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---
name: search1api
description: >
Multi-engine web research through Search1API. Search general web engines and specialized sources such as GitHub, Reddit, X, arXiv, Wikipedia, YouTube, WeChat, and Bilibili; read pages, find news, explore site links, and answer with cited sources. Use when the user requests web research, a source-specific search, comparison across sources, fact-checking, current news, a URL summary, or GitHub and Hacker News trends.
---
# Search1API
Multi-engine web research through the Search1API MCP server bundled with this plugin.
## Tools
The current Search1API MCP server provides the tools below. Use the tools and
parameter values actually exposed by the connected host; a host may still list
an earlier server version. The host may prefix their names
(for example `mcp__search1api__search`); the final names are:
| User intent | Tool |
|---|---|
| Search the web | `search` |
| Find the best sources when you don't know where to look | `ask` |
| Find recent news or coverage | `news` |
| Read a page the user shared, or the full page behind a result | `crawl` |
| Explore the links on a site or page | `sitemap` |
| See what is popular right now on GitHub or Hacker News | `trending` |
| Display selected existing sources | `render_results` |
If none of these tools are available, Search1API is not connected yet. Ask
the user to sign in to Search1API from this plugin (in Codex, `/mcp` shows
whether the server is connected) with their Search1API account. New accounts
can register at https://s1.dev.
## Read a link, or search?
- The user shares a URL, or asks what a page says → `crawl` that URL and
answer from its text. Don't search first.
- The user asks a question without a URL → `search` (or `news` for current
events), then `crawl` the most relevant results when snippets aren't enough.
- The user asks how a site is organized or what pages it has → `sitemap`.
## Choose engines and compare sources
Use `search_service` to choose an engine or specialized source for each `search`
call. General web engines and community or content sources serve different
needs: use web engines for broad coverage, GitHub for repositories, Reddit or
X for discussions, arXiv for papers, and YouTube or Bilibili for videos.
For comparisons across sources, run a few targeted searches with different
`search_service` values, then compare and deduplicate the findings while
preserving their original URLs. A single `search` call uses one selected engine;
it does not automatically search every supported source. Only request engine
values present in the connected tool's schema.
## Search or ask?
- You know the engine and keywords (a plain web lookup, "on Reddit", "GitHub
repos") → `search`. It costs 1 credit and returns that engine's ranking.
- A question that spans communities or sources and would require several
searches ("what are developers saying about X this month", "recent papers and
discussion on Y") → use `ask`, if available, with the user's request in natural
language. It
picks up to five engines and a time window, drops off-topic results, and
returns at most 10. It costs 5 credits, so don't use it for a quick lookup.
`intent` in the result shows which engines and window were used. If `ask` is
unavailable, use targeted `search` calls across suitable engines instead.
## Tune the parameters to the request
Don't call every tool with defaults. Match the request:
- **Quick lookup** ("what is X", "search for X") → `max_results: 5`, no crawling.
- **Research** ("research X", "compare", "comprehensive") → `max_results: 10–15`,
then `crawl` the 3–5 most relevant results before answering.
- **User asks for a number** ("find 10 articles") → set `max_results` to it.
- **Recency** ("latest", "this week", "today") → `time_range: "day"`,
`"week"`, or `"month"`. For breaking news use `news` with `time_range: "day"`.
- **Source intent** ("on Reddit", "GitHub repos", "papers", "videos") → set
`search_service` to `rePreview of the first 4,000 characters. Read full instructions →
