> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trynito.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Web Search

> Let Nito pull fresh information from the web into an answer, controlled by a single flag on your ask command.

Web search lets the model pull fresh information from the web into its answer. Nito decides whether a search is warranted, runs it, folds the results into the answer, and reports what it did. This page covers how to turn it on, the options you can pass, and a couple of worked examples.

## Turning On Web Search

Web search is controlled by the `--web-search` flag on your `ask` command. It takes one of three values:

| Value  | Behavior                                      |
| ------ | --------------------------------------------- |
| `on`   | Search when it would help (default)           |
| `off`  | Never search                                  |
| `auto` | Let Nito decide whether a search is warranted |

The default is `on`, so search is available out of the box. Set `--web-search off` when you want the model to answer purely from what it already knows.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Claude Code">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    /nito:ask --web-search on Your question here
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Codex">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    $nito:ask --web-search on Your question here
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

You can also run this from your terminal with `nito ask --web-search on "Your question here"`. See [Ask and Fusion from the terminal](/cli/ask-and-fusion-from-terminal).

## Worked Example

Ask for something that only a current source can answer, and request a citation:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Claude Code">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    /nito:ask --web-search on In one sentence, what is the most recent stable Node.js LTS version? cite a source.
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Codex">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    $nito:ask --web-search on In one sentence, what is the most recent stable Node.js LTS version? cite a source.
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Nito searches the web, names the current LTS version with its release date, and includes source links so you can verify the answer. The information is fresh and cited, not recalled from training data.

## Letting Nito Decide

With `--web-search auto`, Nito judges each prompt and only searches when the question actually needs fresh information. Stable general knowledge is answered directly; a question about something recent triggers a search.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Claude Code">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    /nito:ask --web-search auto What changed in the latest major release of my framework?
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Codex">
    ```text theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    $nito:ask --web-search auto What changed in the latest major release of my framework?
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Notes

* Turning search on does not guarantee a search runs. Nito skips it for prompts that do not benefit (pure text transforms, creative writing, stable facts) so you are not paying for a search you did not need.
* Web search works with `ask` and inside a `session`, so follow-up questions can pull fresh information too.
* In a [Fusion](/commands/fusion), all participants share the same web setting.
* To read one specific page you already have a link for, use [Web Fetch](/features/server-side-tools/web-fetch) instead.

## Related Resources

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Server-Side Tools" icon="tools" href="/features/server-side-tools">
    How Nito's built-in tools work in general.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Web Fetch" icon="arrow-down-to-bracket" href="/features/server-side-tools/web-fetch">
    Read a specific URL instead of searching.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How Nito Works" icon="gears" href="/get-started/how-it-works">
    The fundamentals behind ask and Fusion.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>