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broad_search

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Search the web from multiple angles in a single call by expanding a multi-part question into concurrent sub-queries, covering comparisons, research, and surveys at once.

Instructions

Search the web across many angles in one call — for comparisons, research, surveys, and questions with several distinct parts. Expands your question into multiple sub-queries and runs them concurrently.

USE WHEN the question has multiple distinct parts or entities that one search cannot cover:

comparing vendors / products / pricing across many sources
literature reviews, market or landscape surveys
open-ended "what are the options for X" / "how do people solve Y"
a question that clearly decomposes into 3+ independent sub-questions
multi-angle questions about recent events ("what shipped across the industry this month") — set topic=news, do NOT loop news_search

DO NOT USE for:

a single fact, entity, or document → use search
re-running a disappointing search → do NOT call broad_search twice; follow up with a targeted search or extract on the specific gaps
reading a page you already have the URL for → use extract
a straight A-vs-B comparison of two known entities → two targeted search calls are cheaper and more controllable

COST: fans out into max_queries concurrent searches — roughly Nx the cost and notably higher latency than a single search. When in doubt, prefer search.

QUERY: pass one natural-language question (max 500 chars). Resolve pronouns and references from the conversation first — "how does it compare to the other one" is a useless query. Do NOT pre-split into sub-queries; that is this tool's job. For broader coverage raise max_queries rather than calling repeatedly. Per-sub-query options (count, topic, language filter, domain / text filters, time window, highlight / full_content, media) match search and apply to every sub-query.

RESULTS are grouped per sub-query and NOT deduplicated — the same URL may appear under several sub-queries.

max_queries: 3-5 focused comparison (2-3 entities) | 5-10 multi-facet research | 10-20 landscape scan | 20-30 exhaustive survey

For a single focused lookup use search; to read a specific page use extract.

keywords: web search, search the web, look up, find information, research, compare, comparison, versus, alternatives, options, landscape, survey, market research, pricing, latest, current information, multi-part question

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`count`	No	Number of results to return (1-100). Default 5.
`query`	Yes	Non-empty search query. Max 500 chars.
`topic`	No	Search category: `general` for broad web search, `news` for news-focused results. Default general.	general
`format`	No	Format of returned content. Default text.	text
`timeout`	No	Request timeout in seconds (1-300). Defaults to 120s if unset. Raise it for large `max_queries` surveys, which legitimately take longer.
`end_time`	No	Upper bound for the time window, ISO 8601.
`language`	No	Languages to filter results by, as ISO 639-1 codes. Empty = no filter.
`highlight`	No	Return a ranked highlighted snippet per result. Omit to use the server default.
`safesearch`	No	Adult-content filter. Default strict.	strict
`start_time`	No	Lower bound for the time window, ISO 8601 (e.g. '2025-01-01T00:00:00Z').
`time_basis`	No	Which timestamp the time window filters against: page `published` date, last `crawled` date, or `auto`. Default auto.	auto
`time_range`	No	Relative time window (e.g. `week`, `month`). Mutually exclusive with `start_time`/`end_time` — if both are given, the absolute range wins.
`max_queries`	No	Upper bound on the number of sub-queries generated (1-30). Default 5 — raise toward 30 for surveys / deeper research, lower for a tighter search.
`exclude_text`	No	Drop results whose content contains any of these strings. Max 5, each ≤30 chars.
`full_content`	No	Return the cleaned full page body per result. Heavier than `highlight` — use only when the snippet isn't enough. Omit to use the server default (off).
`include_text`	No	Only return results whose content contains all of these strings. Max 5, each ≤30 chars.
`include_images`	No	Return image URLs (and a cover image) found on each result page.
`exclude_domains`	No	Drop results from these domains. Max 1200, each ≤60 chars.
`include_domains`	No	Only return results from these domains (e.g. 'arxiv.org'). Max 1200, each ≤60 chars.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed2 schema fields changedv0.5.2Sep 8, 2026
- changedInput schema / properties / query / description
```
Previous value: -"Search query. Max 500 chars."New value: +"Non-empty search query. Max 500 chars."
```
- addedInput schema / properties / query / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```

Changed7 schema fields changedv0.5.0Sep 1, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / exclude_domains / description

Previous value: -"Drop results from these domains. Max 150, each ≤30 chars."New value: +"Drop results from these domains. Max 1200, each ≤60 chars."

