# Provider guide Choose a provider for each capability, then supply its credentials. Save your choices with `web config default`, or select a provider for one request with `--provider`. ```sh web providers web providers brave web search --provider brave --help web config default search brave ``` `web providers ` shows setup guidance and supported capabilities. Configured means local settings or credential sources exist—not that credentials or connectivity have been verified. Inspection and help don't run credential commands or make provider requests. Use `web --provider --help` for the full list of supported options. To save options or read credentials from a password manager, see the [configuration reference](./reference.md#configuration). ## Brave Supports search, answers, and research. Set `BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY` for search and `BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY` for answers and research. The keys are separate; configuring one doesn't configure the other capabilities. ```sh web search "Node.js release notes" --provider brave ``` ## Cloudflare Supports page extraction through Cloudflare Browser Rendering. Set both `CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN` and `CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID`. ```sh web contents https://example.com --provider cloudflare ``` ## Custom Connect your own command for any of the four capabilities. Configure `providers.custom.commands..argv`, optionally with `cwd` and credential-source `env` entries. Only configured commands are available. The process receives one JSON request: ```json { "schemaVersion": 1, "capability": "search", "input": { "query": "example", "maxResults": 5 }, "options": {}, "cwd": "/working/directory" } ``` Write one normalized result object to stdout and newline-delimited progress to stderr. A nonzero exit signals failure. Contents answers must include a zero-based `inputIndex` relative to the process request; `url` separately represents the final URL. Errors are structured `{ "code": "PROVIDER_FAILURE", "message": "..." }` objects. See the [custom-provider example](../examples/custom/README.md) for a working command and the complete request/response contract. ## Exa Supports search, page extraction, answers, and research. Set `EXA_API_KEY`. Research returns a synthesized report with source links. ```sh web search "Node.js release notes" --provider exa web research "Compare databases for an analytics service" --provider exa --timeout 20m ``` ## Firecrawl Supports search, page extraction, and page-scoped answers. Set `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` for the hosted service. A self-hosted `providers.firecrawl.baseUrl` can work without an API key. Answers require a page URL, supplied through provider defaults or `--url`: ```sh web contents https://example.com --provider firecrawl web answer "What does this page explain?" --provider firecrawl --url https://example.com ``` ## Gemini Supports grounded answers and research, not standalone search. Set `GOOGLE_API_KEY`. Google's Search tool runs inside a model interaction; Webfox does not discard the generated answer and present its sources as ordinary search results. Answers default to `gemini-3.8-flash`. Override the model with `providers.gemini.options.answer.model` or the answer command's `--model` flag. Research uses `deep-research-preview-04-2026`, Google's standard [Deep Research agent](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/deep-research). The research agent is fixed; answer model settings don't affect it. If you previously selected Gemini for search, choose a search-capable provider and remove `providers.gemini.options.search` from your configuration. ## Linkup Supports search, page extraction, and research. Set `LINKUP_API_KEY`. ```sh web search "Node.js release notes" --provider linkup ``` ## Ollama Supports search and page extraction through **hosted web APIs** at `https://ollama.com`, not through the local Ollama model server. Set `OLLAMA_API_KEY` from your Ollama account; no model download or local daemon is required. ```sh web search "Node.js streams documentation" --provider ollama --max-results 5 web contents https://example.com --provider ollama ``` Search supports up to 10 results. The `contents` capability uses Ollama's web fetch endpoint. `providers.ollama.baseUrl` can point to a compatible proxy; it does not turn the local inference API into a web search service. ## OpenAI Supports search, grounded answers, and research. Set `OPENAI_API_KEY`. ```sh web answer "What is MCP?" --provider openai --model gpt-6-astra web search --provider openai --help ``` ## Parallel Supports search and page extraction. Set `PARALLEL_API_KEY`. ```sh web search "Node.js release notes" --provider parallel ``` ## Perplexity Supports search, grounded answers, and research. Set `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`. ```sh web answer "What is MCP?" --provider perplexity ``` ## Serper Supports search. Set `SERPER_API_KEY`. ```sh web search "Node.js release notes" --provider serper ``` ## You.com Supports search. Set `YDC_API_KEY`; the library, CLI, and Pi extension use the same credential. No defaults change unless you select You.com. ```sh web search "Node.js release notes" --provider youcom \ --freshness week --country US --language EN --include-domains nodejs.org web config default search youcom ``` You.com returns separate web and news sections. Webfox alternates results from these sections, starting with web and preserving each section's order, up to `maxResults` (capped at 100 overall). If one section is exhausted, the other fills the remaining slots. With `maxResults: 1`, web takes precedence. The `offset` option selects pages from each section independently, using the capped `maxResults` as the upstream page size. Use `include_domains` to restrict sources, or combine `exclude_domains` with `boost_domains` to exclude some sources and favor others. Don't combine `include_domains` with either of the other domain lists. Each list supports up to 500 domains. Country and language codes use the API's uppercase spelling, such as `US`, `EN`, and `EN-GB`. Run `web search --provider youcom --help` for supported values and all native options. Search snippets already contain query-relevant passages. For full page content, enable live crawling: ```sh web search "Node.js cancellation" --provider youcom \ --livecrawl web --livecrawl-formats markdown --crawl-timeout 10 --format json ``` Live crawling adds latency and per-page charges, including pages that don't fit within the final result limit. By default, it returns HTML; request `markdown` or both formats as needed. Full content is preserved in each result's `metadata.contents`; text output shows snippets rather than full pages. See [You.com's API reference](https://you.com/docs/api-reference/search/v1-search-post) for current pricing and filter behavior. Provider-specific defaults belong under `providers.youcom.options.search`: ```yaml defaults: search: provider: youcom providers: youcom: options: search: country: US language: EN safesearch: moderate ``` `providers.youcom.baseUrl` optionally replaces the API origin for a proxy; webfox appends `/v1/search`. Credential overrides use `providers.youcom.credentials.api`. For example, `{env: MY_YOUCOM_KEY}` selects another environment variable. The TypeScript library accepts the same native option names: ```ts import { createWebfox } from "webfox"; const result = await createWebfox().search({ provider: "youcom", queries: ["Node.js release notes"], maxResults: 5, options: { freshness: "week", include_domains: ["nodejs.org"] }, }); ``` The provider uses the JSON POST API directly, like the HTTP-based Brave and Serper providers. Option names follow the wire contract rather than the official You.com SDK's camelCase names. Selecting You.com as the search default exposes these options through the existing `web_search` Pi tool; no separate tool is needed. ## Tavily Supports search and page extraction. Set `TAVILY_API_KEY`. ```sh web contents https://example.com --provider tavily ``` ## Valyu Supports search, page extraction, answers, and research. Set `VALYU_API_KEY`. ```sh web search "Node.js release notes" --provider valyu ```