Parallel Search
High-accuracy web search built for AI agents. Returns ranked results with intelligent excerpts optimized for LLM consumption.
When to Use
Trigger this skill when the user asks for:
- •"search the web", "web search", "look up", "find online"
- •"current news about...", "latest updates on..."
- •"research [topic]", "what's happening with..."
- •Fact-checking with citations needed
- •Domain-specific searches (e.g., "search GitHub for...", "find on Reddit...")
Quick Start
bash
parallel-cli search "your query" --json --max-results 5
CLI Reference
Basic Usage
bash
parallel-cli search "<objective>" [options]
Common Flags
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-q, --query "<keyword>" | Add keyword filter (repeatable, 3-8 recommended) |
--max-results N | Number of results (1-20, default: 10) |
--json | Output as JSON |
--after-date YYYY-MM-DD | Filter for recent content |
--include-domains domain.com | Limit to specific domains (repeatable, max 10) |
--exclude-domains domain.com | Exclude domains (repeatable, max 10) |
--excerpt-max-chars-total N | Limit total excerpt size (default: 8000) |
Examples
Basic search:
bash
parallel-cli search "When was the United Nations founded?" --json --max-results 5
With keyword filters:
bash
parallel-cli search "Latest developments in quantum computing" \ -q "quantum" -q "computing" -q "2026" \ --json --max-results 10
Domain-scoped search:
bash
parallel-cli search "React hooks best practices" \ --include-domains react.dev --include-domains github.com \ --json --max-results 5
Recent news only:
bash
parallel-cli search "AI regulation news" \ --after-date 2026-01-01 \ --json --max-results 10
Best-Practice Prompting
Objective
Write 1-3 sentences describing:
- •The real task context (why you need the info)
- •Freshness constraints ("prefer 2026+", "latest docs")
- •Preferred sources ("official docs", "news sites")
Keyword Queries
Add 3-8 keyword queries including:
- •Specific terms, version numbers, error strings
- •Common synonyms
- •Date terms if relevant ("2026", "Jan 2026")
Response Format
Returns structured JSON with:
- •
search_id— unique identifier - •
results[]— array of results:- •
url— source URL - •
title— page title - •
excerpts[]— relevant text excerpts - •
publish_date— when available
- •
Output Handling
When turning results into a user-facing answer:
- •Prefer official/primary sources when possible
- •Quote or paraphrase only the relevant extracted text
- •Include URL + publish_date for transparency
- •If results disagree, present both and note the discrepancy
Running Out of Context?
For long conversations, save results and use sessions_spawn:
bash
parallel-cli search "<query>" --json -o /tmp/search-<topic>.json
Then spawn a sub-agent:
json
{
"tool": "sessions_spawn",
"task": "Read /tmp/search-<topic>.json and synthesize a summary with sources.",
"label": "search-summary"
}
Error Handling
| Exit Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Unexpected error (network, parse) |
| 2 | Invalid arguments |
| 3 | API error (non-2xx) |
Prerequisites
- •Get an API key at parallel.ai
- •Install the CLI:
bash
curl -fsSL https://parallel.ai/install.sh | bash export PARALLEL_API_KEY=your-key