changedInput schema / properties / exclude_domains / items / maxLength
```
Previous value: -30New value: +60
```
changedInput schema / properties / exclude_domains / maxItems
```
Previous value: -150New value: +1200
```

changedInput schema / properties / include_domains / description

Previous value: -"Only return results from these domains (e.g. 'arxiv.org'). Max 1000, each ≤30 chars."New value: +"Only return results from these domains (e.g. 'arxiv.org'). Max 1200, each ≤60 chars."

changedInput schema / properties / include_domains / items / maxLength
```
Previous value: -30New value: +60
```
changedInput schema / properties / include_domains / maxItems
```
Previous value: -1000New value: +1200
```

removedInput schema / properties / include_videos

Removed value: -{
-  "default": false,
-  "description": "Return video URLs found on each result page.",
-  "type": "boolean"
-}

Changed2 schema fields changedv0.4.2Aug 21, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / timeout / description

Previous value: -"Request timeout in seconds (1-60)."New value: +"Request timeout in seconds (1-300). Defaults to 120s if unset. Raise it for large `max_queries` surveys, which legitimately take longer."

changedInput schema / properties / timeout / maximum
```
Previous value: -60New value: +300
```

Changed1 schema field changedv0.3.5Jul 27, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / language

Added value: +{
+  "default": [],
+  "description": "Languages to filter results by, as ISO 639-1 codes. Empty = no filter.",
+  "items": {
+    "enum": [
+      "ar",
+      "de",
+      "en",
+      "es",
+      "fr",
+      "hi",
+      "id",
+      "it",
+      "ja",
+      "ko",
+      "nl",
+      "pl",
+      "pt",
+      "ru",
+      "th",
+      "tr",
+      "vi",
+      "zh"
+    ],
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

Changed1 schema field changedv0.3.4Jul 24, 2026

removedInput schema / properties / country

Removed value: -{
-  "default": "auto",
-  "description": "Follow ISO 3166, the International Standard for country codes and codes for their subdivisions (e.g. `US`, `JP`); `auto` (default) determines it automatically.",
-  "type": "string"
-}

Changed1 schema field changedv0.3.3Jul 22, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / country

Added value: +{
+  "default": "auto",
+  "description": "Follow ISO 3166, the International Standard for country codes and codes for their subdivisions (e.g. `US`, `JP`); `auto` (default) determines it automatically.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Addedv0.3.1Jul 6, 2026

TDQS

A4.9/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Although annotations already mark readOnlyHint=true and destructiveHint=false, the description adds valuable behavioral disclosures: it fans out into max_queries concurrent searches, costs roughly Nx a single search, has notably higher latency, returns results grouped per sub-query, and does NOT deduplicate URLs. The description also warns that repeated calls should be avoided and that raising max_queries is preferred over looping. This significantly exceeds what the annotations convey and helps an agent predict the tool's real-world behavior and cost.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is long but earns its length: the most essential behavioral fact (expands into concurrent sub-queries) is front-loaded in the first sentence, followed by structured USE WHEN / DO NOT USE sections, a cost warning, and targeted parameter guidance. Formatting with clear section headers and bullet-like lines makes the routing logic and warnings easy for an agent to parse. Every sentence carries decision-relevant information; nothing is filler.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a 19-parameter, sibling-rich tool with no output schema, the description is remarkably complete. It covers what the tool does, when to select it over each sibling, its cost and latency profile, its non-deduplication behavior, how to phrase the query, how to scale coverage via max_queries, that per-query options apply globally, and when to raise the timeout for large surveys. There is no significant missing piece that an agent would need to safely and effectively invoke this tool.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the schema already documents all 19 parameters fully. The description still adds meaningful semantics: it explains that per-sub-query options (count, topic, language filter, domain/text filters, time window, highlight/full_content, media) match `search` and apply to every sub-query, and it gives a scale of recommended max_queries values for different research depths. It also clarifies that the `query` should be a single natural-language question and must not be pre-split. This is strong added value beyond the schema, though it does not walk through the semantics of every individual parameter, which is why it stays a 4 rather than a 5.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description opens with a specific verb and resource: 'Search the web across many angles in one call', then anchors it with concrete use cases (comparisons, research, surveys, multi-part questions) that distinguish it from a plain web search. It explicitly establishes the tool's unique behavior — expanding a question into multiple concurrent sub-queries — so an agent can clearly recognize what broad_search is for and how it differs from siblings like search.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

This is exemplary routing guidance. The description has a full 'USE WHEN' list with concrete scenarios, a 'DO NOT USE for' list that names the correct alternative tool for each case, an explicit note not to call broad_search twice after a disappointing result, and closing routing reminders pointing to `search` and `extract`. An agent gets clear decision criteria for using broad_search versus each sibling without needing external information.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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broad_search

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