Overview
ExaTools extends ToolKit and uses the Exa API for neural/keyword web search, clean content extraction from URLs, semantic similarity discovery, and LLM-generated answers with citations.
ToolKit: ExaTools inherits from ToolKit. You get all base behavior (e.g. include_tools, exclude_tools, timeout, use_async). See Creating ToolKit for the full API. Required: Set EXA_API_KEY (env or .env). Get your key from the Exa Dashboard. Install: pip install exa-py. search, get_contents, find_similar, answer. Use ToolKit’s exclude_tools / include_tools to limit which tools the agent sees.
Examples
Basic Search
from upsonic import Agent, Task
from upsonic.tools.custom_tools.exa import ExaTools
agent = Agent(model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6", tools=[ExaTools()])
task = Task(description="Search the web for 'latest AI agent frameworks' and summarize the top 3 results.")
result = agent.print_do(task)
print(result)
Get Contents from URLs
from upsonic import Agent, Task
from upsonic.tools.custom_tools.exa import ExaTools
agent = Agent(model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6", tools=[ExaTools()])
task = Task(
description="Fetch the content of https://docs.exa.ai/reference/getting-started "
"and summarize the main features of Exa."
)
result = agent.print_do(task)
print(result)
Find Similar Pages
from upsonic import Agent, Task
from upsonic.tools.custom_tools.exa import ExaTools
agent = Agent(model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6", tools=[ExaTools()])
task = Task(
description="Find pages similar to https://github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-python "
"and list their titles and URLs."
)
result = agent.print_do(task)
print(result)
Answer with Citations
from upsonic import Agent, Task
from upsonic.tools.custom_tools.exa import ExaTools
agent = Agent(model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6", tools=[ExaTools()])
task = Task(description="Use the answer tool to answer: 'What is Exa AI and what does it do?'")
result = agent.print_do(task)
print(result)
Custom Configuration
from upsonic import Agent, Task
from upsonic.tools.custom_tools.exa import ExaTools
tools = ExaTools(
default_num_results=5,
default_search_type="neural",
default_highlights=True,
default_summary=True,
default_text=False,
exclude_tools=["find_similar"],
timeout=60.0,
)
agent = Agent(model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6", tools=[tools])
task = Task(description="Search for 'Upsonic AI agent framework' and give me a summary of each result.")
result = agent.print_do(task)
print(result)
Multi-Tool Chain (Search + Get Contents)
from upsonic import Agent, Task
from upsonic.tools.custom_tools.exa import ExaTools
agent = Agent(model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6", tools=[ExaTools(default_num_results=3)])
task = Task(
description="Search for 'FastAPI tutorial', then fetch the content of the top result "
"and summarize it in one paragraph."
)
result = agent.print_do(task)
print(result)
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|
api_key | str | None | from env EXA_API_KEY | Exa API key. |
default_num_results | int | 10 | Default number of results for search and find_similar. |
default_search_type | str | "auto" | Default search type: "auto", "neural", or "keyword". |
default_text | bool | True | Include full text content in results by default. |
default_highlights | bool | False | Include highlight snippets in results by default (token-efficient). |
default_summary | bool | False | Include LLM-generated summaries in results by default. |
Search Types
| Type | Best For | Speed |
|---|
"auto" | Most queries — balanced relevance and speed | ~1 second |
"neural" | Semantic/conceptual queries | ~1 second |
"keyword" | Exact keyword matching | Fastest |
Use "auto" for most queries. It automatically picks the best search strategy.
Content Options
Choose the right content type for your use case:
| Option | Best For | Token Usage |
|---|
| text | Full content extraction, RAG pipelines | Higher |
| highlights | Key excerpts, summaries, Q&A | Lower (~10x reduction) |
| summary | Quick overviews per result | Moderate |
Using text=True without max_characters can return large amounts of content, increasing token usage and cost. Set max_characters to limit output size, or use highlights=True for token-efficient snippets.
Resources
