feat(FN-4135): add always-on web search with locked provider setting

Adds always-on web search capability to the research system, locking the web search provider in settings UI and updating the ResearchView to surface web search as a persistent toggle with agent tool integration, plus corresponding docs and test coverage.

Fusion-Task-Id: FN-4135

.changeset/fn-4135-always-on-web-search.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@runfusion/fusion": patch
+---
+
+Keep web search always enabled in the Research view and remove the `none` web-search provider option plus the per-project Web Search source toggle from settings.

docs/research.md

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ This also reveals the **Research Defaults** and **Research** settings sections i
 
 ### 2. Built-in web search is the default
 
-By default, `researchGlobalWebSearchProvider` resolves to `"builtin"`. Search and fetch run through the agent runtime's native `WebSearch` and `WebFetch` tools, so no API key is required for baseline usage.
+By default, `researchGlobalWebSearchProvider` resolves to `"builtin"`. Search and fetch run through the agent runtime's native `WebSearch` and `WebFetch` tools, so no API key is required for baseline usage, and web search stays enabled even if older persisted settings still contain `enabledSources.webSearch: false`.
 
 ### 3. Optional: external search backends
 
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ You can opt into external providers in global settings:
 | `"brave"` | `researchGlobalBraveApiKey` — Brave Search API key |
 | `"google"` | `researchGlobalGoogleSearchApiKey` + `researchGlobalGoogleSearchCx` — Google Custom Search credentials |
 | `"tavily"` | `researchGlobalTavilyApiKey` — Tavily API key |
-| `"none"` | Disables web search (Page Fetch, Local Docs, GitHub, and LLM synthesis can still run) |
 
 API keys are stored through Fusion's auth credential pipeline (`/api/auth/api-key`), not in settings JSON directly.
 
@@ -304,7 +303,7 @@ Before creating runs, `fn_research_run` checks:
 2. Web search is available (`"builtin"` by default, or an explicitly configured external backend)
 3. Required API keys are present for external providers
 
-If a check fails, the tool returns an actionable error with setup guidance instead of crashing. In practice, with the default `"builtin"` backend, provider-setup errors are mostly limited to explicit external-provider selections or explicit `"none"` opt-out.
+If a check fails, the tool returns an actionable error with setup guidance instead of crashing. In practice, with the default `"builtin"` backend, provider-setup errors are mostly limited to explicit external-provider selections.
 
 ### Best practices for agents
 
@@ -437,7 +436,7 @@ When all retries are exhausted, the run transitions to `retry_exhausted`.
 | Symptom | Cause | Resolution |
 |---|---|---|
 | "Research is disabled in settings" | `researchGlobalEnabled` or `researchSettings.enabled` is `false` | Enable in Settings → Research |
-| "Research provider is not configured" | Web search was explicitly disabled (`researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "none"`) or external provider setup is incomplete | Re-enable builtin search, or finish configuring your selected external provider in Settings |
+| "Research provider is not configured" | External provider setup is incomplete | Switch back to builtin search or finish configuring your selected external provider in Settings |
 | "Missing API key for {provider}" | Auth credential not found | Configure provider credentials in Settings → Authentication |
 | Run stuck in `queued` | Engine not running or no available concurrency slots | Start the project engine; check `maxConcurrentRuns` |
 | Run times out | Provider slow or `maxDurationMs` too low | Increase timeout in project research settings |

