To use Web Search Plus in OpenClaw, run `clawhub install web-search-plus`, configure your WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY in OpenClaw's config, and run broad research queries through chat. Unlike single-engine search skills, Web Search Plus queries multiple search backends simultaneously and merges the results — giving you broader coverage and reducing the blind spots that any single search provider has.
The Case for Multi-Engine Search: Why No Single Provider Covers the Whole Web
Every search engine has blind spots. Google's index is vast but commercially influenced — SEO-optimized content and paid results crowd out niche technical content, independent research, and non-English sources. Brave's independent index excels at privacy-focused and technical content but misses some mainstream sources. Bing captures different regional content than Google. Specialized engines like Exa surface academic and deep-web content that general search engines underrank. No single provider covers everything, which means every single-engine search skill in ClawHub has coverage gaps.
Web Search Plus addresses this directly: it queries multiple search backends in parallel, deduplicates overlapping results, and merges them into a single ranked list. For research queries where completeness matters — competitive analysis, academic research, due diligence, monitoring a topic across different communities — this multi-source approach consistently surfaces results that single-engine queries miss. The merged result set is larger and more diverse, reflecting the actual distribution of information across the web rather than one engine's indexing priorities.
The practical difference shows most clearly for two types of queries: niche or technical topics (where individual engines have partial coverage) and queries with regional or language-specific relevance (where different engines index different sources). For common, high-volume queries like 'best CRM software', the difference is smaller — every engine has good coverage. For 'comparing obscure Python libraries' or 'coverage of a specific regional business story', Web Search Plus produces noticeably more complete results. This makes it the recommended default for research-oriented OpenClaw workflows where missing relevant sources has a real cost.
Integration method
Web Search Plus integrates with OpenClaw through ClawHub. Once installed, it fans out each search query to multiple search backends in parallel, deduplicates and re-ranks the combined results, and returns a unified list to OpenClaw chat. The skill uses a WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY for authentication against the aggregation service, which handles individual provider credentials internally. This means you do not need separate API keys for each search engine — one key covers all backends.
Prerequisites
- An OpenClaw account with ClawHub access
- ClawHub CLI installed and working — verify with `clawhub --version`
- A Web Search Plus API key (available through the ClawHub skill registration page or the aggregation service provider)
- Basic familiarity with OpenClaw chat and how search skills work
- Understanding of which search use cases benefit most from multi-source aggregation
Step-by-step guide
Install the web-search-plus ClawHub Skill
Install the web-search-plus ClawHub Skill
Run the ClawHub install command to add Web Search Plus to your OpenClaw installation. Open your terminal and run: ``` clawhub install web-search-plus ``` ClawHub fetches the skill package and registers it with OpenClaw. Installation typically takes under 30 seconds. Verify the installation: ``` clawhub list | grep web-search-plus ``` The skill should appear with a version number and 'active' status. After installation, view the full skill details to understand what configuration options are available: ``` clawhub info web-search-plus ``` This shows you which search backends the skill can use, which are enabled by default, and what configuration keys are available. Some backends may require individual API keys beyond the core WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY — check the output to know what you need before proceeding. Note: if you are already using other search skills like tavily-ai-search or brave-search, Web Search Plus can optionally incorporate those same engines into its aggregated results (when configured to do so). This means you can leverage existing API keys for some of the backends rather than relying entirely on the aggregation service.
1# Install Web Search Plus2clawhub install web-search-plus34# Verify installation and view config options5clawhub list | grep web-search-plus6clawhub info web-search-plusPro tip: Run `clawhub info web-search-plus` after installation to see which search backends are included. Some configurations support more engines than others depending on which plan tier your API key is on.
Expected result: web-search-plus appears in `clawhub list` as active, and `clawhub info` shows the available backends and configuration options.
Get Your Web Search Plus API Key
Get Your Web Search Plus API Key
Web Search Plus uses an aggregation service to fan out queries to multiple search backends. To authenticate with this service, you need a WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY. To get your API key: 1. Go to the Web Search Plus registration page linked in `clawhub info web-search-plus` — this takes you to the aggregation service's signup page. 2. Create an account and select a plan. A free tier is typically available for testing. 3. Navigate to the API Keys section of your dashboard. 4. Generate a new API key for your OpenClaw integration. 5. Copy the key immediately. The aggregation service's API key is what grants you access to the multi-engine search infrastructure. The service handles individual search engine credentials on its end, so you do not need separate accounts with each provider — that overhead is handled for you. Keep this key secure. It is linked to your aggregation service account and usage billing. Do not paste it into chat, commit it to version control, or store it in plain text files. You will add it to OpenClaw's config store in the next step. If you are evaluating Web Search Plus before committing to a plan, check whether a free trial or credit-based trial is available — most aggregation services for this purpose offer limited free usage.
