Smart Search CLI

Use the local

smart-search

command as the default execution layer for web research. The skill decides routing; the CLI performs the work; JSON or saved files provide evidence.

Default workflow

Run
```
smart-search doctor --format json
```
when configuration or availability is uncertain.
If
```
doctor
```
reports missing configuration, use
```
smart-search setup
```
or
```
smart-search config set KEY VALUE
```
when the user provides keys. Do not ask users to edit global environment variables by default.
If
```
doctor
```
returns
```
ok: true
```
, use only
```
smart-search
```
CLI subcommands for web research. Do not call Codex native web search in the same task.
Use
```
smart-search smoke --mock --format json
```
after CLI/provider architecture changes. Use
```
--live
```
only when real keys are available and the user expects live checks.
Use
```
smart-search search
```
for realtime, broad, community, or multi-source synthesis.
Use
```
smart-search exa-search
```
for official documentation, API references, papers, and low-noise source discovery.
Use
```
smart-search context7-library
```
/
```
context7-docs
```
only for library, SDK, API, framework, or documentation intent.
Use
```
smart-search zhipu-search
```
for Chinese, domestic, current, or domain-filtered web source discovery.
Use
```
smart-search anysearch-*
```
only for experimental AnySearch acceptance and vertical-domain boundary tests; do not treat it as the default web-search or fetch fallback.
Use
```
smart-search exa-similar
```
when the user gives a representative URL and wants related pages or neighboring sources.
Use
```
smart-search fetch
```
when the user gives a URL or a claim depends on page content.
Use
```
smart-search map
```
when a documentation site or domain structure matters.

Use

smart-search model current

only to inspect explicit provider models. To change models, use

smart-search config set XAI_MODEL ...

smart-search config set OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_MODEL ...

For current-news, policy, finance, health, or other high-risk facts, do not answer from broad
```
search.content
```
alone. Find reliable URLs with
```
exa-search
```
,
```
zhipu-search
```
, or source-focused
```
search
```
, then
```
fetch
```
key pages and summarize only what the fetched text supports.
Preserve command lines and source URLs in your answer. Prefer citing fetched pages or
```
primary_sources
```
; treat
```
extra_sources
```
as follow-up candidates, not verified evidence for generated claims.

Deep Research Mode

Use Deep Research Mode when the user asks for

深度搜索

深度调研

深入搜索

deep search

deep research

, multi-source verification, cross-checking, serious review, or selection/comparison research. This is a capability-based orchestration workflow: the AI agent calls

smart-search deep "question" --format json

to get an offline plan, then composes existing

smart-search

CLI building blocks, the CLI executes those later commands, and JSON/Markdown files provide reproducible evidence.

smart-search deep

is a public planner entrypoint, not an executor; it does not call providers, run

doctor

, or fetch pages by default. It does not change default

smart-search search

, and it does not depend on an MCP session.

Do not select a fixed topic recipe. Market, product, technical docs, news, policy, claim-checking, and URL-first prompts are examples of user language, not schema modes. Decide from intent dimensions and capability needs.

Before running deep research commands, run

smart-search deep "question" --format json

and use the returned

research_plan

as your planning artifact. Use this shape:

