> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.profclaw.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Perplexity

> Use Perplexity's online models for real-time web search-augmented responses. Models with built-in internet access.

Perplexity's online models have built-in internet access and return grounded answers with citations. Unlike standard LLMs, they can answer questions about current events.

## Supported Models

| Model       | ID                                  | Context | Web Search | Notes            |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------- | ------- | ---------- | ---------------- |
| Sonar Huge  | `llama-3.1-sonar-huge-128k-online`  | 128K    | Yes        | Best quality     |
| Sonar Large | `llama-3.1-sonar-large-128k-online` | 128K    | Yes        | Balanced         |
| Sonar Small | `llama-3.1-sonar-small-128k-online` | 128K    | Yes        | Fastest/cheapest |

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get an API key">
    Sign up at [perplexity.ai](https://www.perplexity.ai) and go to API settings.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the environment variable">
    ```bash theme={null}
    export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-...
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify">
    ```bash theme={null}
    profclaw doctor --provider perplexity
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Environment Variables

<ParamField path="PERPLEXITY_API_KEY" type="string" required>
  Your Perplexity API key. Format: `pplx-...`
</ParamField>

## Configuration Example

<Tabs>
  <Tab title=".env">
    ```bash theme={null}
    PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-...
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="settings.yml">
    ```yaml theme={null}
    providers:
      perplexity:
        api_key: "${PERPLEXITY_API_KEY}"
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Model Aliases

| Alias        | Model                             |
| ------------ | --------------------------------- |
| `perplexity` | llama-3.1-sonar-huge-128k-online  |
| `pplx-fast`  | llama-3.1-sonar-small-128k-online |

## Usage Examples

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash CLI theme={null}
  # Current events / web search
  profclaw chat --model perplexity "What are the latest changes to the TypeScript spec?"

  # Fast web lookup
  profclaw chat --model pplx-fast "Current Node.js LTS version?"
  ```

  ```typescript SDK theme={null}
  import { chat } from 'profclaw';

  const response = await chat("What broke in the latest React release?", {
    model: "perplexity",
  });
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Notes

* Status: Beta - Perplexity models have unique behavior (web search, citations) that differs from standard chat models.
* API endpoint: `https://api.perplexity.ai` (OpenAI-compatible)
* All Sonar Online models have real-time internet access built in.
* Responses include source citations automatically.
* Not recommended for tasks requiring deterministic, non-web outputs.

## Related

* [AI Providers Overview](/ai-providers/overview) - Compare all 37 supported providers
* [Web Search Tool](/tools/web-search) - Explicit web search for any provider via Brave, Serper, or Tavily
* [xAI / Grok](/ai-providers/xai) - Another provider with real-time data access
* [profclaw provider](/cli/provider) - Add and test providers from the CLI