Perplexity Tools
Use ONLY when user says "search", "find", "look up", "ask", "research", or "what's the latest" for generic queries. NOT for library/framework docs (use Context7), gt CLI (use Graphite MCP), or workspace questions (use Nx MCP).
Quick Reference
Which Perplexity tool?
Need search results/URLs? →
Perplexity Search
Need conversational answer? →
Perplexity Ask
Need deep research? →
Researcher agent
(
/research
)
NOT Perplexity - use these instead:
Library/framework docs →
Context7 MCP
Graphite
gt
CLI →
Graphite MCP
THIS workspace →
Nx MCP
Specific URL →
URL Crawler
Perplexity Search
When to use:
Generic searches, finding resources
Current best practices, recent information
Tutorial/blog post discovery
User says "search for...", "find...", "look up..."
Default parameters (ALWAYS USE):
mcp__perplexity__perplexity_search
(
{
query
:
"your search query"
,
max_results
:
3
,
// Default is 10 - too many!
max_tokens_per_page
:
512
// Reduce per-result content
}
)
When to increase limits:
Only if:
User explicitly needs comprehensive results
Initial search found nothing useful
Complex topic needs multiple sources
// Increased limits (use sparingly)
mcp__perplexity__perplexity_search
(
{
query
:
"complex topic"
,
max_results
:
5
,
max_tokens_per_page
:
1024
}
)
Perplexity Ask
When to use:
Need conversational explanation, not search results
Synthesize information from web
Explain concepts with current context
Usage:
mcp__perplexity__perplexity_ask
(
{
messages
:
[
{
role
:
"user"
,
content
:
"Explain how postgres advisory locks work"
}
]
}
)
NOT for:
Library documentation (use Context7)
Deep multi-source research (use researcher agent)
Prohibited Tool
NEVER use:
mcp__perplexity__perplexity_research
Use instead:
Researcher agent (
/research
)
Token cost: 30-50k tokens
Provides multi-source synthesis with citations
Use sparingly for complex questions only
Tool Selection Chain
Priority order:
Context7 MCP
- Library/framework docs
Graphite MCP
- Any
gt
CLI mention
Nx MCP
- THIS workspace questions
Perplexity Search
- Generic searches
Perplexity Ask
- Conversational answers
Researcher agent
- Deep multi-source research
WebSearch
- Last resort (after Perplexity exhausted)
Examples
✅ CORRECT - Use Perplexity Search:
"Find postgres migration best practices"
"Search for React testing tutorials"
"Look up latest trends in microservices"
✅ CORRECT - Use Perplexity Ask:
"Explain how postgres advisory locks work"
"What are the trade-offs of microservices?"
❌ WRONG - Use Context7 instead:
"Search for React hooks documentation" → Context7 MCP
"Find Next.js routing docs" → Context7 MCP
"Look up Temporal workflow API" → Context7 MCP
❌ WRONG - Use Graphite MCP instead:
"Search for gt stack commands" → Graphite MCP
"Find gt branch workflow" → Graphite MCP
❌ WRONG - Use Nx MCP instead:
"Search for build config" (in THIS workspace) → Nx MCP
"Find project dependencies" (in THIS workspace) → Nx MCP
Key Points
Default to limited results
- avoid context bloat
Library docs = Context7
- ALWAYS try Context7 first
"gt" = Graphite MCP
- ANY "gt" mention uses Graphite
Deep research = /research
- NOT perplexity_research tool
Fallback chain
- Search → Ask → WebSearch (last resort)