bx — Brave Search CLI

Agent Directive

When this skill is active, use

bx

exec

web_search

bx context "query"

bx answers

bx web

A zero-dependency, token-efficient CLI for the Brave Search API, built for AI agents and LLMs.

One binary, JSON in/out, no runtime dependencies. The default subcommand is

context

bx "query"

bx context "query"

Quick Start

macOS/Linux

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/brave/brave-search-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/brave/brave-search-cli/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex"

bx config set-key YOUR_API_KEY    # get a key at https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com
bx "your search query"
bx --help                        # see all commands; bx <command> --help for flags

Getting an API Key

1. Sign up at https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/register
2. Choose a plan — all plans include $5/month free credits (~1,000 free queries). Different endpoints may require different plans.
3. Go to "API Keys" in the dashboard, generate a key (shown once — save it)

Configuring the API Key

Three methods, in priority order:

--api-key

bx --api-key KEY web "test"

BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY

export BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY=KEY

bx config set-key KEY

The config file is stored at

~/.config/brave-search/api_key

~/Library/Application Support/brave-search/api_key

%APPDATA%\brave-search\api_key

Security tip: Prefer the env var or config file over

--api-key

bx config set-key

For AI Agents

Use

context

# RAG grounding with token budget
bx context "Python TypeError cannot unpack non-iterable NoneType" --max-tokens 4096

# Direct AI answer (OpenAI-compatible, streams by default)
bx answers "explain Rust lifetimes with examples"

# Raw web search when you need site: scoping or result filtering
bx web "site:docs.rs axum middleware" --count 5

Note: Some examples below pipe output through

jq

for illustration. Do not assume

jq

is installed — if you need to filter JSON in a shell pipeline, use whatever is available in your environment (e.g.,

jq

, PowerShell's

ConvertFrom-Json

, Python's

json

module), or simply read the raw JSON output directly.

When to Use Which Command

context

answers

web

web --result-filter discussions

context

news --freshness pd

context

news

--goggles

Response Shapes

bx context

{
  "grounding": {
    "generic": [
      { "url": "...", "title": "...", "snippets": ["extracted content...", "..."] }
    ]
  }
}

bx answers --no-stream

{"choices": [{"message": {"content": "Rust lifetimes ensure references..."}}]}

bx answers

{"choices": [{"delta": {"content": "R"}}]}
{"choices": [{"delta": {"content": "u"}}]}
{"choices": [{"delta": {"content": "s"}}]}
{"choices": [{"delta": {"content": "t"}}]}
{"choices": [{"delta": {"content": " "}}]}

bx web

{
  "web": { "results": [{"title": "...", "url": "...", "description": "..."}] },
  "news": { "results": [...] },
  "videos": { "results": [...] },
  "discussions": { "results": [...] }
}

Agent Workflow Examples

Debugging an error:

bx "Python TypeError cannot unpack non-iterable NoneType" --max-tokens 4096

Evaluating a dependency:

bx context "reqwest crate security issues maintained 2026" --threshold strict
bx news "reqwest Rust crate" --freshness pm

Corrective RAG loop:

# 1. Broad search
bx "axum middleware authentication" --max-tokens 4096
# 2. Too general? Narrow down
bx "axum middleware tower layer authentication example" --threshold strict --max-tokens 4096
# 3. Still need synthesis? Ask for an answer
bx answers "how to implement JWT auth middleware in axum" --enable-research

Checking for breaking changes before upgrading:

bx context "Next.js 15 breaking changes migration guide" --max-tokens 8192
bx news "Next.js 15 release" --freshness pm

Focused search with Goggles (custom re-ranking):

bx "Python asyncio gather vs wait" \
  --goggles '$boost=3,site=docs.python.org
/docs/$boost=3
/blog/$downrank=2
$discard,site=geeksforgeeks.org
$discard,site=w3schools.com' --max-tokens 4096

Token budget control:

bx context "topic" --max-tokens 4096 --max-tokens-per-url 1024 --max-urls 5

Non-streaming answers (for programmatic use):

bx answers "compare SQLx and Diesel for Rust" --no-stream | jq '.choices[0].message.content'

Answers stdin mode — pass

-

echo '{"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"review this code for security issues"}]}' | bx answers -

Other commands:

bx images "system architecture diagram microservices" | jq '.results[].thumbnail.src'
bx suggest "how to implement" --count 10 | jq '.results[].query'
bx places "coffee" --location "San Francisco CA US" | jq '.results[].title'
bx web "restaurants near me" --lat 37.7749 --long -122.4194 --city "San Francisco"
bx web "rust" --result-filter "web,discussions"

