| name | websearch-image-understanding |
| description | Web search and image understanding via MiniMax Token Plan APIs. Use when asked to "search the web", "look up", "find information online", "analyze an image", "describe this image", or "understand what's in this picture". |
websearch-image-understanding
Token-efficient web search and image understanding via MiniMax Token Plan APIs.
Features:
- Uses pi's built-in MiniMax authentication automatically (no setup required)
- Supports custom API key configuration via
/set-minimax-key command
- Provides
web_search and image_understanding tools
- No direct HTTP fetching — for
web_fetch / batch_web_fetch install pi-smart-fetch
Quick Start (No Setup!)
If you're using pi with the MiniMax provider, the API key is automatically configured.
Try it:
search "latest AI news"
describe this image: ./screenshot.png
Related package: pi-smart-fetch
This extension deliberately does not ship a web_fetch tool. For page fetching — including bot-resistant fetching of Cloudflare-protected sites, site-specific extractors (YouTube, Reddit, X, GitHub, HN, Substack), and batch_web_fetch with per-item progress — install:
pi install npm:pi-smart-fetch
pi-smart-fetch uses wreq-js for browser-impersonated TLS and defuddle for content extraction, and is independently maintained at Thinkscape/agent-smart-fetch. The two packages compose cleanly: use web_search here to find URLs, then web_fetch from pi-smart-fetch to read them.
Commands
/set-minimax-key <api-key> [region]
Configure your own MiniMax API key (overrides the built-in key).
/set-minimax-key sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
/set-minimax-key sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx cn
Get your key from: https://platform.minimax.io/subscribe/token-plan
/minimax-status
Check which API key is currently in use.
/minimax-clear-key
Clear your custom key and revert to pi's built-in key.
Tools
web_search
Search the web for real-time information.
web_search({
query: "Python 3.13 release date",
related: true // optional: include related searches
})
Parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
query | string | ✓ | The search query |
related | boolean | false | Include related searches in the response |
Returns: A numbered list of results with title, URL, and snippet. If related: true, a "Related: …" line is appended with suggested follow-up queries.
image_understanding
Analyze an image (URL, local file, or base64 data) and get an AI description.
image_understanding({
image: "https://example.com/photo.jpg",
prompt: "What does this image show?"
})
image_understanding({
image: "./screenshot.png",
prompt: "Describe the UI elements"
})
Parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|
image | string | Image URL, local file path, or base64 data. The @ prefix (MCP convention) is stripped automatically. |
prompt | string | Question or instruction about the image |
Local file support: If image is not an http://, https://, or data: URL, it is treated as a path. Absolute paths are used as-is; relative paths resolve against the current working directory. Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP (other formats are detected by extension and sent with the best-guess mime type).
When to Use
- User asks to "search for X", "look up", "find information online"
- User shares an image and asks what it contains
- User wants real-time web information
- User asks "what's in this screenshot/photo"
For fetching the contents of a specific URL after searching, defer to pi-smart-fetch's web_fetch tool.
Technical Details
API Endpoints:
- Global:
https://api.minimax.io
- China:
https://api.minimaxi.com
Key Priority:
- User-configured key (
~/.config/minimax-support/creds.toml) — set via /set-minimax-key
- Pi built-in "MiniMax" authentication (global) — from
~/.pi/agent/auth.json
- Pi built-in "MiniMax (China)" authentication — from
~/.pi/agent/auth.json
Dependencies: None at runtime. The extension is pure Node built-ins (fs, path, os, https, url).
The extension automatically handles authentication — no environment variables needed!
