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Install in OpenClaw
/install exa-cli
Description
Manage Exa AI via CLI - search, contents, answer, context. Use when user mentions 'exa', 'web search', 'find similar pages', 'ai answer', or wants to interac...
README (SKILL.md)
exa-cli
Setup
If exa-cli is not installed, install it from GitHub:
npx api2cli install Melvynx/exa-cli
If exa-cli is not found, install and build it:
bun --version || curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
npx api2cli bundle exa
npx api2cli link exa
api2cli link adds ~/.local/bin to PATH automatically. The CLI is available in the next command.
Always use --json flag when calling commands programmatically.
Authentication
exa-cli auth set "your-token"
exa-cli auth test
Resources
search
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
exa-cli search query --query "latest AI research" --json |
Search web with natural language query |
exa-cli search query --query "best React frameworks" --type neural --num-results 5 --json |
Neural search with custom result count |
exa-cli search query --query "SpaceX news" --type keyword --json |
Keyword-based search |
exa-cli search query --query "AI trends" --start-date 2024-01-01 --json |
Search with date filter |
exa-cli search query --query "research" --category news --json |
Search by category |
exa-cli search query --query "frameworks" --include-domains github.com,stackoverflow.com --json |
Include specific domains |
exa-cli search query --query "news" --exclude-domains twitter.com --json |
Exclude specific domains |
exa-cli search query --query "topic" --text --json |
Include page text in results |
exa-cli search query --query "topic" --summary --json |
Include AI summary for each result |
exa-cli search query --query "topic" --highlights --json |
Include text highlights |
exa-cli search find-similar --url "https://example.com" --json |
Find similar pages to URL |
exa-cli search find-similar --url "https://example.com" --num-results 5 --text --json |
Find similar with text content |
contents
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
exa-cli contents get --urls "https://example.com" --json |
Get page contents for URL |
exa-cli contents get --urls "https://a.com,https://b.com" --json |
Get contents for multiple URLs |
exa-cli contents get --urls "https://example.com" --text --json |
Get contents with full page text |
exa-cli contents get --urls "https://example.com" --summary --json |
Get contents with AI summary |
exa-cli contents get --urls "https://example.com" --highlights --json |
Get contents with text highlights |
answer
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
exa-cli answer query --query "What is the latest valuation of SpaceX?" --json |
Get AI answer with web citations |
exa-cli answer query --query "Who won the 2024 election?" --text --json |
Answer with source text included |
exa-cli answer query --query "Explain quantum computing" --stream --json |
Stream answer response |
context
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
exa-cli context get --query "how to use React hooks" --json |
Get web context for query |
exa-cli context get --query "Python async await patterns" --tokens-num 8000 --json |
Get context with token limit |
Global Flags
All commands support: --json, --format \x3Ctext|json|csv|yaml>, --verbose, --no-color, --no-header
Usage Guidance
This skill appears to do what it claims (control Exa via its CLI), but the SKILL.md asks you to download and execute remote installers (via curl|bash and npx). Those commands can run arbitrary code on your machine. Before installing, verify the upstream sources (Melvynx/exa-cli, api2cli, bun.sh): inspect their repositories and installer scripts, confirm HTTPS URLs and signatures if available, and prefer installing in a sandbox/container or on a throwaway environment first. Treat the auth token as sensitive: find out where to obtain it, what scopes it grants, and avoid pasting it into a shared shell history or storing it in plain text. If you cannot review the installer code or confirm the package maintainers, do not run the curl|bash installer on production systems.
Capability Analysis
Type: OpenClaw Skill
Name: exa-cli
Version: 0.1.0
The skill bundle contains setup instructions in SKILL.md that employ high-risk execution patterns, specifically a 'curl pipe bash' command (curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash) to install the Bun runtime. It also instructs the agent to install a third-party CLI tool directly from a specific GitHub user repository (Melvynx/exa-cli) via npx api2cli. While these actions are consistent with the stated goal of providing an Exa AI interface, the reliance on unverified remote script execution and third-party supply chain dependencies poses a significant security risk.
Capability Assessment
Purpose & Capability
The name, description, and the listed commands in SKILL.md consistently describe a CLI wrapper for Exa search/answer/context functionality. No unrelated services, credentials, or binaries are requested in the metadata.
Instruction Scope
SKILL.md instructs the agent to install and run exa-cli and to set an auth token. The instructions do not ask the agent to read unrelated system files, other credentials, or user data, but they do instruct executing installers and linking ~/.local/bin into PATH and using an auth token (sensitive). The doc does not say where the token comes from or what scope it needs.
Install Mechanism
Although there is no formal install spec, the instructions tell the user/agent to run remote installers: `curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash` (piping a remote script to shell) and `npx api2cli install Melvynx/exa-cli` / `npx api2cli bundle exa`. These steps download and execute code from external sources at runtime and can run arbitrary code on the host — this increases risk and should be validated before running.
Credentials
The skill metadata requests no environment variables or credentials, which is proportionate. However, runtime instructions require calling `exa-cli auth set "your-token"`, meaning the user must provide a token. The skill doesn't declare how the token is obtained, its required scope, or secure storage recommendations — the token is sensitive and needs justification.
Persistence & Privilege
always is false (good). The `api2cli link` step will modify the user's PATH (e.g., adding ~/.local/bin) which is a persistent change to shell configuration. Other than that, the skill does not request elevated permissions or permanent background presence.
How to Use
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install exa-cli - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/exa-cli - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
Version History
v0.1.0
Initial release of exa-cli for managing Exa AI via the command line.
- Provides search, content retrieval, AI answering, and context extraction commands.
- Supports multiple search modes: neural, keyword, category, date filtering, domain inclusion/exclusion, page text, AI-generated summaries, and highlights.
- Enables content extraction from single or multiple URLs, with options for full text, summaries, or highlights.
- AI answers feature web citations, optional source text, and streaming responses.
- Context commands fetch relevant web context with token limits.
- Includes CLI authentication commands and global flags for flexible output.
Metadata
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Exa Cli?
Manage Exa AI via CLI - search, contents, answer, context. Use when user mentions 'exa', 'web search', 'find similar pages', 'ai answer', or wants to interac... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 287 downloads so far.
How do I install Exa Cli?
Run "/install exa-cli" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is Exa Cli free?
Yes, Exa Cli is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does Exa Cli support?
Exa Cli is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created Exa Cli?
It is built and maintained by Melvyn (@melvynx); the current version is v0.1.0.
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