Bocha Search Skill for OpenClaw

🔍 博查AI搜索 - 专为中文内容优化的智能搜索工具

Overview

This skill provides web search capabilities through the Bocha AI Search API (博查AI搜索). It's particularly effective for:

✅ Chinese language searches (中文搜索)
✅ Domestic Chinese content (国内内容)
✅ News and current events (新闻资讯)
✅ Encyclopedia and knowledge queries (百科知识)
✅ High-quality AI-generated summaries (AI智能摘要)

Requirements

API Key: You need a Bocha API key from https://open.bocha.cn/
Node.js: Required to run the search script
Environment Variable: Set BOCHA_API_KEY or configure via OpenClaw settings

Configuration

Step 1: Get API Key

Visit 博查AI开放平台
Register an account (注册账号)
Create an application and get your API KEY
Recharge if needed (充值以获得搜索额度)

Step 2: Configure OpenClaw

Add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "skills": {
    "entries": {
      "bocha-search": {
        "enabled": true,
        "apiKey": "your-bocha-api-key-here",
        "env": {
          "BOCHA_API_KEY": "your-bocha-api-key-here"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Or set environment variable:

export BOCHA_API_KEY="your-bocha-api-key-here"

Usage

Once configured, you can use this skill by asking in Chinese or English:

"搜索北京今天的天气"
"用博查查找人工智能的最新进展"
"bocha search: 量子计算发展趋势"
"查找特朗普的最新新闻"

The skill will automatically route Chinese queries or explicit "bocha" / "博查" / "search" requests to this search provider.

Features

Feature	Description
Chinese Optimized	Better results for Chinese language queries
High-Quality Summaries	AI-generated article summaries (when `summary: true`)
Multi-Modal	Returns web pages, images, and related content
Time Filtering	Filter results by time range (day/week/month/year)
Fast Response	Typically returns results within 1-2 seconds
Rich Metadata	Includes publish date, site name, favicon, etc.

API Parameters

When calling the underlying tool directly:

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`query`	string	✅ Yes	-	Search query (supports Chinese and English)
`count`	number	No	10	Number of results (1-50)
`freshness`	string	No	"noLimit"	Time filter: "oneDay", "oneWeek", "oneMonth", "oneYear", "noLimit"
`summary`	boolean	No	true	Whether to include AI-generated summaries

Example Tool Call

// Search for recent AI news in Chinese
{
  "query": "人工智能最新进展",
  "count": 10,
  "freshness": "oneWeek",
  "summary": true
}

// Search for Trump news
{
  "query": "特朗普 Trump 最新新闻",
  "count": 5,
  "freshness": "oneDay"
}

Response Format

The API returns structured data including:

Web Pages: Title, URL, snippet, summary, site name, publish date
Images: Thumbnail URL, full image URL, dimensions
Total Matches: Estimated total number of matching results
Related Queries: Suggested related search terms

Sample Response Structure

{
  "_type": "SearchResponse",
  "queryContext": {
    "originalQuery": "search term"
  },
  "webPages": {
    "totalEstimatedMatches": 1908646,
    "value": [
      {
        "name": "Article Title",
        "url": "https://example.com/article",
        "snippet": "Short description...",
        "summary": "Full AI-generated summary...",
        "siteName": "Example Site",
        "datePublished": "2026-01-30T07:19:14+08:00"
      }
    ]
  },
  "images": {
    "value": [...]
  }
}

Error Handling

Common errors and solutions:

Error	Cause	Solution
`BOCHA_API_KEY is required`	API key not configured	Add API key to config or environment
`Invalid API KEY`	Wrong API key	Check your API key at https://open.bocha.cn/
`Insufficient balance`	Out of credits	Recharge your account
`Rate limit exceeded`	Too many requests	Wait before making more requests

Pricing

Visit https://open.bocha.cn/pricing for current pricing
New users typically get free credits to start
Pay-as-you-go based on search volume

Technical Details

API Endpoint

URL: https://api.bocha.cn/v1/web-search
Method: POST
Auth: Bearer token in Authorization header

Script Location

skills/bocha-search/
├── SKILL.md              # This file
├── README.md             # Full documentation
├── LICENSE               # MIT License
└── scripts/
    ├── package.json      # Node.js config
    ├── tool.json         # OpenClaw tool definition
    └── bocha_search.js   # Main search script ⬅️ Entry point

Comparison with Other Search Tools

Feature	Bocha Search	Brave Search	Perplexity
Chinese Content	⭐⭐⭐ Excellent	⭐⭐ Good	⭐⭐ Good
Speed	⭐⭐⭐ Fast	⭐⭐⭐ Fast	⭐⭐ Moderate
Summaries	⭐⭐⭐ AI-powered	❌ No	⭐⭐⭐ AI-powered
Images	⭐⭐⭐ Included	⭐⭐ Separate	⭐ Limited
Pricing	💰 Affordable	🆓 Free tier	💰 Moderate

Best Practices

Use Chinese queries for better Chinese content results
Enable summaries (summary: true) for better context
Set appropriate freshness based on your needs:
- Breaking news: "oneDay"
- Recent developments: "oneWeek"
- General research: "noLimit"
Start with count=10, increase if needed (max 50)
Handle rate limits gracefully in production use

Troubleshooting

No results returned

Try different keywords or synonyms
Remove time restrictions (freshness: "noLimit")
Check if your query is too specific

Slow response

Reduce count parameter
Disable summaries if not needed (summary: false)
Check network connectivity to api.bocha.cn

API errors

Verify API key is correct and active
Check account balance at https://open.bocha.cn/
Ensure you're not exceeding rate limits

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Note: This skill is specifically designed for OpenClaw and uses the official Bocha AI Search API. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bocha AI.

bocha-search

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