Cli Anything Exa

OrganizationPopular

HKUDS

cli-anything-exa

Agent-native CLI for Exa web search and content retrieval workflows.

Overview

Publisher	HKUDS
Repository	`CLI-Anything`
Skill name	`cli-anything-exa`
Stars	49.5K
Forks	4.6K
Bundled files	Instructions only
License	Apache-2.0
Links	Skill source Repository Homepage

Markdown instructions
A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.
Works with any LLM
AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.
Self-contained
Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.
Open source
Published by HKUDS on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Cli Anything Exa AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Store

Installed

Skills

Add skills

Import one or more skills from a public GitHub folder or a local .skill or .zip archive, or SKILL.md file.

From GitHub URLFrom .skill, .zip, or SKILL.md

GitHub repo or folder

https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/tree/main/exa/agent-harness/cli_anything/exa/skills

Points to a single skill folder, or any folder that contains multiple skills. Public repos only.

CancelContinue

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything.git /tmp/CLI-Anything
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/CLI-Anything/exa/agent-harness/cli_anything/exa/skills .claude/skills/cli-anything-exa

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Cli Anything Exa in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Cli Anything Exa on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Cli Anything Exa is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed
The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.
Switch models mid-chat
Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Exa CLI Skill

Identity

Name: cli-anything-exa
Version: 1.0.0
Category: search
Entry Point: cli-anything-exa

What This CLI Does

Provides an agent-native command-line interface to the Exa API — a neural search engine optimised for AI agent workflows. Supports web search across multiple modes (fast, deep, deep-reasoning) and fetching full-text or highlighted page contents.

Prerequisites

Python >= 3.10
pip install cli-anything-exa
export EXA_API_KEY="your-api-key" (get one at https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys)

Installation

bash
pip install git+https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything.git#subdirectory=exa/agent-harness

Command Reference

search — Web search

bash
cli-anything-exa search "<query>" [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --type       auto|fast|instant|deep|deep-reasoning  (default: auto)
  --num-results / -n   1–100  (default: 10)
  --category   company|people|research-paper|news|personal-site|financial-report
  --content    highlights|text|summary|none  (default: highlights)
  --freshness  smart|always|never  (default: smart)
  --include-domains DOMAIN   (repeatable)
  --exclude-domains DOMAIN   (repeatable)
  --from DATE   ISO 8601 start published date
  --to   DATE   ISO 8601 end published date
  --location CC  Two-letter country code for geo-bias

contents — Fetch page contents

bash
cli-anything-exa contents <url> [url ...] [--content text|highlights|summary] [--freshness smart|always|never]

server status — Verify API key and connectivity

bash
cli-anything-exa server status

JSON Output

All commands support --json at the root level for machine-readable output:

bash
cli-anything-exa --json search "latest LLM papers" --num-results 5

Common Agent Patterns

Fast keyword lookup

bash
cli-anything-exa --json search "site:arxiv.org transformer architectures" --type fast --content highlights

Deep research on a topic

bash
cli-anything-exa --json search "EU AI Act compliance requirements 2024" --type deep --content text

Academic paper discovery

bash
cli-anything-exa --json search "retrieval augmented generation" --category research-paper --num-results 20

Company intelligence

bash
cli-anything-exa --json search "Anthropic funding history" --category company

News monitoring

bash
cli-anything-exa --json search "AI regulation news" --category news --from 2024-01-01

Fetch full content for summarisation

bash
cli-anything-exa --json contents https://example.com/article --content text

Interactive REPL

bash
cli-anything-exa   # No subcommand → enters REPL

Type commands without the cli-anything-exa prefix. Type exit or quit to leave.

Notes

highlights content mode is 10× more token-efficient than text — prefer it for agent pipelines
--type deep triggers multi-step reasoning; slower but synthesises across many sources
--category company and --category people do not support date or domain-exclude filters
Cost per query is included in JSON output under cost_dollars

Frequently asked questions

What does the Cli Anything Exa AI skill do?

Agent-native CLI for Exa web search and content retrieval workflows.

Why use Cli Anything Exa on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Cli Anything Exa is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Cli Anything Exa in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything/tree/main/exa/agent-harness/cli_anything/exa/skills. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Cli Anything Exa?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Cli Anything Exa?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Cli Anything Exa with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Cli Anything Exa AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by HKUDS under the Apache-2.0 license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

Exa CLI Skill

Identity

What This CLI Does

Prerequisites

Installation

Command Reference

search — Web search

contents — Fetch page contents

server status — Verify API key and connectivity

JSON Output

Common Agent Patterns

Fast keyword lookup

Deep research on a topic

Academic paper discovery

Company intelligence

News monitoring

Fetch full content for summarisation

Interactive REPL

Notes

Frequently asked questions

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