# Source: https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/tool-use/web-search-tool.md

# Web search tool

The web search tool gives Claude direct access to real-time web content, allowing it to answer questions with up-to-date information beyond its knowledge cutoff. Claude automatically cites sources from search results as part of its answer.

<Note>
  Please reach out through our [feedback form](https://forms.gle/sWjBtsrNEY2oKGuE8) to share your experience with the web search tool.
</Note>

## Supported models

Web search is available on:

* Claude Sonnet 4.5 (`claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929`)
* Claude Sonnet 4 (`claude-sonnet-4-20250514`)
* Claude Sonnet 3.7 ([deprecated](/en/docs/about-claude/model-deprecations)) (`claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219`)
* Claude Haiku 4.5 (`claude-haiku-4-5-20251001`)
* Claude Haiku 3.5 (`claude-3-5-haiku-latest`)
* Claude Opus 4.1 (`claude-opus-4-1-20250805`)
* Claude Opus 4 (`claude-opus-4-20250514`)

## How web search works

When you add the web search tool to your API request:

1. Claude decides when to search based on the prompt.
2. The API executes the searches and provides Claude with the results. This process may repeat multiple times throughout a single request.
3. At the end of its turn, Claude provides a final response with cited sources.

## How to use web search

<Note>
  Your organization's administrator must enable web search in [Console](https://console.anthropic.com/settings/privacy).
</Note>

Provide the web search tool in your API request:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Shell theme={null}
  curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
      --header "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
      --header "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
      --header "content-type: application/json" \
      --data '{
          "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
          "max_tokens": 1024,
          "messages": [
              {
                  "role": "user",
                  "content": "What's the weather in NYC?"
              }
          ],
          "tools": [{
              "type": "web_search_20250305",
              "name": "web_search",
              "max_uses": 5
          }]
      }'
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import anthropic

  client = anthropic.Anthropic()

  response = client.messages.create(
      model="claude-sonnet-4-5",
      max_tokens=1024,
      messages=[
          {
              "role": "user",
              "content": "What's the weather in NYC?"
          }
      ],
      tools=[{
          "type": "web_search_20250305",
          "name": "web_search",
          "max_uses": 5
      }]
  )
  print(response)
  ```

  ```typescript TypeScript theme={null}
  import { Anthropic } from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';

  const anthropic = new Anthropic();

  async function main() {
    const response = await anthropic.messages.create({
      model: "claude-sonnet-4-5",
      max_tokens: 1024,
      messages: [
        {
          role: "user",
          content: "What's the weather in NYC?"
        }
      ],
      tools: [{
        type: "web_search_20250305",
        name: "web_search",
        max_uses: 5
      }]
    });

    console.log(response);
  }

  main().catch(console.error);
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Tool definition

The web search tool supports the following parameters:

```json JSON theme={null}
{
  "type": "web_search_20250305",
  "name": "web_search",

  // Optional: Limit the number of searches per request
  "max_uses": 5,

  // Optional: Only include results from these domains
  "allowed_domains": ["example.com", "trusteddomain.org"],

  // Optional: Never include results from these domains
  "blocked_domains": ["untrustedsource.com"],

  // Optional: Localize search results
  "user_location": {
    "type": "approximate",
    "city": "San Francisco",
    "region": "California",
    "country": "US",
    "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
  }
}
```

#### Max uses

The `max_uses` parameter limits the number of searches performed. If Claude attempts more searches than allowed, the `web_search_tool_result` will be an error with the `max_uses_exceeded` error code.

#### Domain filtering

When using domain filters:

* Domains should not include the HTTP/HTTPS scheme (use `example.com` instead of `https://example.com`)
* Subdomains are automatically included (`example.com` covers `docs.example.com`)
* Specific subdomains restrict results to only that subdomain (`docs.example.com` returns only results from that subdomain, not from `example.com` or `api.example.com`)
* Subpaths are supported (`example.com/blog`)
* You can use either `allowed_domains` or `blocked_domains`, but not both in the same request.

