DeepSeek Search API and Fetch API guide

Endpoints and API-key setup

Use POST with /v1/tools/search for Search and /v1/tools/fetch for Fetch. The examples below show the complete official URLs. Both accept JSON and use a DeepSeek API key in the Authorization bearer header.

Set DEEPSEEK_API_KEY in your local environment or server secret store before using the examples. Keep the key on the server when building a public application. The examples below follow the official request shapes and require your own account access.

curl --fail-with-body https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"DeepSeek API documentation","count":5,"need_content":true}'

Search results and fetching a page

Search returns a results array containing page titles, URLs, snippets, summaries and available source metadata. count accepts 1 to 50 results. Set need_content to true when you want available page content included. A search without matches returns an empty results array.

Fetch takes one URL and returns its title and Markdown content. Use a result URL that is relevant to the question, read the source and retain the URL alongside the extracted material. Fetching remains subject to the destination website’s availability and access rules.

curl --fail-with-body https://api.deepseek.com/v1/tools/fetch \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DEEPSEEK_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url":"https://api-docs.deepseek.com/guides/search/"}'

How much do Search and Fetch cost?

The official guide reviewed on 5 November 2026 lists Search and Fetch at USD 0.75 per 1,000 successful requests each. A billable Search request returns HTTP 200 with non-empty results. A billable Fetch request returns HTTP 200 with page content. Failed requests, empty search results and timeouts are not billed under those rules.

The count field changes how many search results you request, while the unit price stays per request. For example, 20,000 billable Search calls plus 10,000 billable Fetch calls cost USD 22.50 at the listed rates. Add model-token usage and other services to obtain a full application budget.

Calls made by server-side tools in DeepSeek Harness, Claude Code and Codex also follow successful-request billing. The 17 October announcement places the end of their introductory free period at 16:00 UTC on 31 October 2026, or midnight on 1 November in Beijing.

Rate limits and errors to handle

The guide lists account-level limits of 100 QPS for Search and 25 QPS for Fetch, calculated independently. Requests made through different keys in the same account share the relevant quota. Fetch also has a per-domain limit, and model concurrency is governed separately.

Reduce request pace and use bounded retries for 408, 429 and 5xx responses. For 401, check authentication. For 402, check account balance. Correct other 4xx request problems before retrying. Fetch may return 403 for a security-policy rejection or 404 when no usable page content can be retrieved.