feat: add Exa AI-powered search tool

README.md

@@ -28,9 +28,10 @@ Create a `.env` file in the project root (or export these in your shell):
 ```bash
 ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=<your-anthropic-api-key> # if using anthropic models
 HF_TOKEN=<your-hugging-face-token>
-GITHUB_TOKEN=<github-personal-access-token> 
+GITHUB_TOKEN=<github-personal-access-token>
+EXA_API_KEY=<your-exa-api-key> # optional, enables the web_search tool
 ```
-If no `HF_TOKEN` is set, the CLI will prompt you to paste one on first launch. To get a GITHUB_TOKEN follow the tutorial [here](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/managing-your-personal-access-tokens#creating-a-fine-grained-personal-access-token).
+If no `HF_TOKEN` is set, the CLI will prompt you to paste one on first launch. To get a GITHUB_TOKEN follow the tutorial [here](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/keeping-your-account-and-data-secure/managing-your-personal-access-tokens#creating-a-fine-grained-personal-access-token). Setting `EXA_API_KEY` ([get a key](https://exa.ai/)) unlocks the `web_search` tool for general web lookups outside the HF ecosystem.
 
 ### Usage
 

agent/core/tools.py

@@ -50,6 +50,11 @@
 from agent.tools.plan_tool import PLAN_TOOL_SPEC, plan_tool_handler
 from agent.tools.research_tool import RESEARCH_TOOL_SPEC, research_handler
 from agent.tools.sandbox_tool import get_sandbox_tools
+from agent.tools.web_search_tool import (
+    WEB_SEARCH_TOOL_SPEC,
+    web_search_enabled,
+    web_search_handler,
+)
 
 # NOTE: Private HF repo tool disabled - replaced by hf_repo_files and hf_repo_git
 # from agent.tools.private_hf_repo_tools import (
@@ -363,6 +368,17 @@ def create_builtin_tools(local_mode: bool = False) -> list[ToolSpec]:
         ),
     ]
 
+    # Optional: Exa-backed general web search (enabled only when EXA_API_KEY is set)
+    if web_search_enabled():
+        tools.append(
+            ToolSpec(
+                name=WEB_SEARCH_TOOL_SPEC["name"],
+                description=WEB_SEARCH_TOOL_SPEC["description"],
+                parameters=WEB_SEARCH_TOOL_SPEC["parameters"],
+                handler=web_search_handler,
+            )
+        )
+
     # Sandbox or local tools (highest priority)
     if local_mode:
         from agent.tools.local_tools import get_local_tools

agent/tools/__init__.py

@@ -20,6 +20,11 @@
 )
 from agent.tools.jobs_tool import HF_JOBS_TOOL_SPEC, HfJobsTool, hf_jobs_handler
 from agent.tools.types import ToolResult
+from agent.tools.web_search_tool import (
+    WEB_SEARCH_TOOL_SPEC,
+    web_search_enabled,
+    web_search_handler,
+)
 
 __all__ = [
     "ToolResult",
@@ -36,4 +41,7 @@
     "github_search_code_handler",
     "HF_INSPECT_DATASET_TOOL_SPEC",
     "hf_inspect_dataset_handler",
+    "WEB_SEARCH_TOOL_SPEC",
+    "web_search_enabled",
+    "web_search_handler",
 ]

agent/tools/research_tool.py

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
     "github_read_file",
     "hf_inspect_dataset",
     "hf_repo_files",
+    "web_search",
 }
 
 RESEARCH_SYSTEM_PROMPT = """\