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OpenClaw bundles two Parallel web_search providers:
  • Parallel Search (Free) (parallel-free) — Parallel’s free Search MCP. Requires no account or API key. OpenClaw selects it automatically when no other web search provider is configured, so web_search works without setup.
  • Parallel Search (parallel) — Parallel’s paid Search API. Requires a PARALLEL_API_KEY and offers higher rate limits and objective tuning.
Both return ranked, LLM-optimized excerpts from a web index built for AI agents. Set tools.web.search.provider to parallel-free or parallel to choose one explicitly.
OpenAI Responses models use OpenAI’s native web search when tools.web.search.provider is unset, so they bypass the Parallel providers. Set tools.web.search.provider to parallel-free or parallel to route them through Parallel.

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API key (paid provider)

parallel-free requires no setup. The paid parallel provider needs an API key:
1

Create an account

Sign up at platform.parallel.ai and generate an API key from your dashboard.
2

Store the key

Set PARALLEL_API_KEY in the Gateway environment, or configure via:
openclaw configure --section web

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Config

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      parallel: {
        config: {
          webSearch: {
            apiKey: "par-...", // optional if PARALLEL_API_KEY is set
            baseUrl: "https://api.parallel.ai", // optional; OpenClaw appends /v1/search
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
  tools: {
    web: {
      search: {
        provider: "parallel",
      },
    },
  },
}
Environment alternative: set PARALLEL_API_KEY in the Gateway environment. For a gateway install, put it in ~/.openclaw/.env.

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Base URL override

The base URL override applies to the paid parallel provider only. The free parallel-free provider always uses https://search.parallel.ai/mcp. Set plugins.entries.parallel.config.webSearch.baseUrl when Parallel requests should go through a compatible proxy or alternate Parallel endpoint (for example, the Cloudflare AI Gateway). OpenClaw normalizes bare hosts by prepending https:// and appends /v1/search unless the path already ends there. The resolved endpoint is included in the search cache key, so results from different Parallel endpoints are not shared.

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Tool parameters

OpenClaw exposes Parallel’s native search shape so the model can fill in both the natural-language goal and a few short keyword queries — the pairing Parallel recommends for best results.
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objective
string
required
Natural-language description of the underlying question or goal (max 5000 chars). Should be self-contained.
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search_queries
string[]
required
Concise keyword search queries, 3-6 words each (1-5 entries, max 200 chars each). Provide 2-3 diverse queries for best results.
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count
number
Results to return (1-40).
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session_id
string
Optional Parallel session id (max 1000 chars on parallel; the free parallel-free Search MCP caps it at 100). Pass the sessionId from a previous Parallel result on follow-up searches that are part of the same task so Parallel can group related calls and improve subsequent results. An id past the limit is dropped and a fresh one is generated.
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client_model
string
Optional identifier of the model making the call (e.g. claude-opus-4-7, gpt-5.5). Lets Parallel tailor default settings for your model’s capabilities. Pass the exact active model slug; do not shorten to a family alias.

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Notes

  • Parallel ranks and compresses results based on LLM reasoning utility, not human click-through; expect dense excerpts in each result rather than full-page content
  • Result excerpts come back as the excerpts array and are also joined into the description field for compatibility with the generic web_search contract
  • Parallel returns a session_id on every response; OpenClaw surfaces it as sessionId in the tool payload so callers can group follow-up searches
  • searchId, warnings, and usage from Parallel are passed through when present
  • OpenClaw always forwards a resolved result count to Parallel as advanced_settings.max_results. The caller’s count arg wins, then the top-level tools.web.search.maxResults setting, otherwise OpenClaw’s generic web_search default (5). This keeps result volume consistent when switching between providers; Parallel on its own defaults to 10
  • Results are cached for 15 minutes by default (configurable via cacheTtlMinutes)
  • The free parallel-free provider accepts the same parameters. It applies count client-side and generates a session_id per call when one is not supplied.