json

{
  "mode": "deep_research",
  "query_mode": "deep",
  "question": "user question",
  "trigger_source": "explicit_cli",
  "difficulty": "standard|high",
  "intent_signals": {
    "recency_requirement": "none|recent|current",
    "docs_api_intent": false,
    "locale_domain_scope": "global|china|known_domains|mixed",
    "known_url": false,
    "source_authority_need": "normal|high",
    "claim_risk": "low|medium|high",
    "cross_validation_need": "normal|high",
    "breadth_depth_budget": "quick|standard|deep"
  },
  "decomposition": [
    {
      "id": "sq1",
      "question": "subquestion",
      "reason": "why this subquestion is needed",
      "required_capabilities": ["broad_discovery"]
    }
  ],
  "capability_plan": [
    {
      "capability": "broad_discovery",
      "tools": ["search"],
      "reason": "Find the initial answer shape and candidate sources."
    }
  ],
  "preflight": {
    "tool": "doctor",
    "command": "smart-search doctor --format json",
    "when": "configuration or availability is uncertain"
  },
  "evidence_policy": "fetch_before_claim",
  "steps": [
    {
      "id": "s1",
      "subquestion_id": "sq1",
      "tool": "search",
      "purpose": "broad discovery",
      "command": "smart-search search \"query\" --validation balanced --extra-sources 1 --format json --output C:\\tmp\\smart-search-evidence\\YYYYMMDD-HHMM-topic\\01-search.json",
      "output_path": "C:\\tmp\\smart-search-evidence\\YYYYMMDD-HHMM-topic\\01-search.json"
    }
  ],
  "gap_check": {
    "required": true,
    "rule": "fetch missing evidence for key claims or downgrade them to unverified candidates"
  },
  "final_answer_policy": "cite fetched evidence, list unverified candidates, and include key commands",
  "usage_boundary": {
    "search": "smart-search search runs live fast/broad search immediately.",
    "deep": "smart-search deep is an offline planner; it does not execute provider calls or fetch pages.",
    "execution": "An AI agent or user executes the listed steps with existing CLI commands, then performs gap_check."
  }
}

Allowed

steps[].tool

values are

search

exa-search

exa-similar

zhipu-search

context7-library

context7-docs

fetch

, and

map

. Each step must include

id

subquestion_id

purpose

command

, and

output_path

doctor

is preflight and must not appear in

steps[]

. Simple plans may have one subquestion; complex plans should use 2-6 subquestions unless the user explicitly asks for exhaustive coverage.

Capability boundaries:

```
search
```
: broad discovery and synthesis through
```
main_search
```
; inspect
```
routing_decision
```
,
```
provider_attempts
```
,
```
fallback_used
```
, and
```
source_warning
```
. Do not treat broad answers as proof for high-risk claims.
```
exa-search
```
: low-noise discovery for official docs, APIs, papers, product pages, known domains, trusted media, and recency-filtered source search.
```
exa-similar
```
: adjacent-source discovery when a known reliable URL is available.
```
zhipu-search
```
: Chinese, domestic, current, or domain-filtered source discovery.
```
context7-library
```
/
```
context7-docs
```
: library, SDK, API, framework, and documentation intent only.
```
fetch
```
: page-content evidence. Use it before claim-level conclusions.
```
map
```
: site structure exploration before many fetches from one site; not claim evidence by itself.

Default Deep Research orchestration:

Run
```
smart-search doctor --format json
```
as preflight when configuration is uncertain.

Call

smart-search deep "question" --format json

to create an offline

research_plan

Inspect
```
intent_signals
```
,
```
decomposition
```
, and
```
capability_plan
```
; do not choose fixed topic recipe ids.
Execute planned
```
search --validation balanced --extra-sources 1..3
```
steps for broad discovery and read routing metadata.
Execute planned
```
exa-search
```
,
```
exa-similar
```
,
```
zhipu-search
```
,
```
context7-library
```
,
```
context7-docs
```
, or
```
map
```
only when their capability boundary matches the intent.
Use
```
fetch
```
on key URLs before making claim-level statements.
Run
```
gap_check
```
: if an important claim lacks fetched evidence, fetch another source or mark the claim/source as unverified.

Default evidence policy is

fetch_before_claim

: key claims in the final answer must be supported by fetched page text. Treat

primary_sources

and

extra_sources

as discovery candidates until the relevant URL has been fetched. The final answer should include fetched evidence, unverified candidate sources, and key commands used.