Pro tip: Some Web Search Plus plans let you choose which search backends to include. For most use cases, enabling 3-5 complementary backends (e.g., Google, Bing, Brave, and one specialized engine) provides the best coverage-to-cost ratio without excessive result duplication.
Expected result: You have a Web Search Plus API key ready to configure in OpenClaw.
Configure Your WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY in OpenClaw
Configure Your WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY in OpenClaw
Add your Web Search Plus API key to OpenClaw's config so the skill can authenticate with the aggregation service. OpenClaw's config store encrypts credentials at rest — this is the safest place to keep them. **Option 1: OpenClaw config command (recommended)** ``` openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.apikey YOUR_API_KEY_HERE ``` **Option 2: .env file in your OpenClaw data directory** ``` WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY=your-key-here ``` Then reload OpenClaw: ``` openclaw reload ``` **Verify the key is stored:** ``` openclaw config get skills.web-search-plus.apikey ``` This should return a masked version of your key. **Optional: configure additional settings** You can also configure how many results to return per query (default is often 10) and how deduplication works: ``` openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.results_per_query 20 openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.dedup_threshold 0.8 ``` `dedup_threshold` controls how similar two results need to be before one is removed — 0.8 is a good default that removes near-identical results while keeping genuinely different articles on the same topic. If you have previously installed other search skills (Tavily, Brave) and have their API keys configured, check whether web-search-plus can incorporate them as additional backends: `clawhub info web-search-plus --backends`. This can give you even broader coverage using keys you already have.
1# Configure API key (recommended approach)2openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.apikey YOUR_API_KEY_HERE34# Alternative: .env file5echo 'WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY=your-key-here' >> ~/.openclaw/.env6openclaw reload78# Verify key is stored9openclaw config get skills.web-search-plus.apikey1011# Configure result count and deduplication12openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.results_per_query 2013openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.dedup_threshold 0.8Pro tip: Setting results_per_query to 15-20 gives you better coverage from multiple engines without returning an overwhelming number of results. OpenClaw will display them in ranked order, so the most relevant results are always at the top.
Expected result: The config get command returns a masked key, and optional result count settings are reflected in OpenClaw config.
Run Your First Multi-Engine Search
Run Your First Multi-Engine Search
With the skill installed and configured, open OpenClaw chat and run a search query. The key advantage of Web Search Plus becomes visible when you compare its output to a single-engine query on the same topic: you will typically see results from different types of sources (mainstream news, independent blogs, forums, trade publications) that no single engine would return together. For the best experience with Web Search Plus, write prompts that signal you want broad coverage: - 'Search across multiple engines for...' - 'Find all available sources on...' - 'Give me comprehensive search results including niche and technical sources for...' - 'Search the web broadly for recent coverage of...' The skill understands these signals and weights its deduplication and ranking to prioritize diversity of sources over raw relevance score — which is exactly what makes multi-source aggregation valuable. Queries that benefit most from multi-engine aggregation: - Research topics with both mainstream and niche community coverage - Technical questions that have answers on Stack Overflow, GitHub, AND documentation sites - Regional or international topics where different engines index different sources - Topics where you suspect Google's SEO influence is shaping single-engine results Results are returned with source attribution so you can see which search engine surfaced each result — useful for understanding which engine is providing unique value for your specific query types.
Search across multiple search engines for real user experiences and reviews of [Tool Name]. Include results from Reddit, Hacker News, independent blogs, and review sites — not just the vendor's own content. Show me at least 15 diverse results.
Paste this in OpenClaw chat
Pro tip: Ask Web Search Plus to 'show which engine surfaced each result' to understand the coverage distribution. If one engine is consistently providing all your unique results, you can investigate why the others are missing that content.
Expected result: OpenClaw returns a merged list of search results from multiple engines, with source attribution showing which backend found each result. Results include diverse source types not typically seen in single-engine queries.
