Nimble Web Search

Real-time web intelligence using Nimble Search API with specialized focus modes and AI-powered result synthesis.

Prerequisites

Nimble API Key Required - Get your key at https://www.nimbleway.com/

Configuration

Set the NIMBLE_API_KEY environment variable using your platform's method:

Claude Code:

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
  "env": {
    "NIMBLE_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
  }
}

VS Code/GitHub Copilot:

• Add to .github/skills/ directory in your repository
• Or use GitHub Actions secrets for the copilot environment

Shell/Terminal:

export NIMBLE_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Any Platform: The skill checks for the NIMBLE_API_KEY environment variable regardless of how you set it.

API Key Validation

IMPORTANT: Before making any search request, verify the API key is configured:

# Check if API key is set
if [ -z "$NIMBLE_API_KEY" ]; then
  echo "❌ Error: NIMBLE_API_KEY not configured"
  echo ""
  echo "Get your API key: https://www.nimbleway.com/"
  echo ""
  echo "Configure using your platform's method:"
  echo "- Claude Code: Add to ~/.claude/settings.json"
  echo "- GitHub Copilot: Use GitHub Actions secrets"
  echo "- Shell: export NIMBLE_API_KEY=\"your-key\""
  echo ""
  echo "Do NOT fall back to other search tools - guide the user to configure first."
  exit 1
fi

Overview

Nimble Search provides real-time web intelligence with 8 specialized focus modes optimized for different types of queries. Get instant access to current web data with AI-powered answer generation, deep content extraction, URL discovery, and smart filtering by domain and date.

IMPORTANT: Always Specify These Parameters

When using this skill, always explicitly set the following parameters in your requests:

• deep_search: Default to false for 5-10x faster responses

  • Use false (FAST MODE - 1-3 seconds): For 95% of use cases - URL discovery, research, comparisons, answer generation
  • Use true (DEEP MODE - 5-15 seconds): Only when you specifically need full page content extracted for archiving or detailed analysis

• focus: Default to "general" for broad searches

  • Change to specific mode (coding, news, academic, shopping, social, geo, location) for targeted results

• max_results: Default to 10 - Balanced speed and coverage

Performance Awareness: By explicitly setting deep_search: false, you're choosing fast mode and should expect results in 1-3 seconds. If you set deep_search: true, expect 5-15 seconds response time.

Quick Start

Use the wrapper script for the simplest experience:

# ALWAYS specify deep_search explicitly
./scripts/search.sh '{
  "query": "React hooks",
  "deep_search": false
}'

The script automatically handles authentication, tracking headers, and output formatting.

When to Use Each Mode