| name | news |
| description | Search and summarize news on any topic via web_search or DuckDuckGo. Use when: user asks about recent news, current events, headlines, or wants a news briefing on any subject. NOT for: historical news archives, paywalled articles, or real-time breaking news alerts. |
| dependencies | duckduckgo-search |
| metadata | {"emoji":"📰"} |
News Skill
Search for recent news on any topic using web_search (Tavily) or the bundled DuckDuckGo script.
When to Use
✅ USE this skill when:
- "What's happening in the tech industry today?"
- "Latest AI news"
- "News about the 2026 World Cup"
- "Give me a news briefing on climate"
- "Headlines about [topic]"
- User wants recent or current events on any subject
When NOT to Use
❌ DON'T use this skill when:
- Historical news archives → use specialized archive/search tools
- Paywalled articles → web_search may surface snippets only
- Real-time breaking news alerts → use dedicated news APIs or feeds
Usage/Commands
Option A — web_search tool (preferred when Tavily is configured)
web_search(query="latest news about <topic>", topic="news", max_results=10)
Option B — Bundled script (works without Tavily)
python {skill_path}/search_news.py "topic" [--max 10]
Examples
- "What's happening in the tech industry today?" → web_search or
search_news.py "tech industry"
- "Give me the latest AI news" → web_search or
search_news.py "AI artificial intelligence"
Notes
- Tavily (web_search) is preferred when configured in pythonclaw.json
- search_news.py uses DuckDuckGo and requires no API key
