Search — General-Purpose Web & Platform Search

Search the web, platforms, and proprietary datasets. Pick the best API for the task — or combine several for comprehensive results.

1. Tavily — Comprehensive Web Search & Research

Best for: General web search, deep research reports, site mapping, and crawling.

Search the web:

orth run tavily /search --body '{
  "query": "latest developments in AI agents",
  "search_depth": "advanced",
  "include_answer": true,
  "max_results": 10
}'

Deep research (async — returns a report with citations):

# Step 1: Start research task
orth run tavily /research --body '{"input": "Compare AI agent frameworks for production use", "model": "pro"}'
# Step 2: Poll for results using request_id
orth run tavily /research/{request_id}

Map a website (discover all URLs):

orth run tavily /map --body '{"url": "https://docs.example.com", "limit": 200}'

Crawl a website (extract content from multiple pages):

orth run tavily /crawl --body '{
  "url": "https://docs.example.com",
  "max_depth": 3,
  "limit": 50
}'

Key parameters: search_depth (basic/fast/advanced/ultra-fast), topic (general/news), time_range (day/week/month/year), include_domains/exclude_domains, include_answer, include_raw_content, country.

2. Exa — Neural & Semantic Search

Best for: Finding similar content, semantic/embeddings-based search, category-filtered search (people, companies), and deep research.

Neural web search:

orth run exa /search --body '{
  "query": "startups building AI coding assistants",
  "numResults": 10,
  "type": "auto",
  "contents": {"text": true}
}'

Find similar pages:

orth run exa /findSimilar --body '{
  "url": "https://example.com/article",
  "numResults": 10,
  "contents": {"text": true}
}'

Get a sourced AI answer:

orth run exa /answer --body '{"query": "What are the best practices for prompt engineering?"}'

Get page contents:

orth run exa /contents --body '{"urls": ["https://example.com"], "text": true, "summary": true}'

Deep research (async):

# Step 1: Create task
orth run exa /research/v1 --body '{"instructions": "Research the current state of AI coding assistants", "model": "exa-research-pro"}'
# Step 2: Poll with researchId
orth run exa /research/v1/{researchId}

Key parameters: type (auto/neural/fast/deep), category (people/company), includeDomains/excludeDomains, startPublishedDate/endPublishedDate, includeText/excludeText.

3. Andi — Fast Web Search

Best for: Quick, high-quality web search with intelligent ranking and instant answers. Low latency.

orth run andi /v1/search --query 'q=how%20does%20RAG%20work&depth=deep&limit=20'

Key parameters: q (query), limit (1-100), depth (fast/deep), intent (NewsSearchIntent, VideoSearchIntent, ImageSearchIntent), dateRange (day/week/month/year), includeDomains/excludeDomains, country, language.

4. Linkup — Question-Based Search with Sourced Answers

Best for: Natural language questions, sourced answers with citations, structured output.

Search with sourced answer:

orth run linkup /search --body '{
  "q": "What are the latest AI agent frameworks?",
  "depth": "deep",
  "outputType": "sourcedAnswer"
}'

Structured output search:

orth run linkup /search --body '{
  "q": "Top 5 AI startups in 2025",
  "depth": "deep",
  "outputType": "structured",
  "structuredOutputSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "startups": {
        "type": "array",
        "items": {
          "type": "object",
          "properties": {
            "name": {"type": "string"},
            "description": {"type": "string"},
            "funding": {"type": "string"}
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}'

Key parameters: q (natural language question), depth (standard/deep), outputType (searchResults/sourcedAnswer/structured), fromDate/toDate, includeDomains/excludeDomains, maxResults.

5. Valyu — Web, Proprietary Datasets & News Search

Best for: Searching across web, academic/proprietary datasets, and news. AI-generated answers. Deep research tasks.

