Web Search & Fetch

Tool Priority

Priority	Tool	When to Use
1st	Exa MCP (web_search_exa, company_research_exa, get_code_context_exa)	Web search, company research, code/docs lookup. Fast, clean, structured results.
2nd	agent-browser	Interactive pages, form filling, authentication, screenshots, JS-rendered content, multi-step browser workflows.

Default to Exa for any search or content retrieval. Only use agent-browser when you need browser interactivity.

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Exa MCP Tools

web_search_exa — General Web Search

Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content.

Use: Finding articles, news, documentation, market data, financial analysis

company_research_exa — Company Research

Research any company to get business information, news, and insights.

Use: Company fundamentals, news, competitive analysis, earnings context

get_code_context_exa — Code & Documentation

Find code examples, documentation, and programming solutions.

Use: API docs, code patterns, library usage, technical references

Examples

# Search for recent news about a ticker
web_search_exa("NVDA dark pool activity March 2026")

# Research a company
company_research_exa("Rambus Inc semiconductor IP")

# Find API documentation
get_code_context_exa("ib_insync placeOrder clientId scope")

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agent-browser (Fallback)

Use agent-browser only when Exa cannot handle the task:

• Interactive pages: Forms, login flows, multi-step navigation
• Screenshots: Visual capture of charts, pages, UI
• JavaScript-rendered content: SPAs that don't serve content to crawlers
• Authentication: Sites requiring login
• File downloads: PDFs, CSVs, data exports

Core Workflow

1. Navigate: agent-browser open <url>
2. Snapshot: agent-browser snapshot -i (get element refs like @e1, @e2)
3. Interact: Use refs to click, fill, select
4. Re-snapshot: After navigation or DOM changes, get fresh refs

agent-browser open https://example.com/form
agent-browser snapshot -i
# Output: @e1 [input type="email"], @e2 [input type="password"], @e3 [button] "Submit"

agent-browser fill @e1 "user@example.com"
agent-browser fill @e2 "password123"
agent-browser click @e3
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser snapshot -i  # Check result

Essential Commands

# Navigation
agent-browser open <url>              # Navigate (aliases: goto, navigate)
agent-browser close                   # Close browser

# Snapshot
agent-browser snapshot -i             # Interactive elements with refs (recommended)
agent-browser snapshot -i -C          # Include cursor-interactive elements

# Interaction (use @refs from snapshot)
agent-browser click @e1               # Click element
agent-browser fill @e2 "text"         # Clear and type text
agent-browser select @e1 "option"     # Select dropdown option
agent-browser press Enter             # Press key
agent-browser scroll down 500         # Scroll page

# Get information
agent-browser get text @e1            # Get element text
agent-browser get url                 # Get current URL

# Wait
agent-browser wait @e1                # Wait for element
agent-browser wait --load networkidle # Wait for network idle

# Capture
agent-browser screenshot              # Screenshot to temp dir
agent-browser screenshot --full       # Full page screenshot
agent-browser pdf output.pdf          # Save as PDF

Trading-Specific Examples

# Fetch a stock page (LAST RESORT — only if IB, UW, and Exa all fail)
agent-browser open "https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=AAPL"
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser snapshot -i -c

# Screenshot for documentation
agent-browser open "https://example.com/chart"
agent-browser wait --load networkidle
agent-browser screenshot --full reports/chart.png

Ref Lifecycle (Important)

Refs (@e1, @e2, etc.) are invalidated when the page changes. Always re-snapshot after:

• Clicking links or buttons that navigate
• Form submissions
• Dynamic content loading (dropdowns, modals)