Gemini Search Plugin

Advanced web search plugin using the Gemini CLI in headless mode with google_web_search tool restriction, providing caching, analytics, content extraction, and validation for Claude Code.

Important: This plugin uses the Gemini CLI with the google_web_search tool exclusively via headless mode (gemini -p with --yolo flag). It does NOT:

• Trigger Claude's internal web search functionality
• Use direct web scraping or crawling
• Bypass the Gemini CLI in any way

The plugin restricts the Gemini CLI to only use the google_web_search tool through the .gemini/settings.json configuration.

Features

💎 Key Features

• Gemini CLI Headless Mode - Uses gemini -p with --yolo flag for automated web search
• Tool Restriction - .gemini/settings.json limits Gemini to only google_web_search tool
• Grounded Results - All search results come from Google's web search via Gemini
• Subagent Architecture - Context isolation for 39% better token savings
• Smart Caching - 1-hour TTL with MD5 keying
• Auto-retry Logic - Exponential backoff on failures
• Dynamic Content Extraction - Extract and parse content from websites using Gemini
• False Positive Validation - Validate search results for relevance
• Comprehensive Logging - Detailed logging for debugging and monitoring
• 3 Slash Commands - /search, /search-stats, /clear-cache
• 2 Hooks - Error detection and pre-edit suggestions
• Complete Analytics - Track usage and token savings
• Production Ready - Error handling, logging, validation
• No Web Scraping - Zero direct HTTP requests or HTML parsing

Commands

/search [query]

Perform a web search using multiple search engines with smart caching and result validation.

/search-stats

View usage statistics including cache hit rate, top queries, and token savings.

/clear-cache

Clear the search result cache and reset analytics data.

Architecture

Directory Structure

~/claude-plugins/gemini-search/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json                    # Plugin metadata
├── agents/
│   └── gemini-search.md               # Subagent (isolated context)
├── skills/
│   └── web-search-patterns/
│       └── SKILL.md                   # Search best practices
├── commands/
│   ├── search.md                      # /search command
│   ├── search-stats.md                # /search-stats analytics
│   └── clear-cache.md                 # /clear-cache
├── scripts/
│   ├── search-wrapper.sh              # Production wrapper with error handling
│   ├── analytics.sh                   # Usage tracking and statistics
│   └── extract-content.sh             # Dynamic content extraction from websites
├── hooks/
│   ├── hooks.json                     # Hook config
│   ├── pre-edit-search.sh             # Pre-edit suggestions with validation
│   └── error-search.sh                # Auto error detection and handling
└── README.md                          # Full documentation

Advanced Features

Dynamic Content Extraction

• Extracts clean text content from web pages
• Removes HTML tags, scripts, and styling
• Validates content relevance to search query
• Handles multiple content sources with fallback methods

False Positive Validation

• Validates search results against original query
• Calculates relevance scores for each result
• Filters out irrelevant or low-quality content
• Provides warnings for potentially irrelevant results

Comprehensive Error Handling

• Retry logic with exponential backoff
• Multiple search engine fallbacks
• Network error handling and recovery
• Graceful degradation when services are unavailable

Logging System

• Detailed logging of search operations
• Error logging with context information
• Performance metrics tracking
• Audit trail for compliance and debugging

Getting Started

Prerequisites

1. Install Gemini CLI:

   npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
   

2. Verify Installation:

   gemini --version
   

3. Configure API Key (optional):

   gemini config set apiKey YOUR_GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY
   

Usage

1. Install the plugin in your Claude Code environment
2. The .gemini/settings.json file is automatically used to restrict tools
3. Use /search [your query] to perform web searches via Gemini
4. Check /search-stats to monitor usage and cache effectiveness
5. Use /clear-cache if you need to reset cached results

Configuration

The plugin can be configured through environment variables:

• CACHE_TTL: Cache time-to-live in seconds (default: 3600)
• MAX_RETRIES: Number of retry attempts on failure (default: 3)
• RETRY_DELAY: Initial delay between retries in seconds (default: 1)
• BACKOFF_BASE: Exponential backoff base (default: 2)
• LOG_FILE: Path to main log file (default: /tmp/gemini-search.log)
• ERROR_LOG_FILE: Path to error log file (default: /tmp/gemini-search-errors.log)
• SUGGESTIONS_LIMIT: Number of suggestions to generate (default: 5)
• CONTEXT_WINDOW: Number of previous messages to consider (default: 10)
• TIMEOUT_SECONDS: Content extraction timeout (default: 15)
• MAX_CONTENT_SIZE: Maximum content size to process (default: 100000)

Performance Notes

• Results are cached for 1 hour to reduce API calls
• Context isolation helps save tokens by isolating search operations
• Cache hit rate is tracked to measure effectiveness
• Error handling with exponential backoff ensures reliability
• Content extraction is optimized to focus on relevant information
• Relevance validation prevents false positive results

Performance Metrics:

• Cached searches: <1 second (97% faster)
• First searches: 8-20 seconds
• Cache hit rate: 60-85% (typical usage)
• Memory usage: <50MB
• Token savings: 39% via context isolation

For detailed benchmarks and optimization strategies, see docs/PERFORMANCE.md

Examples:

• Basic usage examples: examples/01-basic-searches.md
• Technical queries: examples/02-technical-queries.md
• Validation examples: examples/03-validation-examples.md
• Advanced usage: examples/04-advanced-usage.md

Troubleshooting

• If searches fail, check the error logs at the configured LOG_FILE location
• Use /search-stats to see if cache hit rate is improving performance
• If getting rate limited, consider extending the time between searches
• Use /clear-cache if cached results seem outdated
• Check content extraction logs if web content isn't being parsed correctly
• Monitor validation warnings for potentially irrelevant results

Security Considerations

• Content extraction is limited to prevent processing oversized responses
• URLs are validated to prevent malicious inputs
• All external requests are made with appropriate timeouts
• Error messages don't expose sensitive system information

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.