Web search:

orth run valyu /v1/search --body '{"query": "AI agent frameworks comparison", "search_type": "web", "max_num_results": 10}'

Academic/proprietary search:

orth run valyu /v1/search --body '{"query": "transformer architecture improvements", "search_type": "proprietary"}'

News search:

orth run valyu /v1/search --body '{"query": "OpenAI latest announcements", "search_type": "news"}'

AI-generated answer:

orth run valyu /v1/answer --body '{"query": "What are best practices for building AI agents?"}'

Deep research (async):

# Step 1: Create task
orth run valyu /v1/deepresearch/tasks --body '{"query": "Comprehensive analysis of vector databases market", "mode": "standard"}'
# Step 2: Poll for status
orth run valyu /v1/deepresearch/tasks/{id}/status

Key parameters: search_type (web/proprietary/news), fast_mode, included_sources/excluded_sources, relevance_threshold, start_date/end_date, country_code.

6. SearchAPI — Multi-Platform Search

Best for: Searching specific platforms — Amazon, eBay, Walmart, YouTube, Airbnb, TripAdvisor, app stores, and ad libraries (Meta, TikTok, Reddit, LinkedIn).

All SearchAPI calls use the same endpoint with different engine values:

Amazon product search:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=amazon_search&q=wireless%20headphones'

eBay search:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=ebay_search&q=vintage%20watch'

Walmart search:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=walmart_search&q=laptop'

YouTube search:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=youtube&q=AI%20agents'

YouTube video details / comments / transcripts:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=youtube_video&video_id=dQw4w9WgXcQ'
orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=youtube_comments&video_id=dQw4w9WgXcQ'
orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=youtube_transcripts&video_id=dQw4w9WgXcQ'

Airbnb search:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=airbnb&q=Paris&adults=2&check_in_date=2025-06-01&check_out_date=2025-06-07'

TripAdvisor search:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=tripadvisor&q=best%20restaurants%20NYC'

Apple App Store:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=apple_app_store&term=productivity'

Ad library search (Meta, TikTok, Reddit, LinkedIn):

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=meta_ad_library&q=AI%20tools'
orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=tiktok_ads_library&q=AI'
orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=reddit_ad_library&q=software'
orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=linkedin_ad_library&q=hiring'

Social media profiles:

orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=tiktok_profile&username=openai'
orth run searchapi /api/v1/search --query 'engine=instagram_profile&username=openai'

Available engines: amazon_search, ebay_search, walmart_search, youtube, youtube_video, youtube_comments, youtube_transcripts, youtube_channel, youtube_channel_videos, airbnb, tripadvisor, apple_app_store, meta_ad_library, tiktok_ads_library, reddit_ad_library, linkedin_ad_library, tiktok_profile, instagram_profile.

Tips

• •General web search: Start with Tavily (search_depth: "advanced") or Exa (type: "auto") for best relevance
• •Speed matters: Use Andi for fast results, Tavily ultra-fast for lowest latency
• •Sourced answers: Linkup and Valyu both generate answers with citations — Linkup is best for Q&A, Valyu for blending web + proprietary data
• •Academic/research data: Valyu's proprietary search type covers arxiv, pubmed, and academic datasets
• •News: Use Valyu (search_type: "news") or Tavily (topic: "news") for current events
• •Deep research: Tavily, Exa, and Valyu all offer async research tasks — Tavily for web-focused, Exa for comprehensive with citations, Valyu for web + academic mix
• •Find similar content: Exa's /findSimilar is unique — pass a URL and get semantically similar pages
• •Platform-specific search: SearchAPI is the only option for Amazon, eBay, Walmart, YouTube, Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and ad libraries
• •Domain filtering: Most APIs support include_domains/exclude_domains to scope results
• •Async patterns: Deep research tasks (Tavily, Exa, Valyu) are async — POST to start, GET to poll for results
• •Combine APIs: For thorough research, run Tavily + Exa + Linkup in parallel and cross-reference results

Discover More

List all endpoints for any API, or add a path for parameter details:

orth api show tavily
orth api show exa
orth api show andi
orth api show linkup
orth api show valyu
orth api show searchapi

Example: orth api show tavily /search for full parameter details.