[Feat] Add def search() APIs for Web Search - Perplexity API

[ishaan-jaff]

[Feat] Add def search() APIs for Web Search - Perplexity API

Summary

This PR adds a new unified Search API to LiteLLM, following the Perplexity Search API specification. The implementation provides a consistent interface for web search across providers, starting with Perplexity support.

Usage Examples

Basic Search

import litellm

# Synchronous search
response = litellm.search(
    query="latest AI developments 2024",
    custom_llm_provider="perplexity"
)

# Print results
for result in response.results:
    print(f"{result.title}: {result.url}")
    print(f"Snippet: {result.snippet}\n")

Async Search

import litellm
import asyncio

async def main():
    response = await litellm.asearch(
        query="latest AI developments",
        custom_llm_provider="perplexity"
    )
    
    for result in response.results:
        print(f"{result.title}: {result.url}")

asyncio.run(main())

Advanced Options

import litellm

# Search with filters and options
response = litellm.search(
    query="machine learning research",
    custom_llm_provider="perplexity",
    max_results=5,
    search_domain_filter=["arxiv.org", "nature.com"],
    max_tokens_per_page=1024,
    country="US"
)

Multi-Query Search

import litellm

# Search multiple queries at once
response = litellm.search(
    query=["AI developments", "machine learning trends"],
    custom_llm_provider="perplexity"
)

Environment Variables

# Set API key
export PERPLEXITYAI_API_KEY="your-api-key"

# Optional: Override API base
export PERPLEXITY_API_BASE="https://api.perplexity.ai"

Relevant issues

#15314

Pre-Submission checklist

Please complete all items before asking a LiteLLM maintainer to review your PR

• I have Added testing in the tests/litellm/ directory, Adding at least 1 test is a hard requirement - see details
• I have added a screenshot of my new test passing locally
• My PR passes all unit tests on make test-unit
• My PR's scope is as isolated as possible, it only solves 1 specific problem

Type

🆕 New Feature
✅ Test

Changes

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Project	Deployment	Preview	Comments	Updated (UTC)
litellm	Ready	Preview	Comment	Oct 21, 2025 9:18pm