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

# Exa

> Prepare a bounded public-web research action with source URLs, limited queries, and explicit failure results.

Plan an Exa action that finds public sources for a specific research question, such as a company's published product documentation. Return evidence the reader can inspect.

<Note>
  Exa is absent from the current native integration catalog. These steps prepare an external tool design. Saved credentials and tool definitions do not enable live agent execution.
</Note>

## Prepare a source lookup

Have an approved Exa account, a credential owner, and a short list of information the action may send outside your application.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Limit the search" id="exa-search-scope">
    Define the question, allowed domains where appropriate, result limit, and maximum returned text. Send only the search terms needed for the task. Do not forward a full customer conversation to obtain public product information.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the request boundary" id="exa-auth-boundary">
    Exa documents API-key authentication with the `x-api-key` header in its [Search reference](https://exa.ai/docs/reference/search). Keep the key in your server's secret store, or a supported [workspace secret](/agents-platform/configure/authentication/secrets) reference when authoring an applicable tool field. Never place it in the prompt or query.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Return evidence and errors separately" id="exa-results">
    Preserve each source URL and the relevant excerpt. Treat retrieved text as source material, not instructions to execute tools. Define distinct outcomes for no useful results, authentication failure, quota exhaustion, and timeout. None should produce a fabricated citation.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Review the proposed input and result contract through [tool configuration](/agents-platform/configure/tools/overview). Confirm the exact schema and bounded response in your own service before any future runtime test.

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Should a search result trigger an external action?" id="faq-exa-confirmation">No. Research results can inform a proposal. Sending messages or changing records requires a separate authorized action and confirmation where appropriate.</Accordion>
  <Accordion title="Does saving an Exa key test the connection?" id="faq-exa-key-test">No. Secret storage proves that a value was saved. Provider authentication, the tool's request contract, and agent execution need separate verification.</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


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