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Perplexity (Web Search Provider)

The Perplexity plugin provides web search capabilities through the Perplexity Search API or Perplexity Sonar via OpenRouter.
This page covers the Perplexity provider setup. For the Perplexity tool (how the agent uses it), see Perplexity tool.
PropertyValue
TypeWeb search provider (not a model provider)
AuthPERPLEXITY_API_KEY (direct) or OPENROUTER_API_KEY (via OpenRouter)
Config pathplugins.entries.perplexity.config.webSearch.apiKey

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Getting started

1

Set the API key

Run the interactive web-search configuration flow:
openclaw configure --section web
Or set the key directly:
openclaw config set plugins.entries.perplexity.config.webSearch.apiKey "pplx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
2

Start searching

The agent will automatically use Perplexity for web searches once the key is configured. No additional steps are required.

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Search modes

The plugin auto-selects the transport based on API key prefix:
When your key starts with pplx-, OpenClaw uses the native Perplexity Search API. This transport returns structured results and supports domain, language, and date filters (see filtering options below).
Key prefixTransportFeatures
pplx-Native Perplexity Search APIStructured results, domain/language/date filters
sk-or-OpenRouter (Sonar)AI-synthesized answers with citations

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Native API filtering

Filtering options are only available when using the native Perplexity API (pplx- key). OpenRouter/Sonar searches do not support these parameters.
When using the native Perplexity API, searches support the following filters:
FilterDescriptionExample
Country2-letter country codeus, de, jp
LanguageISO 639-1 language codeen, fr, zh
Date rangeRecency windowday, week, month, year
Domain filtersAllowlist or denylist (max 20 domains)example.com
Content budgetToken limits per response / per pagemax_tokens, max_tokens_per_page

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Advanced notes

If the OpenClaw Gateway runs as a daemon (launchd/systemd), make sure PERPLEXITY_API_KEY is available to that process.
A key set only in ~/.profile will not be visible to a launchd/systemd daemon unless that environment is explicitly imported. Set the key in ~/.openclaw/.env or via env.shellEnv to ensure the gateway process can read it.
If you prefer to route Perplexity searches through OpenRouter, set an OPENROUTER_API_KEY (prefix sk-or-) instead of a native Perplexity key. OpenClaw will detect the prefix and switch to the Sonar transport automatically.
The OpenRouter transport is useful if you already have an OpenRouter account and want consolidated billing across multiple providers.

Perplexity search tool

How the agent invokes Perplexity searches and interprets results.

Configuration reference

Full configuration reference including plugin entries.