PatternsSDK API

Search - Exa AI (robust)

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Problems solved

Technical challenges this implementation handles out of the box.
  • Search the web with an Exa tool in a basic agent flow
  • Return structured search hits for the model to cite
  • Demonstrate Exa search wiring with the AI SDK

Use cases

Products and workflows this pattern is designed to support.
  • Exa search onboarding demos
  • Research lookup tools
  • Citation-backed answer prototypes
  • Semantic web search samples

Setup

Requirements, wiring steps, and what this pattern adds to your project.

Getting started

Pick how you want to pull this pattern in — then wire env vars and routes the same way.

  1. 1

    Install from the preview toolbar

    Shadcn Icon

    Copy the install command above and run it in your project — Pro patterns include a short-lived token.

  2. 2

    Add environment variables to .env.local

    OPENAI_API_KEY, EXA_API_KEY

  3. 3

    Point client fetches at your API routes

    Replace preview `/view/.../api/...` paths with `/api/...` in the installed files.

  4. 4

    Customize the agent and tool files

    Adapt prompts, tools, and stop conditions for your product — Copy for AI in the toolbar helps seed that work.

  5. 5

    Run your dev server and open the pattern route

    Install dependencies if needed, then start the app and verify responses.

Environment variables

Capabilities

AI SDK APIs

streamTextconvertToCoreMessagestooluseChat

Providers

OpenAI

External services

Exa

Files added

5 files
  • app/page.tsx
  • app/layout.tsx
  • app/api/tool-search-exa/route.ts
  • components/exa-search-demo.tsx
  • lib/tools/exa.ts

Dependencies

10 total

npm packages

6
AISDKExalucide-reactNext.jsReactZod

Shadcn IconRegistry components

4
alertemptyinput-groupseparator

Critical files

  • tool-search-exa/route.ts

    API route implementing a research assistant using streamText with Exa tools integration. Contains the AI pipeline with system prompt, tool binding, and step count limits.

  • tools/exa.ts

    Core tool definitions for Exa search SDK. Defines 5 AI tools (searchUrls, searchForUrlsContent, searchWikipedia, searchReddit, searchNews) with Zod schemas and execute functions.

Requirements

Complexity
Beginner