---

name: web-search description: Lightweight web search + fetch using only shell tools (curl + grep/sed/awk), for when codex exec has no built-in --search. metadata: short-description: Shell-only web search helpers

Web Search (shell-only)

Goal

Enable the agent to quickly find and cite external references from the terminal when codex exec does not support a built-in --search flag.

When to use

Use this skill when:

• the user asks you to “search the web”, “find references”, “look for cool implementations”, or “check docs online”
• the agent needs a small number of authoritative links to proceed (standards, manpages, repos, issues, docs)

Do not use it when local repo search (rg) is sufficient.

Constraints

• Uses only shell tools (sh, curl, awk, sed, grep).
• Requires network access from the environment; if blocked, fail gracefully and say so.
• Keep result sets small (default 5–10).

Workflow

1. Search for candidate links:

• sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-search.sh "<query>"

1. Fetch a small excerpt for context (optional):

• sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-fetch.sh "<url>"

1. Prefer high-signal sources:

• official docs / specs
• upstream repos (README, docs, issues)
• no-color.org, ShellCheck wiki, shfmt docs, etc. (for shell guidance)

Scripts

• scripts/web-search.sh: queries DuckDuckGo Lite and prints a list of URLs (and optionally titles).
• scripts/web-fetch.sh: downloads a URL and prints a trimmed, text-only excerpt (best-effort).

Examples

• sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-search.sh "bash tui fff stty read -rsn1 arrow keys"
• sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-search.sh "NO_COLOR standard" --n 5
• sh .bilu/skills/web-search/scripts/web-fetch.sh "https://no-color.org/"