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Skills brave-api-search

Real-time web search, autosuggest, and AI-powered answers using the official Brave Search API. Use for searching documentation, facts, current events, or any web content. Supports AI grounded answers with citations and query autosuggest. Requires BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY and BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY.

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/skills
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/broedkrummen/brave-api-search" ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-skills-brave-api-search && rm -rf "$T"
OpenClaw · Install into ~/.openclaw/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/broedkrummen/brave-api-search" ~/.openclaw/skills/openclaw-skills-brave-api-search && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: skills/broedkrummen/brave-api-search/SKILL.md
tags
#web-search#ai-answers#autosuggest#api-integration#search-engine#realtime
source content

Brave API Search

Real-time web search, autosuggest, and AI-powered answers using the official Brave Search API. Three tools:

  • brave_search
    — web results with titles, URLs, descriptions, optional AI summary
  • brave_suggest
    — query autosuggestions as users type with optional rich metadata
  • brave_answers
    — AI-grounded answers with inline citations powered by live web search

Setup

Set your Brave API keys in a local 

.env
file (recommended):

# .env (do not commit)
BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY=your_key_here
BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY=your_key_here

Or export them in your shell session if needed.

Get your keys at: https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com

Both keys can be the same if your plan supports both Search and AI Answers endpoints.

Note: 

brave_search
and 
brave_suggest
use 
BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY
. 
brave_answers
requires 
BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY
.

Note: This skill explicitly requires 

BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY
and 
BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY
. It does not use a generic 
BRAVE_API_KEY
fallback.

When to Use This Skill

Use 

brave_search
when:

  • Searching for current information, news, or recent events
  • Looking up documentation or technical references
  • Need ranked results with URLs to follow up on
  • Want an AI summary of search results

Use 

brave_suggest
when:

  • Power autocomplete in search interfaces
  • Help users formulate better queries faster
  • Need query completions as users type
  • Want rich metadata (titles, descriptions, images) for suggestions

Use 

brave_answers
when:

  • Need a synthesized answer with cited sources
  • Researching topics that benefit from multiple sources
  • Want AI-grounded responses with inline citations
  • Deep research mode needed (multi-search)

Don't use this skill for:

  • Questions already answered from context or memory
  • Tasks that don't require external information

Tools

brave_search

Web search returning ranked results with titles, URLs, and descriptions.

brave_search(query="latest Node.js release", count=5)
brave_search(query="TypeScript generics", extra_snippets=true)
brave_search(query="current weather Copenhagen", freshness="pd")
brave_search(query="React Server Components", summary=true)

Parameters:

  • query
    (required) — Search query, supports operators: 
    site:
    , 
    "exact phrase"
    , 
    -exclude
  • count
    — Results to return (1-20, default: 10)
  • country
    — 2-letter country code (default: 
    us
    )
  • freshness
    — Date filter: 
    pd
    (24h), 
    pw
    (7 days), 
    pm
    (31 days), 
    py
    (1 year)
  • extra_snippets
    — Include up to 5 extra text excerpts per result (default: false)
  • summary
    — Fetch Brave AI summarizer result (default: false)

Returns: Formatted list of results with title, URL, description, and optional AI summary.

brave_suggest

Query autosuggest API providing intelligent query autocompletion as users type.

brave_suggest(query="hello")
brave_suggest(query="pyt", count=5, country="US")
brave_suggest(query="einstein", rich=true)

Parameters:

  • query
    (required) — Partial query to get suggestions for
  • count
    — Number of suggestions (1-10, default: 5)
  • country
    — 2-letter country code (default: 
    US
    )
  • rich
    — Include enhanced metadata: titles, descriptions, images, entity detection (default: false, requires paid plan)

Returns: List of query suggestions, optionally with rich metadata.

Best Practices:

  • Implement debouncing (150-300ms) to avoid excessive API calls as users type
  • Load suggestions asynchronously without blocking the UI

brave_answers

AI-powered answers grounded in live web search with inline citations.

brave_answers(query="How does React Server Components work?")
brave_answers(query="Compare Postgres vs MySQL for OLAP", enable_research=true)
brave_answers(query="Latest Python release notes", enable_citations=true)

Parameters:

  • query
    (required) — Question or topic to research
  • enable_citations
    — Include inline source citations (default: true)
  • enable_research
    — Multi-search deep research mode (default: false)
  • country
    — Target country for search context (default: 
    us
    )

Returns: AI answer with cited sources extracted from the response, plus token usage.

Pricing & Limits

Brave pricing is credit-based and can change. Do not assume a fixed free request count.

Current public guidance (verify in Brave dashboard/docs before production use):

  • Monthly trial credits may be offered (e.g. 
    $5 in monthly credits
    )
  • Search and Answers consume credits differently
  • Rich suggestions require a paid Autosuggest plan
  • Answers may also include token-based costs
  • QPS limits depend on your plan tier

Always check your live limits and usage in:

Security & Packaging Notes

  • This skill only calls Brave official endpoints under 
    https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1
    .
  • It requires exactly two env vars: 
    BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY
    and 
    BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY
    (keep them in 
    .env
    , not inline in commands/chats).
  • It does not request persistent/system privileges and does not modify system config.
  • It is source-file based (three local Node scripts), with no external install/download step.

API vs Web Scraping

This skill uses the official Brave Search API — not web scraping. Benefits:

  • Reliable, structured JSON responses
  • Rate limit headers and proper error messages
  • Access to AI summarizer, AI answers, and autosuggest endpoints
  • Terms of service compliant