---
name: web-search-and-fetch
description: How to search the web and fetch URL content using the WebX11 proxy API
tags: [search, fetch, web, proxy, api]
category: research
---
## Steps
1. **Search the web:**
   - Call web_search(query) — uses /api/search which queries SearXNG + DDG fallback
   - Results include: title, url, content snippet, source engine
   - Always available (same-origin, no CORS issues)
   - 5-minute server-side cache for repeated queries

2. **Fetch URL content:**
   - Call web_fetch(url) — uses /api/extract which strips HTML, extracts clean text
   - Returns: title, content (up to 4000 chars), word_count, extraction method
   - SSRF protection blocks internal network addresses
   - 15-minute server-side cache

3. **Search flags (via terminal search command):**
   - search <query> --summarize — adds AI-generated overview via Ollama
   - search <query> --fetch — fetches content snippets for top 3 results

4. **When to use:**
   - User asks about current events, facts, research → call web_search
   - User says "read this article" or provides a URL → call web_fetch
   - For in-depth analysis: search first, then fetch top results