| name | perplexity-research |
| description | Real-time web research via Perplexity Sonar API. Use when user needs live web data, current documentation, market research, competitor analysis, or asks 'what's the latest on'. |
| allowed-tools | ["Bash","Read"] |
Perplexity Research Skill
Overview
Calls the Perplexity Sonar API for real-time web research, returning cited answers that feed into Claude/Amp workflows.
Prerequisites
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY set in .env (already configured ✅)- Python 3 with
requests package (already installed ✅)
Usage
From CLI
python3 scripts/perplexity_orchestrator.py --query "your question here"
python3 scripts/perplexity_orchestrator.py --query "complex topic" --model sonar-pro
python3 scripts/perplexity_orchestrator.py --query "topic" --json
python3 scripts/perplexity_orchestrator.py --test
From Claude/Amp
When a user asks for live web research, run:
source .env && export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY && python3 scripts/perplexity_orchestrator.py --query "<user query>"
Available Models
| Model | Use Case |
|---|
sonar | Fast, general research (default) |
sonar-pro | Deeper analysis, longer answers |
sonar-reasoning | Step-by-step reasoning with citations |
sonar-reasoning-pro | Complex multi-step research |
Integration with Claude/Amp Skills
This skill augments existing workflows:
- Growth pipeline: Feed market research into
growth_content_pipeline.py
- Release context: Research App Store guideline changes before releases
- North Star tracking: Research competitor benchmarks and industry baselines
Limitations
- Perplexity Computer (cloud worker) is NOT controllable via this API — it's a separate Perplexity product requiring their web UI
- Comet browser is a Perplexity-internal component, not externally launchable
- API rate limits apply per your Perplexity subscription tier
- HTTP 401 from
api.perplexity.ai may mean insufficient_quota (plan/billing), not a missing key — check Perplexity API settings. Scripts must load .env via repo_dotenv (or export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY) because bare os.environ in CI/agents often has no key.