Deep Research smoke matrix for workflow maintenance is mock-full plus live-limited. Mock-full coverage should include trigger phrases, normal search requests that should not trigger Deep Research, required

research_plan

fields, allowed tool whitelist,

fetch_before_claim

, evidence output paths, capability boundaries,

intent_signals

capability_plan

gap_check

, simple current prompts such as

深度搜索一下最近的比特币行情

, docs/API prompts, claim-verification prompts, user-provided URL fetch-first flows, missing-provider failure guidance, and the rule that fixed topic recipe ids are not required schema. Live-limited coverage should run

doctor

, one broad

search

, one

exa-search

, and one

fetch

only when real keys are available and the user expects live checks.

Standard user-facing Deep Research tests:

powershell

smart-search deep "深度搜索一下最近的比特币行情" --format json
smart-search deep "OpenAI Responses API web_search 和 Chat Completions 联网搜索怎么选" --budget deep --format json
smart-search deep "帮我核验这个说法是真是假：某某工具已经完全替代 Tavily 做 AI 搜索了" --format json
smart-search deep "https://example.com/source" --format json

Provider Routing

```
search
```
builds
```
main_search
```
from configured peer providers:
```
XAI_API_KEY
```
for xAI Responses and
```
OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_API_URL
```
+
```
OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_API_KEY
```
for OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions.
Official xAI uses the Responses API
```
/responses
```
route through
```
XAI_*
```
. Compatible relays/gateways use Chat Completions
```
/chat/completions
```
through
```
OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_*
```
.
```
OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_STREAM=true
```
or
```
search --stream
```
sets
```
stream=true
```
only for OpenAI-compatible
```
search
```
and provider-side
```
fetch
```
; it is a relay compatibility switch and does not affect xAI Responses, URL description, or source ranking.

Legacy

SMART_SEARCH_API_URL

SMART_SEARCH_API_KEY

SMART_SEARCH_API_MODE

SMART_SEARCH_MODEL

, and

SMART_SEARCH_XAI_TOOLS

are unsupported config keys.

xAI Responses mode may use only
```
XAI_TOOLS=web_search,x_search
```
and a subset of those tools.
Chat Completions mode must not send xAI
```
web_search
```
/
```
x_search
```
tools or legacy
```
search_parameters
```
; xAI Chat Completions Live Search is deprecated.
The standard minimum profile requires one configured provider in each of
```
main_search
```
,
```
docs_search
```
, and fetch capability. Missing required capabilities should be treated as a hard configuration failure.
AnySearch is reported only as optional experimental
```
vertical_search
```
; it is not part of the
```
web_search
```
fallback and is not required by the
```
standard
```
minimum profile.
```
search
```
exposes
```
--validation fast|balanced|strict
```
,
```
--fallback auto|off
```
, and
```
--providers auto|CSV
```
. Default validation is
```
balanced
```
; fallback only happens within the same capability.
xAI Responses is the default main answer route for Grok/xAI. In
```
fallback=auto
```
, a failed xAI Responses main route can fall back to OpenAI-compatible only when the OpenAI-compatible provider is separately configured.
Docs routing uses Exa first, then Context7 only for docs/API/SDK/library/framework intent.
Zhipu is a general web-search reinforcement and same-capability fallback for Chinese, domestic, current, or domain-filtered source discovery.
```
search
```
calls Tavily and/or Firecrawl only when
```
--extra-sources N
```
is greater than 0.
With both Tavily and Firecrawl configured,
```
search --extra-sources N
```
splits extra sources between them, with Tavily receiving about 60% and Firecrawl the rest.
Search JSON separates
```
primary_sources
```
,
```
extra_sources
```
, and backward-compatible merged
```
sources
```
.
```
primary_sources
```
are extracted from the primary model answer.
```
extra_sources
```
are parallel Tavily / Firecrawl candidates and are not automatically used to verify
```
content
```
.
```
fetch
```
tries Tavily first and uses Firecrawl only as a fallback when Tavily returns no content.
```
map
```
currently uses Tavily only.
```
exa-search
```
and
```
exa-similar
```
use Exa only.
```
context7-library
```
and
```
context7-docs
```
use Context7 only.
```
anysearch-domains
```
,
```
anysearch-search
```
,
```
anysearch-extract
```
, and
```
anysearch-batch
```
use AnySearch only. Treat results as acceptance evidence until the target vertical domain is reviewed.
```
zhipu-search
```
uses Zhipu only.
Zhipu support currently corresponds to the official Zhipu Web Search API route, using
```
ZHIPU_API_URL
```
plus
```
ZHIPU_SEARCH_ENGINE
```
; it is not Zhipu Chat Completions
```
tools=[web_search]
```
, not Search Agent, and not the MCP Server.
```
ZHIPU_SEARCH_ENGINE
```
defaults to
```
search_std
```
. Official Web Search API service values include
```
search_std
```
,
```
search_pro
```
,
```
search_pro_sogou
```
, and
```
search_pro_quark
```
; keep custom values possible because official services may change.
```
TAVILY_API_URL
```
only affects Tavily REST calls and does not proxy Zhipu. Zhipu defaults to
```
https://open.bigmodel.cn/api
```
unless
```
ZHIPU_API_URL
```
is set.
```
doctor
```
tests configured main-search providers, Exa, Tavily, Zhipu, and Context7 connectivity. Firecrawl status currently means the key is configured, not that a live Firecrawl request succeeded.

