Implementation:Ollama Ollama XTools WebSearch

Knowledge Sources	Ollama
Domains	Agent Loop, Web Integration
Last Updated	2025-02-15 00:00 GMT

Overview

Implements the web search tool for the Ollama agent loop, performing web searches via Ollama's hosted search API with authenticated access.

Description

WebSearchTool implements the Tool interface. Execute sends a JSON query to the ollama.com/api/web_search endpoint, requesting up to 5 results. The request is signed using the Ollama Ed25519 key for authentication, with a 15-second timeout. Results are formatted as a numbered list with title, URL, and content snippet (truncated to 300 runes for UTF-8 safety). Returns ErrWebSearchAuthRequired on 401 responses. Currently disabled in DefaultRegistry pending release readiness.

Usage

Registered as the "web_search" tool. Enables the LLM agent to search for current information not in its training data.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: Ollama
• File: x/tools/websearch.go
• Lines: 1-180

Signature

const webSearchAPI = "https://ollama.com/api/web_search"
const webSearchTimeout = 15 * time.Second

var ErrWebSearchAuthRequired = errors.New("web search requires authentication")

type WebSearchTool struct{}

func (w *WebSearchTool) Name() string
func (w *WebSearchTool) Description() string
func (w *WebSearchTool) Schema() api.ToolFunction
func (w *WebSearchTool) Execute(args map[string]any) (string, error)

type webSearchRequest struct {
    Query      string `json:"query"`
    MaxResults int    `json:"max_results,omitempty"`
}

type webSearchResult struct {
    Title   string `json:"title"`
    URL     string `json:"url"`
    Content string `json:"content"`
}

Import

import "github.com/ollama/ollama/x/tools"

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
query	string	Yes	The search query to look up on the web

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
output	string	Formatted search results with titles, URLs, and snippets
error	error	Auth required, cloud disabled, or HTTP errors

Usage Examples

tool := &tools.WebSearchTool{}

output, err := tool.Execute(map[string]any{
    "query": "latest Go 1.24 release features",
})
// output: "Search results for: latest Go 1.24 release features\n\n1. Go 1.24 Release Notes\n   URL: ..."

Related Pages

• Principle:Ollama_Ollama_AgentArchitecture