docs/settings-reference.md

@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ Fusion automatically falls back to ntfy's JSON publish format when a notificatio
 | `researchGlobalDefaultTimeout` | `number` | `300000` | Default timeout for end-to-end research runs in milliseconds (5 minutes). |
 | `researchGlobalMaxSourcesPerRun` | `number` | `20` | Maximum number of sources per research run. |
 | `researchGlobalMaxSynthesisRounds` | `number` | `2` | Maximum synthesis rounds per research run. |
-| `researchGlobalWebSearchProvider` | `"builtin" \| "searxng" \| "brave" \| "google" \| "tavily" \| "none"` | `"builtin"` | Web search backend for research. Default: `"builtin"` (uses agent-native WebSearch/WebFetch tools with no API key requirement). |
+| `researchGlobalWebSearchProvider` | `"builtin" \| "searxng" \| "brave" \| "google" \| "tavily"` | `"builtin"` | Web search backend for research. Default: `"builtin"` (uses agent-native WebSearch/WebFetch tools with no API key requirement). Web search itself is always enabled. |
 | `researchGlobalSearxngUrl` | `string` | `undefined` | SearXNG instance URL (required when provider is `"searxng"`). |
 | `researchGlobalBraveApiKey` | `string` | `undefined` | Brave Search API key (required when provider is `"brave"`). |
 | `researchGlobalGoogleSearchApiKey` | `string` | `undefined` | Google Custom Search API key (required when provider is `"google"`). |

packages/cli/src/commands/research.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,6 @@ async function getStore(projectName?: string): Promise<TaskStore> {
 
 function hasProviderCredentials(settings: Awaited<ReturnType<TaskStore["getSettings"]>>, providerId: string | undefined): boolean {
   if (!providerId || providerId === "builtin") return true;
-  if (providerId === "none") return false;
   if (providerId === "searxng") return Boolean(settings.researchGlobalSearxngUrl);
   if (providerId === "brave") return Boolean(settings.researchGlobalBraveApiKey);
   if (providerId === "google") return Boolean(settings.researchGlobalGoogleSearchApiKey && settings.researchGlobalGoogleSearchCx);
@@ -59,7 +58,7 @@ async function getResearchRuntime(store: TaskStore) {
   }
 
   const configuredProvider = (resolved.searchProvider as string | undefined) ?? settings.researchGlobalWebSearchProvider ?? "builtin";
-  if (configuredProvider !== "builtin" && configuredProvider !== "none" && !hasProviderCredentials(settings, configuredProvider)) {
+  if (configuredProvider !== "builtin" && !hasProviderCredentials(settings, configuredProvider)) {
     throw new Error(`missing-credentials: ${configuredProvider} credentials are missing. Configure Authentication and Research defaults in settings.`);
   }
 

packages/cli/src/extension.ts

@@ -240,9 +240,7 @@ async function getResearchAvailability(store: TaskStore): Promise<{ ok: boolean;
   const backend = (resolved.searchProvider as string | undefined) ?? settings.researchGlobalWebSearchProvider ?? "builtin";
   const configured = backend === "builtin"
     ? true
-    : backend === "none"
+    : backend === "searxng"
-      ? false
-      : backend === "searxng"
         ? Boolean(settings.researchGlobalSearxngUrl)
         : backend === "brave"
           ? Boolean(settings.researchGlobalBraveApiKey)

packages/core/src/__tests__/research-settings.test.ts

@@ -95,12 +95,25 @@ describe("resolveResearchSettings", () => {
     expect(resolved.searchProvider).toBe("brave");
   });
 
-  it("honors explicit legacy global search provider opt-out", () => {
+  it("forces web search on even when persisted settings disable it", () => {
     const resolved = resolveResearchSettings({
-      researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "none",
+      researchGlobalDefaults: {
+        enabledSources: {
+          webSearch: false,
+          pageFetch: true,
+          github: false,
+          localDocs: true,
+          llmSynthesis: true,
+        },
+      },
+      researchSettings: {
+        enabledSources: {
+          webSearch: false,
+        },
+      },
     });
 
-    expect(resolved.searchProvider).toBe("none");
+    expect(resolved.enabledSources.webSearch).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it("supports null-as-delete semantics for researchSettings object", () => {

packages/core/src/research-settings.ts

@@ -22,8 +22,7 @@ export interface ResolvedResearchSettings {
 
 const DEFAULT_SEARCH_PROVIDER = "builtin";
 