Evidence Files

For multi-source research, use

--output

to save evidence under

C:\tmp\smart-search-evidence\

with a descriptive timestamped filename. Stdout should still contain the full JSON result unless markdown or content output was explicitly chosen for human reading.

For claim-level evidence, prefer this order:

Discover candidate URLs with
```
exa-search
```
or source-focused
```
search
```
.
Fetch the exact pages that matter.
Use broad
```
search
```
only as synthesis or discovery, and mark claims as unverified when only
```
extra_sources
```
are available.

Prefer shorter, source-directed commands:

powershell

smart-search exa-search "Reuters Iran Hormuz latest" --num-results 5 --include-highlights --format json --output C:\tmp\smart-search-evidence\iran-hormuz-exa.json
smart-search exa-search "OpenAI Responses API documentation" --include-domains platform.openai.com developers.openai.com --num-results 5 --include-text --format json
smart-search exa-similar "https://example.com/source" --num-results 5 --format json
smart-search fetch "https://example.com/source" --format json --output C:\tmp\smart-search-evidence\source-fetch.json
smart-search search "Iran Hormuz latest military talks" --extra-sources 3 --timeout 90 --format json --output C:\tmp\smart-search-evidence\iran-hormuz-search.json

Local wrapper contract

Expect
```
smart-search
```
to resolve from the user's PATH.
This bundled skill is maintained with the
```
smartsearch
```
repository.
Prefer the CLI's local config file managed by
```
smart-search setup
```
/
```
smart-search config
```
.
Environment variables remain supported for CI and advanced users, and override the local config file.
Do not ask users to set Windows global API-key environment variables by default.
If keys are changed with
```
smart-search config set
```
, rerun the CLI; no Codex restart is needed.
If PATH is changed, a new terminal or Codex restart may be needed.

On Windows, the default local config file is

%LOCALAPPDATA%\smart-search\config.json

. Linux/macOS default to

~/.config/smart-search/config.json

In sandboxed runtimes (Codex CLI, containers, CI) where the default config directory is not writable or must be pinned, set
```
SMART_SEARCH_CONFIG_DIR
```
to an absolute writable path. The CLI uses it for both config and relative logs and skips default-directory selection.
Earlier Windows source defaults used
```
~\.config\smart-search\config.json
```
, while some installs were already pinned to
```
%LOCALAPPDATA%\smart-search
```
through
```
SMART_SEARCH_CONFIG_DIR
```
. If the new default file is missing but the old file exists,
```
doctor
```
reports
```
legacy_windows_home
```
as the active source so upgrades do not silently lose configuration. It also reports the override value and whether it matches the current default.
Use
```
smart-search doctor --format json
```
for agent/script parsing and
```
smart-search doctor --format markdown
```
when a human wants a detailed diagnostic report.

smart-search doctor --format json

returns

ok: false

, follow the

error

field's guidance (

smart-search setup

smart-search config set KEY VALUE

); do not silently fall back to native web search.