<Note>
  Request-level domain restrictions must be compatible with organization-level domain restrictions configured in the Console. Request-level domains can only further restrict domains, not override or expand beyond the organization-level list. If your request includes domains that conflict with organization settings, the API will return a validation error.
</Note>

#### Localization

The `user_location` parameter allows you to localize search results based on a user's location.

* `type`: The type of location (must be `approximate`)
* `city`: The city name
* `region`: The region or state
* `country`: The country
* `timezone`: The [IANA timezone ID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones).

### Response

Here's an example response structure:

```json  theme={null}
{
  "role": "assistant",
  "content": [
    // 1. Claude's decision to search
    {
      "type": "text",
      "text": "I'll search for when Claude Shannon was born."
    },
    // 2. The search query used
    {
      "type": "server_tool_use",
      "id": "srvtoolu_01WYG3ziw53XMcoyKL4XcZmE",
      "name": "web_search",
      "input": {
        "query": "claude shannon birth date"
      }
    },
    // 3. Search results
    {
      "type": "web_search_tool_result",
      "tool_use_id": "srvtoolu_01WYG3ziw53XMcoyKL4XcZmE",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "web_search_result",
          "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Shannon",
          "title": "Claude Shannon - Wikipedia",
          "encrypted_content": "EqgfCioIARgBIiQ3YTAwMjY1Mi1mZjM5LTQ1NGUtODgxNC1kNjNjNTk1ZWI3Y...",
          "page_age": "April 30, 2025"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Based on the search results, ",
      "type": "text"
    },
    // 4. Claude's response with citations
    {
      "text": "Claude Shannon was born on April 30, 1916, in Petoskey, Michigan",
      "type": "text",
      "citations": [
        {
          "type": "web_search_result_location",
          "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Shannon",
          "title": "Claude Shannon - Wikipedia",
          "encrypted_index": "Eo8BCioIAhgBIiQyYjQ0OWJmZi1lNm..",
          "cited_text": "Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist, cryptographer and i..."
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "id": "msg_a930390d3a",
  "usage": {
    "input_tokens": 6039,
    "output_tokens": 931,
    "server_tool_use": {
      "web_search_requests": 1
    }
  },
  "stop_reason": "end_turn"
}
```

#### Search results

Search results include:

* `url`: The URL of the source page
* `title`: The title of the source page
* `page_age`: When the site was last updated
* `encrypted_content`: Encrypted content that must be passed back in multi-turn conversations for citations

#### Citations

Citations are always enabled for web search, and each `web_search_result_location` includes:

* `url`: The URL of the cited source
* `title`: The title of the cited source
* `encrypted_index`: A reference that must be passed back for multi-turn conversations.
* `cited_text`: Up to 150 characters of the cited content

The web search citation fields `cited_text`, `title`, and `url` do not count towards input or output token usage.

<Note>
  When displaying API outputs directly to end users, citations must be included to the original source. If you are making modifications to API outputs, including by reprocessing and/or combining them with your own material before displaying them to end users, display citations as appropriate based on consultation with your legal team.
</Note>

#### Errors

When the web search tool encounters an error (such as hitting rate limits), the Claude API still returns a 200 (success) response. The error is represented within the response body using the following structure:

```json  theme={null}
{
  "type": "web_search_tool_result",
  "tool_use_id": "servertoolu_a93jad",
  "content": {
    "type": "web_search_tool_result_error",
    "error_code": "max_uses_exceeded"
  }
}
```

These are the possible error codes:

* `too_many_requests`: Rate limit exceeded
* `invalid_input`: Invalid search query parameter
* `max_uses_exceeded`: Maximum web search tool uses exceeded
* `query_too_long`: Query exceeds maximum length
* `unavailable`: An internal error occurred

#### `pause_turn` stop reason

The response may include a `pause_turn` stop reason, which indicates that the API paused a long-running turn. You may provide the response back as-is in a subsequent request to let Claude continue its turn, or modify the content if you wish to interrupt the conversation.

