docs: Update Brave Search pricing - now $5/1000 queries (no free tier)

Brave Search discontinued free tier on Feb 12, 2026.
  Updated all README references to reflect paid pricing.
  Emphasized SearXNG as free alternative.

  Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Truong Vinh Tran
2026-02-20 14:02:46 +01:00
parent a5043854c3
commit 5d2674b336
+7 -7
View File
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ docker compose --profile gateway up -d
> [!TIP]
> Set your API key in `~/.picoclaw/config.json`.
> Get API keys: [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/keys) (LLM) · [Zhipu](https://open.bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys) (LLM)
> Web search is **optional** - get free [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api) (2000 free queries/month) or use built-in auto fallback.
> Web search is **optional** - [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api) ($5/1000 queries, ~$5-6/month), [SearXNG](https://github.com/searxng/searxng) (free, self-hosted), or use built-in DuckDuckGo fallback.
**1. Initialize**
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ picoclaw onboard
* **LLM Provider**: [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/keys) · [Zhipu](https://open.bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys) · [Anthropic](https://console.anthropic.com) · [OpenAI](https://platform.openai.com) · [Gemini](https://aistudio.google.com/api-keys)
* **Web Search** (optional):
* [Brave Search](https://brave.com/search/api) - Free tier (2000 requests/month)
* [Brave Search](https://brave.com/search/api) - Paid ($5/1000 queries, ~$5-6/month)
* [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai) - AI-powered search with chat interface
* [SearXNG](https://github.com/searxng/searxng) - Self-hosted metasearch engine (free, no API key needed)
* DuckDuckGo - Built-in fallback (no API key required)
@@ -1062,9 +1062,9 @@ This is normal if you haven't configured a search API key yet. PicoClaw will pro
PicoClaw automatically selects the best available search provider in this order:
1. **Perplexity** (if enabled and API key configured) - AI-powered search with citations
2. **Brave Search** (if enabled and API key configured) - Privacy-focused with 2000 free queries/month
3. **SearXNG** (if enabled and base_url configured) - Self-hosted metasearch aggregating 70+ engines
4. **DuckDuckGo** (if enabled, default fallback) - No API key required
2. **Brave Search** (if enabled and API key configured) - Privacy-focused paid API ($5/1000 queries)
3. **SearXNG** (if enabled and base_url configured) - Self-hosted metasearch aggregating 70+ engines (free)
4. **DuckDuckGo** (if enabled, default fallback) - No API key required (free)
#### Web Search Configuration Options
@@ -1083,7 +1083,7 @@ PicoClaw automatically selects the best available search provider in this order:
}
```
**Option 2 (Free Tier)**: Get a free API key at [https://brave.com/search/api](https://brave.com/search/api) (2000 free queries/month)
**Option 2 (Paid API)**: Get an API key at [https://brave.com/search/api](https://brave.com/search/api) ($5/1000 queries, ~$5-6/month)
```json
{
"tools": {
@@ -1168,7 +1168,7 @@ This happens when another instance of the bot is running. Make sure only one `pi
| ---------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| **OpenRouter** | 200K tokens/month | Multiple models (Claude, GPT-4, etc.) |
| **Zhipu** | 200K tokens/month | Best for Chinese users |
| **Brave Search** | 2000 queries/month | Web search functionality |
| **Brave Search** | Paid ($5/1000 queries) | Web search functionality |
| **SearXNG** | Unlimited (self-hosted) | Privacy-focused metasearch (70+ engines) |
| **Groq** | Free tier available | Fast inference (Llama, Mixtral) |
| **Cerebras** | Free tier available | Fast inference (Llama, Qwen, etc.) |