Interactive
```
smart-search setup
```
is a language-selecting grouped wizard with arrow-key / Space / Enter provider selection. It guides users through required
```
main_search
```
,
```
docs_search
```
, and fetch capability, then optional
```
web_search
```
reinforcement.
The setup wizard prints beginner filling examples for official-service and relay/pooled-endpoint minimum profiles. Keep that guidance on stderr so stdout remains parseable JSON/Markdown/content output.
Use
```
smart-search setup --lang en
```
for an English wizard and
```
smart-search setup --advanced
```
only when low-level config keys must be shown one by one.

Use

smart-search setup --non-interactive --zhipu-api-url "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api" --zhipu-search-engine "search_std"

to save Zhipu Web Search API endpoint and search service without prompts.

Use
```
smart-search setup --non-interactive --openai-compatible-stream true
```
only when an OpenAI-compatible relay benefits from SSE streaming for long requests. Default remains false.

Use

smart-search setup --non-interactive --anysearch-api-url "https://api.anysearch.com/mcp" --anysearch-key "key"

only for experimental AnySearch acceptance; do not add it to the normal minimum-profile setup.

Interactive setup asks for Zhipu API key, API URL, and search service when optional
```
web_search
```
reinforcement selects Zhipu.
Use
```
TAVILY_API_URL=https://<host>/api/tavily
```
for Tavily Hikari / pooled endpoints. Root host and
```
/mcp
```
inputs are normalized by setup;
```
/mcp
```
itself is not the REST base Smart Search should call.
```
TAVILY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
```
controls the Tavily
```
doctor
```
connectivity timeout and defaults to
```
30
```
. Raise it for slower pooled/community Tavily endpoints before judging the provider unhealthy.
Use
```
FIRECRAWL_API_URL
```
only for a Firecrawl-compatible REST base. Official default is
```
https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2
```
.

