exa-search-api

name	exa-search-api
description	Semantic web search via Exa AI API. Returns full-text content, not just snippets. Use for deep research, competitor analysis, or finding specific technical content.
metadata	{"category":"research","author":"ManniTheRaccoon","version":"1.0"}
compatibility	Requires curl, jq, and an Exa API key.

Exa Search 🔍🧠

Exa is a semantic search engine built for AI. Unlike traditional search (keyword matching), Exa understands meaning and returns full-text content -- not just titles and snippets.

When to Use

Use Exa	Use web_search (Brave)
Deep research, full article text	Quick facts, simple lookups
"Find articles about X"	"What is X?"
Competitor analysis	URL discovery
Technical deep-dives	News headlines

Usage

# Basic search (5 results)
./skills/exa-search-api/scripts/search.sh "query" 5

# Or via curl directly
curl -s -X POST "https://api.exa.ai/search" \
  -H "x-api-key: $EXA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "your query", "num_results": 5, "type": "auto", "use_autoprompt": true, "contents": {"text": {"max_characters": 5000}}}'

Output

Returns JSON with full results:

{
  "results": [
    {
      "title": "Article Title",
      "url": "https://...",
      "text": "Full article content up to 5000 chars...",
      "score": 0.95
    }
  ]
}

Key Advantages Over Other Tools

• Full text -- Not just snippets. Get the actual article content.
• Semantic -- Understands meaning, not just keywords.
• Autoprompt -- Rewrites your query for better results.
• Filters -- Date ranges, domains, content type.

Setup

1. Get API key at https://exa.ai
2. Store key securely:

   echo "your-key" > ~/.openclaw/secrets/exa.key
   chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/secrets/exa.key
   

3. Set env var or pass to script:

   export EXA_API_KEY=$(cat ~/.openclaw/secrets/exa.key)
   

Depends On

None (standalone). Complements web-scraper for pages Exa can't reach.

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Authored by ManniTheRaccoon. Tested 2026-02-20. 🦝