Search

Search the web through Kernel’s HTTP API and discover provider capabilities.

Search the web with POST /search. Kernel routes your query to a configured search provider and returns normalized results, provider attempt history, and warnings.

Search requires access to be enabled for your organization. A 404 with code search_disabled means your organization doesn’t have access. Contact Kernel to request access. Provider availability depends on the service configuration.

Run a search

Create an API key and set KERNEL_API_KEY in your environment. These examples use HTTP directly, so they don’t require a particular Kernel SDK version.

cURL

curl --fail-with-body https://api.onkernel.com/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KERNEL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"Playwright browser automation","max_results":5}'

If your installed CLI release includes Search, the equivalent command is:

kernel search "Playwright browser automation" --max-results 5

Inspect results for ranked URLs, titles, and descriptions. Check warnings for parameters that were approximated or omitted, and attempts for provider execution history. Save the response if you need it beyond its expires_at timestamp; GET /search/{id} retrieves retained results, not a fresh search.

Discover providers and filters

Use discovery rather than assuming a provider is available:

curl --fail-with-body https://api.onkernel.com/search/providers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KERNEL_API_KEY"

The response describes configured providers, their filter and content capabilities, and provider-native option schemas. Omitting strategy uses automatic routing, which is the recommended default. Provider-specific strategies and native options are advanced features; review the applicable provider availability and terms before using them.

Portable parameters include max_results, country, language, include_domains, exclude_domains, recency, start_date, end_date, and safe_search. Support varies by provider. Set strict_params: true when supplied portable parameters must be honored exactly; otherwise, inspect warnings for unsupported or approximated values. Domain and safety filters aren’t authorization boundaries.

Content retrieval limits

Some providers support inline content. Check provider discovery before requesting it. Don’t assume a result includes full page text or that every provider supports the same content options.

Deferred retrieval through POST /search/{id}/contents isn’t available yet and returns 404. Its presence in the API schema doesn’t indicate that it is ready to use.

CLI and MCP access

The current released Kernel CLI might not include kernel search yet. If your installed release includes it, use the CLI example above; otherwise, use the HTTP examples with an API key. kernel login isn’t required for HTTP requests.

The hosted Kernel MCP server currently exposes search_docs for Kernel documentation. Web Search API support is a separate MCP capability and depends on the server release and your organization’s Search access.