Commands

context

.grounding.generic[]

{url, title, snippets[]}

answers

.choices[0].delta.content

web

.web.results[]

.news.results[]

news

.results[]

{title, url, age}

images

.results[]

{title, url, thumbnail.src}

videos

.results[]

{title, url, video.duration}

places

.results[]

{title, postal_address, contact}

suggest

.results[]

{query}

spellcheck

.results[0].query

pois

places

descriptions

.results[].description

config

set-key

show-key

path

Goggles — Custom Search Re-Ranking

Brave Goggles let you define custom re-ranking rules for search results. Boost domains, URL paths, or content patterns; downrank noise; discard SEO spam — from simple domain allow/deny lists to complex multi-rule ranking profiles. No other search API offers this. Supported on

context

web

news

Domain Shortcuts —

--include-site

/

--exclude-site

For the common case of restricting to or excluding specific domains, use the convenience flags (available on

context

web

news

# Only include results from these domains (allowlist)
bx "rust axum" --include-site docs.rs --include-site github.com

# Exclude specific domains
bx web "rust tutorial" --exclude-site w3schools.com --exclude-site medium.com

These generate Goggles rules internally. For more advanced re-ranking (boosting, path patterns, wildcards), use

--goggles

Why Agents Should Use Goggles

• Domain & path targeting: Boost, downrank, or discard by domain (

  $site=

  ) or URL path (

  /docs/$boost=5

  ) — fine-grained control with wildcards
• Better than

  site:

  : Brave converts

  site:

  operators to Goggles internally — explicit Goggles unlock the full DSL (hundreds of rules, path patterns, boost/downrank strengths) without bloating the query
• Clean queries: A single

  --goggles

  parameter replaces long

  site:X OR site:Y

  chains, saving tokens
• Reusable: Host a

  .goggle

  file on GitHub and share across agents, CI, and teams
• Community-maintained: Leverage existing Goggles like Tech Blogs

Inline Rules (zero setup)

# Allowlist — only include results from trusted domains
bx context "Python asyncio patterns" \
  --goggles '$discard
$site=docs.python.org
$site=peps.python.org'

# Path-based boosting — prefer /docs/ over /blog/ across all sites
bx context "axum middleware tower" \
  --goggles '/docs/$boost=5
/api/$boost=3
/blog/$downrank=3' --max-tokens 4096

# Ecosystem focus — boost Rust sources for crate research
bx context "serde custom deserializer" \
  --goggles '$boost=5,site=docs.rs
$boost=5,site=crates.io
$boost=3,site=github.com' --max-tokens 4096

# Downrank blog spam in news results
bx news "npm security advisory" --freshness pd \
  --goggles '$downrank=5,site=medium.com'

DSL Quick Reference

$boost=N,site=DOMAIN

$boost=3,site=docs.rs

$downrank=N,site=DOMAIN

$downrank=5,site=medium.com

$discard,site=DOMAIN

$discard,site=w3schools.com

/path/$boost=N

/docs/$boost=5

*pattern*$boost=N

*api*$boost=3

$discard

$discard

Separate multiple rules with newlines. Full DSL + pattern syntax: goggles-quickstart.

From a File (

@file

) — ideal for agents

Agents can generate a

.goggle

# Agent writes rules to a file, then uses it across multiple queries
cat > /tmp/rust.goggle << 'EOF'
$boost=5,site=docs.rs
$boost=5,site=crates.io
$boost=3,site=github.com
/blog/$downrank=3
$discard,site=w3schools.com
$discard,site=geeksforgeeks.org
EOF

bx context "axum middleware tower" --goggles @/tmp/rust.goggle --max-tokens 4096
bx context "serde custom deserializer" --goggles @/tmp/rust.goggle --max-tokens 4096

From stdin (

@-

) — pipe generated rules

echo '$boost=5,site=docs.rs
$boost=3,site=github.com' | bx web "tokio runtime" --goggles @-

Hosted Goggles (reusable, shareable)

Host a

.goggle

bx web "distributed systems" \
  --goggles 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/brave/goggles-quickstart/main/goggles/tech_blogs.goggle'

Community Goggles: brave/goggles-quickstart | Discover page

Exit Codes

bx config show-key

Error output format (stderr):

error: rate limited (429) — Request rate limit exceeded for plan.
hint: retry after a short delay, or upgrade plan for higher rate limits
{"type":"ErrorResponse","error":{"code":"RATE_LIMITED","status":429,...}}