-const FALLBACK_SOURCES: ResearchEnabledSources = {
+const FALLBACK_SOURCES: Omit<ResearchEnabledSources, "webSearch"> = {
-  webSearch: true,
   pageFetch: true,
   github: false,
   localDocs: true,
@@ -44,10 +43,7 @@ export function resolveResearchSettings(settings: Partial<Settings> | undefined)
     synthesisProvider: projectSettings?.synthesisProvider ?? globalDefaults?.synthesisProvider,
     synthesisModelId: projectSettings?.synthesisModelId ?? globalDefaults?.synthesisModelId,
     enabledSources: {
-      webSearch:
+      webSearch: true,
-        projectSettings?.enabledSources?.webSearch ??
-        globalDefaults?.enabledSources?.webSearch ??
-        FALLBACK_SOURCES.webSearch,
       pageFetch:
         projectSettings?.enabledSources?.pageFetch ??
         globalDefaults?.enabledSources?.pageFetch ??

packages/core/src/types.ts

@@ -1531,7 +1531,7 @@ export interface DaemonTokenSettings {
  * The dashboard UI shows these under a "Global" section.
  */
 /** Web search backend for auto-research provider. */
-export type WebSearchBackend = "builtin" | "searxng" | "brave" | "google" | "tavily" | "none";
+export type WebSearchBackend = "builtin" | "searxng" | "brave" | "google" | "tavily";
 
 export interface ResearchEnabledSources {
   webSearch: boolean;
@@ -1858,7 +1858,7 @@ export interface GlobalSettings {
   /** Default maximum number of synthesis rounds per run.
    *  Default: 2. */
   researchGlobalMaxSynthesisRounds?: number;
-  /** Web search backend for auto-research. Default: "builtin". */
+  /** Web search backend for auto-research. Default: "builtin"; web search itself cannot be disabled. */
   researchGlobalWebSearchProvider?: WebSearchBackend;
   /** SearXNG instance URL (required when researchGlobalWebSearchProvider is "searxng"). */
   researchGlobalSearxngUrl?: string;

packages/dashboard/app/components/ResearchView.tsx

@@ -57,7 +57,6 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
   } = useResearch({ projectId });
   const [query, setQuery] = useState("");
   const [effectiveSettings, setEffectiveSettings] = useState(() => resolveResearchSettings(undefined));
-  const [rawSettings, setRawSettings] = useState<Partial<Settings>>({});
   const [authProviders, setAuthProviders] = useState<Array<{ id: string; authenticated: boolean }>>([]);
   const [submitting, setSubmitting] = useState(false);
   const [selectedProviders, setSelectedProviders] = useState<ResearchProviderOption[]>([]);
@@ -67,8 +66,8 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
   const providerOptions = availability.supportedProviders ?? DEFAULT_PROVIDERS;
   const selectedSearchProvider = effectiveSettings.searchProvider;
   const isProviderEnabled = (provider: ResearchProviderOption) => {
-    if (provider === "web-search" && selectedSearchProvider === "none") {
+    if (provider === "web-search") {
-      return false;
+      return true;
     }
     return effectiveSettings.enabledSources[PROVIDER_TO_SOURCE_KEY[provider]];
   };
@@ -92,7 +91,6 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
     ])
       .then(([settings, authStatus]) => {
         if (cancelled) return;
-        setRawSettings(settings);
         setEffectiveSettings(resolveResearchSettings(settings));
         setAuthProviders(
           authStatus.providers
@@ -127,7 +125,6 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
 
   const supportedExportFormats = availability.supportedExportFormats ?? ["markdown", "json", "html"];
 
