Web Search (shell-only)
Goal
Enable the agent to quickly find and cite external references from the terminal when codex exec does not support a built-in --search flag.
When to use
Use this skill when:
- •the user asks you to “search the web”, “find references”, “look for cool implementations”, or “check docs online”
- •the agent needs a small number of authoritative links to proceed (standards, manpages, repos, issues, docs)
Do not use it when local repo search (rg) is sufficient.
Constraints
- •Uses only shell tools (
sh,curl,awk,sed,grep). - •Requires network access from the environment; if blocked, fail gracefully and say so.
- •Keep result sets small (default 5–10).
Workflow
- •Search for candidate links:
- •
sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-search.sh "<query>"
- •Fetch a small excerpt for context (optional):
- •
sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-fetch.sh "<url>"
- •Prefer high-signal sources:
- •official docs / specs
- •upstream repos (README, docs, issues)
- •no-color.org, ShellCheck wiki, shfmt docs, etc. (for shell guidance)
Scripts
- •
scripts/web-search.sh: queries DuckDuckGo Lite and prints a list of URLs (and optionally titles). - •
scripts/web-fetch.sh: downloads a URL and prints a trimmed, text-only excerpt (best-effort).
Examples
- •
sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-search.sh "bash tui fff stty read -rsn1 arrow keys" - •
sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-search.sh "NO_COLOR standard" --n 5 - •
sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-fetch.sh "https://no-color.org/"