Perplexity Search

Perplexity Search Skill

Web search using Perplexity API with AI-powered results and citations.

Installation

This skill requires the perplexity-search binary and a Perplexity API key.

Install the binary

go install github.com/Djarvur/ddg-search/cmd/perplexity-search@latest

Configure API Key

Create a .env file in your project directory or set the environment variable:

# In .env file
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Or set in your shell
export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Get a Perplexity API Key

1. Visit https://www.perplexity.ai/settings/api
2. Sign up or log in to your Perplexity account
3. Generate a new API key
4. Copy the key and add it to your .env file or set it as an environment variable

Verify installation

which perplexity-search

# Test the binary
perplexity-search --help

# Test with a simple query (requires API key)
perplexity-search "What is Go programming language?"

Tools

perplexity-search

Search the web using Perplexity API for high-quality, AI-powered search results with citations.

Parameters:

• query (required): The search query string
• max-results (optional): Maximum number of results to return (default: 5)
• model (optional): Perplexity model to use (default: sonar-medium-online)

Usage:

perplexity-search "golang http client best practices"

Output: AI-generated answer with citations to sources.

Options:

• --max-results int: Maximum number of results (default: 5)
• --model string: Perplexity model to use (default: sonar-medium-online)
• --debug: Enable debug logging to stderr

Available Models:

• sonar-medium-online: Balanced performance and quality (default)
• sonar-small-online: Faster, lower cost
• sonar-pro-online: Higher quality, more expensive

Usage Examples

Basic search

perplexity-search "rust async programming guide"

Search with custom max results

perplexity-search --max-results 10 "docker compose best practices"

Search with specific model

perplexity-search --model sonar-pro-online "machine learning fundamentals"

Search with debug mode

perplexity-search --debug "kubernetes deployment strategies"

Troubleshooting

"command not found: perplexity-search"

The binary is not in your PATH. Ensure $(go env GOPATH)/bin is in your PATH:

export PATH="$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin"

"PERPLEXITYAPIKEY environment variable not set"

You need to configure your Perplexity API key. Either:

1. Create a .env file with PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your-key"
2. Set the environment variable: export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your-key"

"invalid API key"

Your API key is incorrect or expired. Verify:

1. The key is correctly copied from https://www.perplexity.ai/settings/api
2. The key hasn't been revoked
3. The key has valid credits remaining

"rate limited by Perplexity API"

You've exceeded the API rate limit. Wait a few minutes before retrying, or upgrade your Perplexity plan for higher limits.

"payment required - API quota exceeded"

Your API quota has been exhausted. Check your usage at https://www.perplexity.ai/settings/api and consider upgrading your plan.

Network errors

If you encounter network errors:

1. Check your internet connection
2. Verify the Perplexity API is accessible (https://api.perplexity.ai)
3. Try again with --debug flag for more information

Comparison with ddg-search

| Feature | perplexity-search | ddg-search | |---------|------------------|-------------| | API Key Required | Yes | No | | Result Quality | AI-powered, higher quality | Standard search results | | Citations | Yes, with sources | No | | Rate Limits | Based on API tier | DuckDuckGo rate limits | | Cost | Free tier available, paid for higher limits | Free | | Speed | Slightly slower (API call) | Faster (HTML scraping) |

Choose perplexity-search for higher-quality, AI-summarized results with citations. Choose ddg-search for free, fast searches without API key requirements.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: Djarvur
• Source: Djarvur/ddg-search
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.