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Web tools

Clawdbot ships two lightweight web tools:
  • web_search — Brave Search API queries (fast, structured results).
  • web_fetch — HTTP fetch + readable extraction (HTML → markdown/text).
These are not browser automation. For JS-heavy sites or logins, use the Browser tool.

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How it works

  • web_search calls Brave’s Search API and returns structured results (title, URL, snippet). No browser is involved.
  • Results are cached by query for 15 minutes (configurable).
  • web_fetch does a plain HTTP GET and extracts readable content (HTML → markdown/text). It does not execute JavaScript.
  • web_fetch is enabled by default (unless explicitly disabled).

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Getting a Brave API key

  1. Create a Brave Search API account at https://brave.com/search/api/
  2. In the dashboard, choose the Data for Search plan (not “Data for AI”) and generate an API key.
  3. Run clawdbot configure --section web to store the key in config (recommended), or set BRAVE_API_KEY in your environment.
Brave provides a free tier plus paid plans; check the Brave API portal for the current limits and pricing. Recommended: run clawdbot configure --section web. It stores the key in ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json under tools.web.search.apiKey. Environment alternative: set BRAVE_API_KEY in the Gateway process environment. For a daemon install, put it in ~/.clawdbot/.env (or your service environment). See Env vars. Search the web with Brave’s API.

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Requirements

  • tools.web.search.enabled must not be false (default: enabled)
  • Brave API key (recommended: clawdbot configure --section web, or set BRAVE_API_KEY)

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Config

{
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        enabled: true,
        apiKey: "BRAVE_API_KEY_HERE", // optional if BRAVE_API_KEY is set
        maxResults: 5,
        timeoutSeconds: 30,
        cacheTtlMinutes: 15
      }
    }
  }
}

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Tool parameters

  • query (required)
  • count (1–10; default from config)

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web_fetch

Fetch a URL and extract readable content.

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Requirements

  • tools.web.fetch.enabled must not be false (default: enabled)

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Config

{
  tools: {
    web: {
      fetch: {
        enabled: true,
        maxChars: 50000,
        timeoutSeconds: 30,
        cacheTtlMinutes: 15,
        userAgent: "clawdbot/2026.1.14-1"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Tool parameters

  • url (required, http/https only)
  • extractMode (markdown | text)
  • maxChars (truncate long pages)
Notes:
  • web_fetch is best-effort extraction; some sites will need the browser tool.
  • Responses are cached (default 15 minutes) to reduce repeated fetches.
  • If you use tool profiles/allowlists, add web_search/web_fetch or group:web.
  • If the Brave key is missing, web_search returns a short setup hint with a docs link.