Hybrid Search Skill

This skill provides access to both Perplexity AI and SearXNG meta-search engine. Use this when you need comprehensive, cross-verified research.

When to Use Each

Perplexity

•AI-synthesized answers with source citations
•Complex multi-step reasoning
•Current events and recent information
•When you need a definitive answer

SearXNG

•Privacy-focused (no tracking)
•Raw results from multiple search engines
•When Perplexity API is unavailable
•Broad coverage without AI synthesis

Hybrid Mode (Both)

•Cross-verify important facts
•Compare AI synthesis vs raw sources
•Maximum coverage for research tasks

Usage

Perplexity Search

bash

# Simple query
scripts/perplexity_search.sh "What is the capital of France?"

# With reasoning model
scripts/perplexity_search.sh "Explain quantum computing" -m sonar-reasoning

# Deep research
scripts/perplexity_search.sh "AI agent frameworks comparison 2025" -m sonar-research-pro -c high

SearXNG Search

bash

# Local SearXNG instance (default)
scripts/searxng_search.sh "Python async best practices"

# Custom SearXNG instance
SEARXNG_URL="https://searx.be/search" scripts/searxng_search.sh "query"

Hybrid Cross-Compare

bash

# Run both and compare
scripts/hybrid_search.sh "best NAS for home use 2025"

Configuration

Perplexity

Create config.json with your API key:

json

{
  "apiKey": "pplx-your-key-here"
}

SearXNG

SearXNG defaults to http://localhost:55510/search. To use public instances:

json

{
  "searxngUrl": "https://searx.be/search"
}

Setup Requirements

Perplexity

•Perplexity API key from https://perplexity.ai
•Free tier includes limited searches

SearXNG (Optional - Local)

bash

# Docker (recommended)
docker pull searxng/searxng
docker run -d -p 55510:8080 --rm -v ./searxng:/etc/searxng --name searxng searxng/searxng

# Or use public instance

Models

Perplexity Models

Model	Use Case
sonar	Fast factual queries
sonar-pro	Better understanding
sonar-reasoning	Complex reasoning
sonar-research	Deep research

SearXNG

•Returns raw JSON with title, url, snippet, engine
•No model selection needed