> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://exa.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# OpenClaw

> Give OpenClaw live web search and page contents with Exa.

[OpenClaw](https://openclaw.ai/) supports Exa as a native `web_search` provider. Once selected, every OpenClaw agent can use Exa search modes, date filters, and content extraction through the built-in web tool.

## Set up Exa

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install the Exa plugin">
    ```bash theme={null}
    openclaw plugins install @openclaw/exa-plugin
    openclaw gateway restart
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Get an Exa API key">
    <Card title="Get your Exa API key" icon="key" horizontal href="https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys">
      Create a key in the dashboard. New accounts start with free credits.
    </Card>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Store the key">
    For a gateway installation, add the key to `~/.openclaw/.env`:

    ```bash ~/.openclaw/.env theme={null}
    EXA_API_KEY=your-exa-api-key
    ```

    Restart the gateway after changing its environment.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select Exa for web search">
    Run:

    ```bash theme={null}
    openclaw configure --section web
    ```

    Choose **Exa** as the web search provider. OpenClaw stores the provider selection in its configuration and reads the credential from `EXA_API_KEY`.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Configure manually

You can select Exa directly in OpenClaw's JSON5 configuration:

```json5 theme={null}
{
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "exa",
      },
    },
  },
}
```

To store the key in configuration instead of the gateway environment:

```json5 theme={null}
{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      exa: {
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "exa-...",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
```

<Note>
  Prefer `EXA_API_KEY` or an OpenClaw SecretRef over committing an API key to a configuration file.
</Note>

## What agents can request

OpenClaw exposes Exa through `web_search`.

| Parameter                    | Purpose                                                                                       |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `query`                      | The web search query.                                                                         |
| `count`                      | Number of results, up to 100 and subject to the selected search type's limit.                 |
| `type`                       | Exa search mode, including `auto`, `neural`, `fast`, `instant`, `deep`, and `deep-reasoning`. |
| `freshness`                  | Restrict results to a recent day, week, month, or year.                                       |
| `date_after` / `date_before` | Restrict results with `YYYY-MM-DD` boundaries.                                                |
| `contents`                   | Return full text, highlights, or summaries with each result.                                  |

If `contents` is omitted, OpenClaw requests highlights by default. The agent can ask for a different content shape when it needs complete pages or summaries:

```javascript theme={null}
await web_search({
  query: "transformer architecture explained",
  type: "neural",
  contents: {
    text: { maxCharacters: 5000 },
    highlights: { numSentences: 3 },
    summary: true,
  },
});
```

OpenClaw caches web search results for 15 minutes by default. Change `tools.web.search.cacheTtlMinutes` or set it to `0` when every request must be fresh.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="OpenClaw does not show Exa as a provider">
    Install `@openclaw/exa-plugin`, restart the gateway, and run `openclaw configure --section web` again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="OpenClaw reports a missing Exa key">
    Check that `EXA_API_KEY` is available to the gateway process, not only your interactive shell. For a gateway install, place it in `~/.openclaw/.env` and restart the gateway.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Search results appear stale">
    OpenClaw caches results independently of Exa. Lower `tools.web.search.cacheTtlMinutes` or set it to `0`, then use Exa content freshness options when requesting page contents.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Resources

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="OpenClaw Exa provider" icon="book-open" href="https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/exa-search" cta="Read guide" arrow="true">
    Review the current plugin configuration and tool parameters.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Exa Search" icon="search" href="/docs/search/quickstart" cta="Read guide" arrow="true">
    Compare Exa search modes and response formats.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Content freshness" icon="clock" href="/docs/contents/quickstart#content-freshness" cta="Read guide" arrow="true">
    Control indexed and live-retrieved page contents.
  </Card>
</Columns>