Perplexity Search Skill

A skill for executing real-time web searches and research using the Perplexity API.

Purpose

This skill provides the following capabilities:

1. perplexity_ask - Answer general questions (using sonar-pro model)
2. perplexity_research - Deep research and comprehensive reports (using sonar-deep-research model)
3. perplexity_reason - Advanced reasoning and analysis (using sonar-reasoning-pro model)
4. perplexity_search - Retrieve web search results

When to Use

Use this skill in the following situations:

• User needs up-to-date information
• Received a question requiring web search
• Asked to perform deep research or investigation
• Complex analysis or reasoning is required
• Keywords like "look up", "search for", "latest..." are included

Prerequisites

• PERPLEXITY_API_KEY environment variable must be set
• Internet connection must be available

Usage

Basic Usage

Use the scripts/perplexity_api.py script to call the API.

# General questions (ask)
python3 scripts/perplexity_api.py ask "your question"

# Deep research (research)
python3 scripts/perplexity_api.py research "research topic"

# Advanced reasoning (reason)
python3 scripts/perplexity_api.py reason "reasoning task"

# Web search (search)
python3 scripts/perplexity_api.py search "search query" [--max-results 10] [--country JP]

Command Options

ask / research / reason

• First argument: question, research topic, or reasoning task
• --strip-thinking: Remove <think>...</think> tags to save context tokens (research/reason only)

search

• First argument: search query
• --max-results: Maximum number of results to return (1-20, default: 10)
• --max-tokens-per-page: Maximum tokens per page (256-2048, default: 1024)
• --country: ISO code for regional results (e.g., JP, US, GB)

Workflow

Standard Search Flow

1. Analyze the user's question and select the appropriate tool

   • Simple questions → ask
   • Deep research → research
   • Complex analysis → reason
   • Information gathering → search

2. Execute the script to call the API

3. Present results to the user, citing sources when available

Tool Selection Guidelines

API Details

For detailed API specifications, see references/api_reference.md.

Troubleshooting

• API Key Error: Verify the PERPLEXITY_API_KEY environment variable
• Timeout: Increase PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS (default: 300000ms)
• Proxy Issues: Set PERPLEXITY_PROXY or HTTPS_PROXY