified the SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official questions, 978 of them correct. On WideSearch it scores 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official tasks. The Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Every score and its method is on the benchmarks page.

About one second a search, measured under load

Every drop-in route runs on the fast search. On November 9, 2026 production took 1, 5, 10 and 20 searches a second through it and answered 718 of 720. The median was 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, and the 95th percentile stayed between 1.09 and 1.73 s. One account takes up to 26,666 searches a minute; a call over that comes back with Retry-After and is not charged.

You decide what is kept, on each key

Create a key with zero_retention and a search made with it keeps no request text and no answer after the reply: not in the history, not in a log line. spend_cap_cents is the most the key can spend, so an agent that loops in OpenClaw stops at the cap you set.

curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "production", "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"], "spend_cap_cents": 500000, "zero_retention": true}'

Search, pages and rows on one key

The same key reads up to 20 pages or documents a call with the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and runs Deep Search: a request in plain words returns every match on the live web as rows, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with the most a run can cost quoted before it starts.

Parallel

A search API at $1 per 1,000 requests in fast mode and $5 in basic and advanced, with 10 results a request and 600 searches a minute. With the plugin's baseUrl on SpecStream, the same calls cost $0.005 for up to 10 results on $10 of credit, no card.

Tavily

A search API billed in credits: $0.008 a credit on pay as you go, 1 credit for a basic search and 2 for an advanced one. With baseUrl on SpecStream, a search is $0.005 and an extracted page $0.0008, with no credits to count.

Brave Search API

A search API on Brave's own index at $5 per 1,000 requests, with $5 in free credits every month and up to 50 queries per second. SpecStream searches the whole live web at the same $5 per 1,000 through the Parallel, Tavily or SearXNG plugin, or through the Brave plugin itself with its baseUrl set to https://api.specstream.ai, with a 97.9 F-score on SimpleQA Verified.

Firecrawl

Search and scrape billed in credits: 2 credits per 10 search results, 1 credit a page on a basic scrape, and Hobby at $19 a month. OpenClaw's Firecrawl plugin calls only Firecrawl's host. Through the Tavily plugin on SpecStream, a search is $0.005 and a page is $0.0008, with no plan to buy.

Exa

A search API at $7 per 1,000 requests on auto and $4 on lite, with the first 10 results in the base price. SpecStream answers at $5 per 1,000 searches of up to 10 results on any of the four plugins above.

Perplexity Search API

One endpoint at $5.00 per 1,000 successful requests, and a reply with no results is still billed. On SpecStream a search costs the same $0.005, and the agent gets the most accurate results on SimpleQA Verified.