Pi Coding Agent supports web search through the pi-web-providers package, which allows multiple search backends. DuckDuckGo's free API is unreliable at scale due to rate limiting, and Brave dropped its free tier in February 2026. This tutorial adds Scavio as a search provider, giving Pi access to Google, Reddit, YouTube, Amazon, and Walmart under a single configuration with 500 free credits per month.
Prerequisites
- Pi Coding Agent installed (v0.73.0+)
- pi-web-providers package installed
- A Scavio API key from scavio.dev
Walkthrough
Step 1: Check current search configuration
See which providers are currently configured in Pi.
# Check Pi's current web search config:
cat ~/.pi-agent/config.json | grep -A5 web_search
# Or check pi-web-providers config:
cat ~/.pi-agent/providers.jsonStep 2: Add Scavio as a custom HTTP provider
Configure Scavio in Pi's provider settings as a custom HTTP search backend.
// Add to ~/.pi-agent/providers.json:
{
"web_search": {
"provider": "custom_http",
"config": {
"url": "https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search",
"method": "POST",
"headers": {
"x-api-key": "your_scavio_api_key",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
"body_template": {
"platform": "google",
"query": "{{query}}"
},
"result_path": "organic",
"title_field": "title",
"url_field": "link",
"snippet_field": "snippet"
}
}
}Step 3: Test the integration
Run a test search in Pi to verify the Scavio provider works.
# In Pi Coding Agent:
> /search best Python web framework 2026
# Should return structured results from Scavio's Google endpoint
# Verify results appear with titles, URLs, and snippetsStep 4: Configure multi-platform search (optional)
Set up separate search commands for different platforms.
// Extended provider config for multi-platform:
// You can add platform-specific providers:
{
"web_search": { /* google config from above */ },
"reddit_search": {
"provider": "custom_http",
"config": {
"url": "https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search",
"method": "POST",
"headers": { "x-api-key": "your_key", "Content-Type": "application/json" },
"body_template": { "platform": "reddit", "query": "{{query}}" },
"result_path": "organic"
}
}
}Python Example
# Pi Coding Agent provider configuration:
import json
config = {
'web_search': {
'provider': 'custom_http',
'config': {
'url': 'https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search',
'method': 'POST',
'headers': {'x-api-key': 'your_key', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
'body_template': {'platform': 'google', 'query': '{{query}}'},
'result_path': 'organic'
}
}
}
print(json.dumps(config, indent=2))JavaScript Example
// Pi provider config:
const config = {
web_search: {
provider: 'custom_http',
config: {
url: 'https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search',
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'x-api-key': 'your_key', 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
body_template: { platform: 'google', query: '{{query}}' },
result_path: 'organic'
}
}
};Expected Output
Pi Coding Agent with Scavio as a reliable, multi-platform search provider replacing DuckDuckGo or Brave.