Parallel Web Search
Fast web search via Parallel AI REST API. Use for quick facts, news, finding sources. Results in 5-60 seconds.
CLI alternative (recommended): Install parallel-cli for official skill: npx skills add parallel-web/parallel-agent-skills --skill parallel-web-search
Setup
Load API key (Windows/Git Bash compatible)
API_KEY=$(grep "^PARALLEL_API_KEY=" .env.local | cut -d= -f2)
Get your key at https://platform.parallel.ai — add to .env.local :
PARALLEL_API_KEY=your-key-here
Search Request
curl -s -X POST "https://api.parallel.ai/v1beta/search"
-H "x-api-key: $API_KEY"
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
-H "parallel-beta: search-extract-2025-10-10"
-d '{
"objective": "your search query here"
}'
Full Options
{ "objective": "Find current Bitcoin price", "search_queries": ["BTC price today"], "max_results": 5, "mode": "agentic", "source_policy": { "include_domains": ["bloomberg.com", "reuters.com"] } }
Response
{ "results": [ { "title": "...", "url": "...", "excerpt": "...", "relevance_score": 0.95 } ] }
Source Filtering
Include only specific domains:
{"source_policy": {"include_domains": ["arxiv.org", "nature.com"]}}
Exclude domains:
{"source_policy": {"exclude_domains": ["reddit.com", "twitter.com"]}}
When to Use
-
Quick fact lookups, current prices, news
-
Finding source URLs for further extraction
-
Research queries where speed > depth
For deep analysis, use parallel-deep-research instead.
Error Handling
Code Meaning Fix
401 Bad key Check PARALLEL_API_KEY in .env.local
429 Rate limit Wait 60s, retry with backoff
400 Bad request Validate JSON body