Web Search on Windows

Agents search the web with the web_search tool and read pages with web_fetch. Reading a page always works. Searching needs one of two things: Osaurus Cloud search, or a search provider you set up. Both are in Settings → Web search.

The Mac app also has free built-in search that needs no setup; Windows doesn't. If neither option below is set up, agents can still read pages you give them, but can't search.

Osaurus Cloud search

Searches through your Osaurus account, with nothing to configure and no API key. Turn on Osaurus Cloud search.

• It needs an Osaurus account, and Osaurus Cloud turned on in Settings → Providers.
• It's on by default when you have an account and haven't set up a provider of your own.
• Each account gets a number of free searches; the card shows how many are left. After that, searches cost credits if Use your Osaurus balance when free searches run out is on. That switch applies to your account on every device.
• When Cloud search can't answer, or the free searches are used up and paying is off, Osaurus uses your own provider instead.

Your own search provider

Under Web search, choose one:

Provider	What it needs
SearXNG (self-hosted, no key)	The SearXNG base URL of an instance you run, or let Osaurus run one (below)
Brave Search	An API key
Tavily	An API key
Google Programmable Search	An API key and a Search Engine ID (cx)

Enter the details, click Test to check them, then Save. Keys are stored encrypted and never shown again. The change applies from the agent's next reply, with no restart.

Let Osaurus run SearXNG

With SearXNG selected, the Managed local search panel can run a private SearXNG search engine on your PC. It needs Docker Desktop or Podman, installed and running.

1. Turn on Enable managed local search.
2. Click Set up local search. Osaurus downloads the SearXNG image and starts it.
3. The panel then shows Running on and the address; Stop stops it.

Searching and reading pages

• web_search returns up to 10 results (5 by default), and can limit them to the past day, week, or month, or to or away from particular sites.
• web_fetch reads one page: web pages, PDFs, and JSON, XML, or plain text. A long page is read a section at a time. It refuses addresses on your own PC or local network.
• If a page can't be read directly and Osaurus Cloud search is on, Osaurus may fetch it through Osaurus Cloud instead.

Web search isn't a separate ability on Windows: an agent has both tools when its Tools ability is on, unless its Which tools setting (under Tools settings) is Manual and the list leaves them out.

Different from the Mac

• No free built-in search; set up Osaurus Cloud search or a provider.
• Four providers: SearXNG, Brave Search, Tavily, and Google Programmable Search. Exa, Serper, Parallel, Kagi, You.com, and custom services aren't on Windows.
• No Web Search ability in the agent editor, and no search_and_extract tool: agents search, then read the pages they choose.

Troubleshooting

What you see	What to do
The agent says it can't search the web	Turn on Osaurus Cloud search, or choose a provider and Save.
"Osaurus Cloud isn't enabled as a provider"	Turn on Osaurus Cloud in Settings → Providers.
Cloud search says it needs an account	Create or restore one in Settings → Account.
"Search test failed"	Check the key (or the SearXNG address) and that the service is reachable.
"No container runtime found"	Install and start Docker Desktop or Podman, or enter the address of a SearXNG you run yourself.

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Under the hood

• web_search(query, count, freshness, site, exclude_sites): count 1–10 (default 5); freshness day, week, or month; up to 5 exclude_sites. The tool is offered only when a provider is complete or Cloud search is on.
• web_fetch(url, offset, max_chars, focus): 30-second timeout, 10 MiB limit, results cached for 15 minutes. Web pages are converted to Markdown; focus picks the passages most relevant to a question. Private, loopback, and link-local addresses are refused.
• Managed SearXNG runs as a container through the docker or podman command, whichever answers first.