--- name: perplexity_wrapped description: Search the web with AI-powered answers via Perplexity API. Supports three modes - Search API (ranked results), Sonar API (AI answers with citations, default), and Agentic Research API (third-party models with tools). All responses wrapped in untrusted-content boundaries for security. homepage: https://docs.perplexity.ai metadata: {"openclaw":{"emoji":"🔮","requires":{"bins":["node"]}}} ---

Perplexity Wrapped Search

AI-powered web search with three distinct API modes for different use cases.

Quick Start

Default mode (Sonar) - AI answer with citations:

node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "what's happening in AI today"

Search mode - ranked results:

node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "latest AI news" --mode search

Deep research - comprehensive analysis (requires --yes):

node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "compare quantum computing approaches" --deep --yes

API Modes

1. Sonar API (DEFAULT)

AI-generated answers with web grounding and citations. Best for natural language queries.

Models:

• sonar (default) - Fast, web-grounded responses (~$0.01/query)
• sonar-pro - Higher quality, more thorough (~$0.02/query)
• sonar-reasoning-pro - Advanced reasoning capabilities
• sonar-deep-research - Comprehensive research mode (~$0.40-1.30/query)

Examples:

# Default sonar
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "explain quantum entanglement"

# Sonar Pro (higher quality)
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "analyze 2024 tech trends" --pro

# Deep Research (comprehensive)
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "future of renewable energy" --deep

# Specific model
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "query" --model sonar-reasoning-pro

Output format:

<<<EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>
Source: Web Search
---
[AI-generated answer text with inline context]

## Citations
[1] Title
    https://example.com/source1
[2] Title
    https://example.com/source2
<<<END_EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>

2. Search API

Ranked web search results with titles, URLs, and snippets. Best for finding specific sources.

Cost: ~$0.005 per query

Examples:

# Single query
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "best coffee shops NYC" --mode search

# Batch queries (multiple in one API call)
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "query 1" "query 2" "query 3" --mode search

Output format:

<<<EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>
Source: Web Search
---
**Result Title**
https://example.com/url
Snippet text from the page...

**Another Result**
https://example.com/url2
Another snippet...
<<<END_EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>

3. Agentic Research API

Advanced mode with third-party models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI), web_search and fetch_url tools, and structured outputs.

Options:

• --reasoning low|medium|high - Control reasoning effort for reasoning models
• --instructions "..." - System instructions for the model
• --model - Model selection (default: openai/gpt-5-mini)

Available Models:

| Provider | Model | Input $/1M | Output $/1M | |----------|-------|-----------|------------| | Perplexity | perplexity/sonar | $0.25 | $2.50 | | OpenAI | openai/gpt-5-mini ⭐ | $0.25 | $2.00 | | OpenAI | openai/gpt-5.1 | $1.25 | $10.00 | | OpenAI | openai/gpt-5.2 | $1.75 | $14.00 | | Anthropic | anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5 | $1.00 | $5.00 | | Anthropic | anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5 | $3.00 | $15.00 | | Anthropic | anthropic/claude-opus-4-5 | $5.00 | $25.00 | | Google | google/gemini-2.5-flash | $0.30 | $2.50 | | Google | google/gemini-2.5-pro | $1.25 | $10.00 | | Google | google/gemini-3-flash-preview | $0.50 | $3.00 | | Google | google/gemini-3-pro-preview | $2.00 | $12.00 | | xAI | xai/grok-4-1-fast-non-reasoning | $0.20 | $0.50 |

Examples:

# Basic agentic query
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "analyze climate data" --mode agentic

# With high reasoning effort
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "solve complex problem" --mode agentic --reasoning high

# With custom instructions
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "research topic" --mode agentic --instructions "Focus on academic sources"

# Custom model
node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs "query" --mode agentic --model "anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet"

Output format:

<<<EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>
Source: Web Search
---
[AI-generated output with inline citation markers]

## Citations
[1] Citation Title
    https://example.com/source
<<<END_EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>

CLI Reference

node {baseDir}/scripts/search.mjs <query> [options]

MODES:
  --mode search        Search API - ranked results (~$0.005/query)
  --mode sonar         Sonar API - AI answers [DEFAULT] (~$0.01/query)
  --mode agentic       Agentic Research API - third-party models with tools

SONAR OPTIONS:
  --model <model>      sonar | sonar-pro | sonar-reasoning-pro | sonar-deep-research
  --deep               Shortcut for --mode sonar --model sonar-deep-research (requires --yes)
  --yes, -y            Confirm expensive operations (required for --deep)
  --pro                Shortcut for --model sonar-pro

AGENTIC OPTIONS:
  --reasoning <level>  low | medium | high
  --instructions "..." System instructions for model behavior
  --model <model>      Third-party model (default: openai/gpt-5-mini)
                       See "Available Models" above for full list

GENERAL OPTIONS:
  --json               Output raw JSON (debug mode, unwrapped)
  --help, -h           Show help message

Cost Guide

Estimates assume a typical query (~500 input tokens, ~500 output tokens).

Sonar API (token cost + per-request fee)

| Model | Est. Cost/Query | Breakdown | |-------|----------------|-----------| | sonar | ~$0.006 | $0.001 tokens + $0.005 request fee | | sonar-pro | ~$0.015 | $0.009 tokens + $0.006 request fee | | sonar-reasoning-pro | ~$0.011 | $0.005 tokens + $0.006 request fee | | sonar-deep-research ⚠️ | ~$0.41-1.32 | Tokens + citations + reasoning + 18-30 searches |

Request fees vary by search context size (low/medium/high). Estimates above use low context.

Agentic API (token cost + $0.005/web_search + $0.0005/fetch_url)

| Model | Est. Cost/Query | Notes | |-------|----------------|-------| | xai/grok-4-1-fast-non-reasoning | ~$0.005 | Cheapest, fastest | | perplexity/sonar | ~$0.006 | | | openai/gpt-5-mini ⭐ | ~$0.006 | Default — best value | | google/gemini-2.5-flash | ~$0.006 | | | google/gemini-3-flash-preview | ~$0.007 | | | anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5 | ~$0.008 | | | openai/gpt-5.1 | ~$0.011 | | | google/gemini-2.5-pro | ~$0.011 | | | google/gemini-3-pro-preview | ~$0.012 | | | openai/gpt-5.2 | ~$0.013 | | | anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5 | ~$0.014 | | | anthropic/claude-opus-4-5 | ~$0.020 | Most expensive |

Agentic costs scale with tool usage — complex queries may trigger multiple web_search/fetch_url calls.

Search API

| API | Cost | |-----|------| | Search API | ~$0.005/query (flat $5/1K requests) |

⚠️ Deep Research Cost Gate

Deep Research mode requires --yes flag (or interactive TTY confirmation) due to high cost (~$0.40-1.32 per query). Without it, the script exits with a cost warning.

API Key Configuration

Set your Perplexity API key in OpenClaw config:

{
  "skills": {
    "entries": {
      "perplexity_wrapped": {
        "enabled": true,
        "apiKey": "pplx-your-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

OpenClaw sets PERPLEXITY_API_KEY env var from this config value. You can also export it manually.

Security

All output modes (except --json) wrap results in untrusted-content boundaries:

<<<EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>
Source: Web Search
---
[content]
<<<END_EXTERNAL_UNTRUSTED_CONTENT>>>

...