154 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
154 lines
5.2 KiB
Markdown
> ## Documentation Index
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> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://vineetagarwal-code-claude-code.mintlify.app/llms.txt
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> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
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# Web
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> Fetch web pages and search the internet for current information.
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Claude Code has two web tools: `WebFetch` for retrieving and analyzing specific URLs, and `WebSearch` for querying the web when information may be beyond Claude's training cutoff.
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***
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## WebFetch
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Fetches a URL, converts the HTML to markdown, and then processes the content using a small fast model with a prompt you provide. Returns the model's response — not the raw page content.
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### Parameters
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<ParamField body="url" type="string" required>
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A fully-formed, valid URL. HTTP URLs are automatically upgraded to HTTPS.
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</ParamField>
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<ParamField body="prompt" type="string" required>
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A natural-language prompt describing what to extract or analyze from the page content. The fetched content is passed to a secondary model along with this prompt, and the model's response is returned.
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</ParamField>
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### Behavior
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1. Claude fetches the URL and converts HTML to markdown.
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2. The markdown and the `prompt` are sent to a small, fast model.
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3. That model's response is returned as the tool result.
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Because a secondary model processes the content, the result is always a synthesized answer — not a raw dump of the page. If the content is very large, it may be summarized automatically.
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<Info>
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WebFetch includes a 15-minute in-memory cache. Repeated calls to the same URL within that window return cached content without a network request.
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</Info>
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### Redirects
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When a URL redirects to a different host, the tool returns a special message indicating the redirect destination rather than following it automatically. Claude then makes a new `WebFetch` call with the redirect URL.
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### Limitations
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* Read-only — does not submit forms or interact with pages
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* Not suitable for pages requiring authentication (login walls, paywalls)
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* For GitHub resources, prefer the `gh` CLI via `Bash` (e.g., `gh pr view`, `gh issue view`, `gh api`)
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<Tip>
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If an MCP-provided web fetch tool is available in your environment, it may have fewer restrictions and should be preferred over this built-in tool.
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</Tip>
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### Example usage
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<Tabs>
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<Tab title="Extract API details">
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```json theme={null}
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{
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"url": "https://docs.example.com/api/authentication",
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"prompt": "What authentication methods are supported and what headers are required?"
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}
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```
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</Tab>
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<Tab title="Check library version">
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```json theme={null}
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{
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"url": "https://github.com/some-org/some-lib/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
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"prompt": "What changed in the latest version?"
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}
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```
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</Tab>
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<Tab title="Read documentation">
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```json theme={null}
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{
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"url": "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Fetch_API",
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"prompt": "Summarize the Fetch API and show a basic usage example."
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}
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```
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</Tab>
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</Tabs>
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***
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## WebSearch
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Searches the web and returns results including titles, URLs, and a model-synthesized summary. Useful when information may be newer than Claude's training data.
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<Info>
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Web search is only available in the United States. It requires a compatible API provider (Anthropic first-party, Vertex AI with Claude 4.0+ models, or Foundry).
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</Info>
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### Parameters
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<ParamField body="query" type="string" required>
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The search query to execute. Minimum length: 2 characters.
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</ParamField>
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<ParamField body="allowed_domains" type="string[]">
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When set, only return results from these domains. Cannot be combined with `blocked_domains` in the same request.
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Example: `["docs.python.org", "peps.python.org"]`
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</ParamField>
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<ParamField body="blocked_domains" type="string[]">
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Exclude results from these domains. Cannot be combined with `allowed_domains` in the same request.
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Example: `["w3schools.com"]`
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</ParamField>
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### Output
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The tool returns search results as structured blocks containing:
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* Result titles and URLs
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* A synthesized summary produced by a model that has access to the search results
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Claude is required to cite sources from web searches by appending a `Sources:` section with markdown hyperlinks to its response.
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### Domain filtering
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<Accordion title="Restricting to specific domains (allowed_domains)">
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Use `allowed_domains` when you want results exclusively from trusted or authoritative sources:
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```json theme={null}
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{
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"query": "Python asyncio best practices 2024",
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"allowed_domains": ["docs.python.org", "realpython.com"]
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}
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```
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</Accordion>
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<Accordion title="Excluding domains (blocked_domains)">
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Use `blocked_domains` to suppress low-quality or paywalled sources:
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```json theme={null}
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{
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"query": "React server components tutorial",
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"blocked_domains": ["medium.com"]
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}
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```
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</Accordion>
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### Search limits
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Each `WebSearch` invocation performs up to **8 individual web searches** internally. Claude automatically refines queries as needed within that budget.
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### Current date awareness
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When searching for recent information, Claude includes the current year in search queries to avoid returning outdated results — for example, appending the year when searching for library documentation or current events.
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