octen-mcp

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by Octen-Team

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JavaScript

Remote

Broad Search

broad_search

Read-only

Search the web for comparisons, research, and surveys by expanding a multi-part question into concurrent sub-queries when one search cannot cover all parts.

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?

Annotations only cover the safety profile (readOnly, openWorld, non-destructive), but the description adds the traits that actually matter for an expensive call: Nx cost, higher latency, per-sub-query fan-out, and that results are grouped per sub-query and NOT deduplicated. That last point is a non-obvious output behavior an agent would otherwise be surprised by.

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

Conciseness4/5

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

Front-loaded with the core purpose, then disciplined USE WHEN / DO NOT USE / COST / QUERY / RESULTS sections. Slightly long, and the trailing keyword block is marginal for an agent parsing structured text, but the body has little waste.

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 tool with nested objects and no output schema, the description covers the decisions that matter: when to use it, what it costs, how to phrase the query, how to scale max_queries, and the non-deduplicated grouped result shape. Nothing essential is missing.

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

Parameters5/5

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

Schema coverage is already 100%, so the baseline would be 3, but the description adds real semantics: `max_queries` is given tiered guidance (2-3 entities → 3-5, research → 5-10, landscape → 10-20, exhaustive → 20-30), and the query field is constrained behaviorally (resolve pronouns, do not pre-split, raise max_queries instead of calling twice).

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?

States a specific verb and resource ('Search the web across many angles') and immediately specifies the distinguishing mechanism: expansion into multiple sub-queries run concurrently. This separates it cleanly from `search` and `news_search` without needing the schema.

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?

Explicit USE WHEN list with concrete scenarios and an equally explicit DO NOT USE list that names the correct sibling for each case (`search`, `extract`, `news_search`, two targeted searches for A-vs-B). Also gives a default rule: 'When in doubt, prefer `search`.'

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

Instructions

Input Schema

Schema Changelog

TDQS

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