Advanced Configuration: Backend Selection and Result Tuning
Advanced Configuration: Backend Selection and Result Tuning
Web Search Plus allows you to customize which search backends are active and how results are merged — giving you control over the coverage-to-cost tradeoff and the character of results returned. **Enabling or disabling specific backends:** If your plan supports multiple backends, you can select which are active: ``` openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.backends "google,brave,bing,exa" ``` Choose backends that complement each other. Google + Brave gives you the mainstream index plus privacy-focused independent coverage. Adding Exa or Bing adds semantic depth and different regional indexing. **Adjusting freshness weighting:** For news and current events queries, you may want to weight recent results more heavily: ``` openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.freshness_boost true ``` **Per-query backend overrides in prompts:** You can also specify backend preferences inline: 'Search for X using Brave and Bing backends only' — the skill understands these inline instructions and adjusts accordingly. For teams using Web Search Plus as part of a broader OpenClaw research workflow — monitoring competitor activity, tracking industry topics, or running systematic literature searches — the RapidDev team offers multi-step search prompt templates that combine web-search-plus with Perplexity for synthesis and firecrawl-skills for full-content extraction. This three-tool pipeline (discover → synthesize → extract) is one of the most powerful research configurations available in OpenClaw. See rapiddev.ai for documentation and setup assistance.
Use multiple search engines to find the most comprehensive set of benchmarks comparing [Framework A] versus [Framework B] for production use. Include results from GitHub, Hacker News, tech blogs, and academic sources. Prioritize recent content from the last 12 months.
Paste this in OpenClaw chat
1# Configure which backends to use2openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.backends "google,brave,bing,exa"34# Enable freshness boost for news/current events queries5openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.freshness_boost true67# Increase result count for research queries8openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.results_per_query 25910# View current full configuration11openclaw config get skills.web-search-plusPro tip: For systematic research workflows that run the same query on a regular schedule (monitoring), use OpenClaw's task scheduling to run web-search-plus queries daily and compare results over time. Ask `clawhub info openclaw-scheduler` for details on setting this up.
Expected result: Web Search Plus is configured with your preferred backends and returns results reflecting the diversity of sources across those engines.
Common use cases
Comprehensive Competitive Research
Search for information about a competitor, market, or industry topic across multiple search engines simultaneously. The aggregated results surface sources that might be missed by any single engine — niche industry blogs, regional news, technical forums, and academic content alongside mainstream results.
Search across all available engines for recent news, reviews, and analyst commentary about [Company Name]'s product launches and pricing changes in the last 6 months. Show me results from multiple sources with no duplicates.
Copy this prompt to try it in OpenClaw
Technical Topic Deep Research
Research a specific technical topic, library, or methodology where the most useful content lives on GitHub, Stack Overflow, documentation sites, and independent technical blogs — sources that general search engines may underrank in favor of SEO-optimized commercial content.
Search for real-world performance benchmarks, gotchas, and production experiences with [Technology Name]. Include results from GitHub discussions, Stack Overflow, and technical blogs. Aggregate from multiple search engines for the most complete picture.
Copy this prompt to try it in OpenClaw
Monitoring a Topic Across Multiple Sources
Track coverage of an ongoing topic, event, or trend across different types of publications and communities. Multi-engine search ensures you see mainstream media, trade publications, community forums, and independent commentary rather than just whichever sources one search engine favors.
Search for everything published about the EU AI Act enforcement actions in the past 30 days. Use multiple search engines to include trade publications, legal blogs, and regional news sources alongside mainstream coverage.
Copy this prompt to try it in OpenClaw
Troubleshooting
Error: 'Invalid API key' or '403 Forbidden' when running a search
Cause: The WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY is not set in OpenClaw config, was entered incorrectly, or the key has expired or been revoked on the aggregation service dashboard.
Solution: Run `openclaw config get skills.web-search-plus.apikey` to verify the key is stored. If empty, re-run `openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.apikey YOUR_KEY`. Log into the Web Search Plus dashboard and confirm the key is still active. Regenerate if needed and update the config.
1# Re-set the API key2openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.apikey your-new-key-here3openclaw reload`clawhub install web-search-plus` returns a 429 rate limit error
Cause: Too many ClawHub install requests from your IP in a short period — ClawHub enforces per-IP rate limits on the install endpoint.
Solution: Wait 60-90 seconds and retry the install command. ClawHub's rate limits reset quickly. If you need to install multiple skills in a session, space install commands at least 30 seconds apart.
1# Wait 60 seconds then retry2clawhub install web-search-plusResults look the same as single-engine searches — no additional unique sources
Cause: The deduplication threshold may be set too high (removing genuinely different sources), or the active backends are returning very similar indexes for your query type.
Solution: Lower the deduplication threshold to preserve more diverse results: `openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.dedup_threshold 0.6`. Also check which backends are active with `clawhub info web-search-plus --backends` and enable additional engines if available on your plan.
1# Lower dedup threshold to keep more diverse results2openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.dedup_threshold 0.634# Check active backends5clawhub info web-search-plus --backendsWeb Search Plus is slower than single-engine search skills
Cause: Querying multiple backends in parallel and deduplicating results adds latency compared to a single API call. Very slow backends in the rotation can bottleneck the overall response time.
