Web Search

Last updated 2026-10-06·Reviewed against Prism v0.3.26

Which search providers does Prism support?

Whichever you choose, Prism applies the same limits and supports a fallback chain, so a provider that fails or returns nothing is skipped automatically.

How search interception works

You do not have to change your agent. When an agent calls a web search tool, Prism recognises it, runs the search itself through the active provider, and streams the result back inline as a server tool use plus a search result block.

Start the managed SearXNG instance

The SearXNG endpoint

http://127.0.0.1:8888/search?q=<query>&format=json

# Example: query SearXNG directly
curl "http://127.0.0.1:8888/search?q=glm+5.1+release+notes&format=json"

# Returns JSON with a results array:
# { "results": [ { "url": "...", "title": "...", "content": "..." } ] }

Any agent or script that can issue an HTTP GET can use this endpoint. There are no headers and no authentication, because it only listens on loopback.

Configure a search provider

In the Admin UI's Search tab, choose the active provider, add its API key, order the fallback chain, and test a query without leaving the page. Everything it edits lives under the search key in config.json.

{
  "search": {
    "active": "searxng",
    "fallback": ["exa", "tavily"],
    "max_per_turn": 5,
    "timeout_ms": 8000,
    "default_num_results": 5,
    "providers": {
      "searxng": { "enabled": true, "base_url": "http://127.0.0.1:8888" },
      "exa":     { "enabled": true, "api_key": "your-exa-key" }
    }
  }
}

Add a custom REST search provider

Any search API can be described declaratively, with no code. Prism substitutes template placeholders into the URL, parameters and body, then reads results out of the response using a JSON path and a field map.

{
  "search": {
    "custom_providers": [
      {
        "id": "linkup",
        "name": "Linkup",
        "endpoint": "https://api.linkup.so/v1/search",
        "method": "POST",
        "authHeader": "Authorization",
        "apiKey": "Bearer your-key",
        "resultsJSONPath": "results",
        "fieldMap": {
          "title": "name",
          "url": "url",
          "content": "content"
        },
        "enabled": true
      }
    ]
  }
}

File locations