Command Patterns

powershell

smart-search search "query" --extra-sources 5 --timeout 90 --format json --output result.json
smart-search search "query" --stream --format json
smart-search search "query" --platform "Reuters" --model "model-id" --extra-sources 3 --timeout 90 --format json
smart-search search "nba战报" --format content
smart-search search "query" --validation strict --fallback auto --providers auto --format json
smart-search exa-search "query" --num-results 5 --search-type neural --include-text --include-highlights --include-domains docs.example.com developer.mozilla.org --format json
smart-search exa-similar "https://example.com/article" --num-results 5 --format json
smart-search context7-library "react" "hooks" --format json
smart-search context7-docs "/facebook/react" "useEffect cleanup" --format json
smart-search zhipu-search "today China AI news" --count 5 --format json
smart-search anysearch-domains security --format json
smart-search anysearch-search "CVE-2024-3094" --domain security.cve --max-results 3 --format json
smart-search anysearch-extract "https://example.com/source" --format json
smart-search anysearch-batch "AAPL" "RAG papers" --max-results 2 --format json
smart-search fetch "https://example.com" --format markdown --output page.md
smart-search map "https://docs.example.com" --instructions "Find API reference pages" --max-depth 1 --max-breadth 20 --limit 50 --format json
smart-search setup
smart-search setup --lang en
smart-search setup --advanced
smart-search setup --non-interactive --install-skills hermes
smart-search setup --non-interactive --zhipu-api-url "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api" --zhipu-search-engine "search_std"
smart-search setup --non-interactive --openai-compatible-stream true
smart-search setup --non-interactive --anysearch-api-url "https://api.anysearch.com/mcp" --anysearch-key "key"
smart-search setup --non-interactive --tavily-api-url "https://api.tavily.com" --tavily-key "key"
smart-search --version
smart-search config path --format json
smart-search config list --format json
smart-search config list --format markdown
smart-search config set XAI_API_KEY "key" --format json
smart-search config set XAI_MODEL "grok-4-fast" --format json
smart-search config set XAI_TOOLS "web_search,x_search" --format json
smart-search config set OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_API_URL "https://api.openai.com/v1" --format json
smart-search config set OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_API_KEY "key" --format json
smart-search config set OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_MODEL "model-id" --format json
smart-search config set OPENAI_COMPATIBLE_STREAM "true" --format json
smart-search config set ANYSEARCH_API_URL "https://api.anysearch.com/mcp" --format json
smart-search config set ANYSEARCH_API_KEY "key" --format json
smart-search config set ANYSEARCH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS "30" --format json
smart-search config set EXA_API_KEY "key" --format json
smart-search config set CONTEXT7_API_KEY "key" --format json
smart-search config set ZHIPU_API_KEY "key" --format json
smart-search config set ZHIPU_API_URL "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api" --format json
smart-search config set ZHIPU_SEARCH_ENGINE "search_pro" --format json
smart-search config set TAVILY_API_URL "https://api.tavily.com" --format json
smart-search config set TAVILY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS "45" --format json
smart-search config set FIRECRAWL_API_URL "https://api.firecrawl.dev/v2" --format json
smart-search model current --format json
smart-search doctor --format json
smart-search doctor --format markdown
smart-search regression
smart-search smoke --mock --format json
smart-search smoke --mock --format markdown

Short aliases are supported for interactive use:

powershell

smart-search --v
smart-search s "query" --format json
smart-search s "nba战报" --format content
smart-search f "https://example.com" --format markdown
smart-search exa "OpenAI Responses API documentation" --format json
smart-search z "today China AI news" --format json
smart-search c7 "react" "hooks" --format json
smart-search c7docs "/facebook/react" "useEffect cleanup" --format json
smart-search cfg ls --format json
smart-search d --format markdown
smart-search mdl cur --format json
smart-search sm --format json
smart-search reg

Guardrails

Prefer JSON for agent parsing and markdown for fetched page text intended for reading.
Use
```
--output
```
for multi-source work, long pages, or anything the answer may need to cite later.
Keep
```
--extra-sources
```
small (
```
1
```
to
```
3
```
) unless the user asks for broad coverage. Large values are slower and can add noise.
Do not cite
```
extra_sources
```
as proof for a sentence in
```
content
```
; fetch the URL first or cite it only as a candidate source.
Prefer
```
exa-search --include-domains
```
for official documentation when likely domains are known.
Do not expose API keys. Treat
```
doctor
```
output as safe only because it is expected to mask secrets.
In this CLI-first workflow, native
```
web_search
```
is disabled unless the user explicitly configures another approved route.
If
```
doctor
```
or a command fails, report the failure and recovery steps; do not silently fall back to another web-search route.
If the user explicitly asks to bypass smart-search, state that another approved web-search route must be configured first.
Do not use legacy MCP tool names in prompts, notes, or generated instructions for this workflow.
Treat key rotation as a hard safety gate when previous key values were pasted into chat or logs.
For provider architecture maintenance, verify the distributable contract rather than the current developer machine's wrappers or local config. Keep fallback same-capability only.
Treat xAI Responses and OpenAI-compatible as peer
```
main_search
```
providers. Do not reuse one provider's URL/key to fabricate the other provider as a fallback.

Supporting Reference

Read

references/cli-contract.md

when you need command details, output fields, exit codes, or regression expectations.

smart-search-cli

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Smart Search CLI

Default workflow

Deep Research Mode

Provider Routing

Evidence Files

Local wrapper contract

Command Patterns

Guardrails

Supporting Reference