## Prompt caching

Web search works with [prompt caching](/en/docs/build-with-claude/prompt-caching). To enable prompt caching, add at least one `cache_control` breakpoint in your request. The system will automatically cache up until the last `web_search_tool_result` block when executing the tool.

For multi-turn conversations, set a `cache_control` breakpoint on or after the last `web_search_tool_result` block to reuse cached content.

For example, to use prompt caching with web search for a multi-turn conversation:

<CodeGroup>
  ```python  theme={null}
  import anthropic

  client = anthropic.Anthropic()

  # First request with web search and cache breakpoint
  messages = [
      {
          "role": "user",
          "content": "What's the current weather in San Francisco today?"
      }
  ]

  response1 = client.messages.create(
      model="claude-sonnet-4-5",
      max_tokens=1024,
      messages=messages,
      tools=[{
          "type": "web_search_20250305",
          "name": "web_search",
          "user_location": {
              "type": "approximate",
              "city": "San Francisco",
              "region": "California",
              "country": "US",
              "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
          }
      }]
  )

  # Add Claude's response to the conversation
  messages.append({
      "role": "assistant",
      "content": response1.content
  })

  # Second request with cache breakpoint after the search results
  messages.append({
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Should I expect rain later this week?",
      "cache_control": {"type": "ephemeral"}  # Cache up to this point
  })

  response2 = client.messages.create(
      model="claude-sonnet-4-5",
      max_tokens=1024,
      messages=messages,
      tools=[{
          "type": "web_search_20250305",
          "name": "web_search",
          "user_location": {
              "type": "approximate",
              "city": "San Francisco",
              "region": "California",
              "country": "US",
              "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles"
          }
      }]
  )
  # The second response will benefit from cached search results
  # while still being able to perform new searches if needed
  print(f"Cache read tokens: {response2.usage.get('cache_read_input_tokens', 0)}")
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Streaming

With streaming enabled, you'll receive search events as part of the stream. There will be a pause while the search executes:

```javascript  theme={null}
event: message_start
data: {"type": "message_start", "message": {"id": "msg_abc123", "type": "message"}}

event: content_block_start
data: {"type": "content_block_start", "index": 0, "content_block": {"type": "text", "text": ""}}

// Claude's decision to search

event: content_block_start
data: {"type": "content_block_start", "index": 1, "content_block": {"type": "server_tool_use", "id": "srvtoolu_xyz789", "name": "web_search"}}

// Search query streamed
event: content_block_delta
data: {"type": "content_block_delta", "index": 1, "delta": {"type": "input_json_delta", "partial_json": "{\"query\":\"latest quantum computing breakthroughs 2025\"}"}}

// Pause while search executes

// Search results streamed
event: content_block_start
data: {"type": "content_block_start", "index": 2, "content_block": {"type": "web_search_tool_result", "tool_use_id": "srvtoolu_xyz789", "content": [{"type": "web_search_result", "title": "Quantum Computing Breakthroughs in 2025", "url": "https://example.com"}]}}

// Claude's response with citations (omitted in this example)
```

## Batch requests

You can include the web search tool in the [Messages Batches API](/en/docs/build-with-claude/batch-processing). Web search tool calls through the Messages Batches API are priced the same as those in regular Messages API requests.

## Usage and pricing

Web search usage is charged in addition to token usage:

```json  theme={null}
"usage": {
  "input_tokens": 105,
  "output_tokens": 6039,
  "cache_read_input_tokens": 7123,
  "cache_creation_input_tokens": 7345,
  "server_tool_use": {
    "web_search_requests": 1
  }
}
```

Web search is available on the Claude API for **\$10 per 1,000 searches**, plus standard token costs for search-generated content. Web search results retrieved throughout a conversation are counted as input tokens, in search iterations executed during a single turn and in subsequent conversation turns.

Each web search counts as one use, regardless of the number of results returned. If an error occurs during web search, the web search will not be billed.