Solution: This is expected behavior for multi-engine aggregation. If latency is critical for a specific use case, switch to a single-engine skill (tavily-ai-search or brave-search) for that query. For research workflows where completeness matters more than speed, the latency tradeoff is worth it. You can also disable the slowest backends: `openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.backends "google,brave"`.
1# Disable slow backends to improve response time2openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.backends "google,brave"3openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.backend_timeout_ms 3000Best practices
- Use Web Search Plus for research queries where completeness matters — for quick factual lookups, single-engine skills like Tavily or Brave are faster and cheaper. Web Search Plus pays off when missing relevant sources has a real cost.
- Set a deduplication threshold of 0.7-0.8 — this removes near-identical results (the same article from different syndication sites) while preserving genuinely different coverage of the same topic.
- Request source attribution in your prompts ('show which search engine found each result') to understand which backends are providing unique value for your specific query types, and disable underperforming backends.
- Combine Web Search Plus with Perplexity for the best research workflow: use web-search-plus to find relevant sources broadly, then ask Perplexity to synthesize and cite those sources in a coherent answer.
- Store your WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY via `openclaw config set` — never paste it into chat prompts or store it in plain text files that might be shared.
- Enable `freshness_boost` for current events and news monitoring queries — this prioritizes recently indexed results across all backends, counteracting any individual engine's tendency to favor older authoritative content.
- For niche technical topics, use prompts that explicitly ask for results from technical communities ('include results from GitHub, Hacker News, Stack Overflow') — this guides the skill's result ranking toward the sources most likely to have relevant technical content.
- Test multi-engine coverage by running the same query with web-search-plus and with a single-engine skill and comparing the result sets — this helps you quantify the coverage benefit for your specific research domain.
Alternatives
Tavily AI Search uses a single AI-enhanced search pipeline with relevance scoring — better for fast, focused queries where a single highly-tuned engine is sufficient and speed matters more than breadth of sources.
Brave Search uses an independent privacy-focused index and is better when you specifically want non-Google-influenced results from a single privacy-respecting source rather than multi-engine aggregation.
Exa uses neural semantic search to find conceptually related content — better for finding similar documents and deep research into specific domains rather than aggregating broad coverage across multiple mainstream engines.
Perplexity synthesizes a cited answer rather than returning search results — use it when you want an answer rather than a list of sources, and pair it with web-search-plus when you want both broad discovery and synthesis.
Frequently asked questions
How do I install Web Search Plus in OpenClaw?
Run `clawhub install web-search-plus` in your terminal. After installation, configure your API key with `openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.apikey YOUR_KEY`. Reload OpenClaw and the skill is available in chat. Verify with `clawhub list | grep web-search-plus`.
OpenClaw Web Search Plus API key configuration — what variable name does it use?
Set it via `openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.apikey YOUR_KEY`. If using the .env file approach, the variable name is `WEB_SEARCH_PLUS_API_KEY`. After setting either, run `openclaw reload` to apply the change and verify with `openclaw config get skills.web-search-plus.apikey`.
What makes Web Search Plus different from Tavily AI Search in OpenClaw?
Tavily AI Search queries a single AI-enhanced search pipeline and returns ranked results from that one source. Web Search Plus fans out queries to multiple search engines in parallel, deduplicates the combined results, and returns a merged list. For most simple queries the difference is small, but for niche, technical, or regional topics where one engine has better coverage than others, Web Search Plus consistently surfaces more relevant and diverse results.
ClawHub install web-search-plus not working — how do I fix it?
First run `clawhub update` to refresh the registry index, then retry the install. For 429 rate limit errors, wait 60 seconds and retry. If version conflicts are reported, run `clawhub list --conflicts` to identify the conflicting skill and resolve it before retrying.
Does Web Search Plus in OpenClaw include Google search results?
This depends on your plan tier and backend configuration. Many Web Search Plus plans include Google as one of the backends. Run `clawhub info web-search-plus --backends` after installation to see exactly which search engines are included with your API key. You can configure which backends are active with `openclaw config set skills.web-search-plus.backends`.
How do I get help configuring a multi-tool research pipeline with Web Search Plus?
The most powerful OpenClaw research setup combines Web Search Plus for broad discovery, Perplexity for synthesis with citations, and firecrawl-skills for full-content extraction from specific pages. The RapidDev team has pre-built prompt templates and configuration guides for this three-tool pipeline at rapiddev.ai — reach out if you need help setting up a systematic research workflow beyond standard single-skill usage.
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