Perplexity

Perplexity web search provider setup (API key, search modes, filtering)

The Perplexity plugin provides web search capabilities through the Perplexity Search API or Perplexity Sonar via OpenRouter.

This page is the Perplexity **provider** setup. For the Perplexity **tool** (how the agent uses it), see [Perplexity tool](/docs/openclaw-docs/tools/perplexity-search.
PropertyValue
TypeWeb search provider (not a model provider)
AuthPERPLEXITY_API_KEY (direct) or OPENROUTER_API_KEY (via OpenRouter)
Config pathplugins.entries.perplexity.config.webSearch.apiKey

Getting started

Run the interactive web-search configuration flow: 
```bash
openclaw configure --section web
```

Or set the key directly:

```bash
openclaw config set plugins.entries.perplexity.config.webSearch.apiKey "pplx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
```
The agent will automatically use Perplexity for web searches once the key is configured. No additional steps are required.

Search modes

The plugin auto-selects the transport based on API key prefix:

When your key starts with `pplx-`, OpenClaw uses the native Perplexity Search API. This transport returns structured results and supports domain, language, and date filters (see filtering options below). When your key starts with `sk-or-`, OpenClaw routes through OpenRouter using the Perplexity Sonar model. This transport returns AI-synthesized answers with citations.
Key prefixTransportFeatures
pplx-Native Perplexity Search APIStructured results, domain/language/date filters
sk-or-OpenRouter (Sonar)AI-synthesized answers with citations

Native API filtering

Filtering options are only available when using the native Perplexity API (`pplx-` key). OpenRouter/Sonar searches do not support these parameters.

When using the native Perplexity API, searches support the following filters:

FilterDescriptionExample
Country2-letter country codeus, de, jp
LanguageISO 639-1 language codeen, fr, zh
Date rangeRecency windowday, week, month, year
Domain filtersAllowlist or denylist (max 20 domains)example.com
Content budgetToken limits per response / per pagemax_tokens, max_tokens_per_page

Advanced configuration

If the OpenClaw Gateway runs as a daemon (launchd/systemd), make sure `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` is available to that process. 
<Warning>
A key set only in `~/.profile` will not be visible to a launchd/systemd
daemon unless that environment is explicitly imported. Set the key in
`~/.openclaw/.env` or via `env.shellEnv` to ensure the gateway process can
read it.
</Warning>
If you prefer to route Perplexity searches through OpenRouter, set an `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` (prefix `sk-or-`) instead of a native Perplexity key. OpenClaw will detect the prefix and switch to the Sonar transport automatically. 
<Tip>
The OpenRouter transport is useful if you already have an OpenRouter account
and want consolidated billing across multiple providers.
</Tip>
How the agent invokes Perplexity searches and interprets results. Full configuration reference including plugin entries.