-  const webSearchExplicitlyDisabled = rawSettings.researchGlobalWebSearchProvider === "none" || selectedSearchProvider === "none";
   const apiKeyProviderAuth = useMemo(() => new Map(authProviders.map((provider) => [provider.id, provider.authenticated])), [authProviders]);
   const requiredCredentialProviders = useMemo(() => {
     const required = new Set<string>();
@@ -156,9 +153,6 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
         settingsSection: "research-project" as SectionId,
       };
     }
-    if (webSearchExplicitlyDisabled) {
-      return null;
-    }
     if (missingCredentialProvider) {
       return {
         reason: `Missing API key for ${missingCredentialProvider}.`,
@@ -167,7 +161,7 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
       };
     }
     return null;
-  }, [availability.available, availability.reason, availability.setupInstructions, effectiveSettings.enabled, missingCredentialProvider, webSearchExplicitlyDisabled]);
+  }, [availability.available, availability.reason, availability.setupInstructions, effectiveSettings.enabled, missingCredentialProvider]);
 
   const runAction = async (key: string, action: () => Promise<unknown>, successMessage: string) => {
     setActionLoading(key);
@@ -256,16 +250,6 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
         </div>
       ) : (
       <>
-        {webSearchExplicitlyDisabled ? (
-          <div className="research-view__state card" data-testid="research-state-web-search-disabled">
-            <p>Web search is disabled. Page Fetch, Local Docs, GitHub and LLM Synthesis still work.</p>
-            <div className="research-view__actions">
-              <button className="btn btn-primary" type="button" onClick={() => onOpenSettings?.("research-global")}>
-                Re-enable Web Search
-              </button>
-            </div>
-          </div>
-        ) : null}
       <div className="research-view__layout">
         <aside className="research-view__sidebar card">
           <div className="research-view__form">
@@ -276,24 +260,28 @@ export function ResearchView({ projectId, addToast, onOpenSettings, readinessVer
             <div className="form-group">
               <label>Providers</label>
               <div className="research-view__providers">
-                {providerOptions.map((provider) => (
+                {providerOptions.map((provider) => {
-                  <label key={provider} className="checkbox-label">
+                  const providerEnabled = isProviderEnabled(provider);
-                    <input
+                  const providerLocked = provider === "web-search";
-                      type="checkbox"
+                  return (
-                      checked={selectedProviders.includes(provider)}
+                    <label key={provider} className="checkbox-label">
-                      disabled={!isProviderEnabled(provider)}
+                      <input
-                      onChange={() => {
+                        type="checkbox"
-                        if (!isProviderEnabled(provider)) {
+                        checked={providerLocked || selectedProviders.includes(provider)}
-                          return;
+                        disabled={providerLocked || !providerEnabled}
-                        }
+                        onChange={() => {
-                        setSelectedProviders((current) =>
+                          if (providerLocked || !providerEnabled) {
-                          current.includes(provider) ? current.filter((entry) => entry !== provider) : [...current, provider],
+                            return;
-                        );
+                          }
-                      }}
+                          setSelectedProviders((current) =>
-                    />
+                            current.includes(provider) ? current.filter((entry) => entry !== provider) : [...current, provider],
-                    <span>{PROVIDER_LABELS[provider] ?? provider}</span>
+                          );
-                  </label>
+                        }}
-                ))}
+                      />
+                      <span>{PROVIDER_LABELS[provider] ?? provider}{providerLocked ? " (always on)" : ""}</span>
+                    </label>
+                  );
+                })}
               </div>
             </div>
             <button className="btn btn-primary" type="button" disabled={!query.trim() || submitting} onClick={() => void handleCreateRun()}>

packages/dashboard/app/components/SettingsModal.tsx

@@ -4298,8 +4298,7 @@ export function SettingsModal({
           resolvedProvider === "searxng" ||
           resolvedProvider === "brave" ||
           resolvedProvider === "google" ||
-          resolvedProvider === "tavily" ||
+          resolvedProvider === "tavily";
-          resolvedProvider === "none";
         const selectedCredentialProvider =
           resolvedProvider === "brave" || resolvedProvider === "tavily" ? resolvedProvider : null;
         const hasMissingResearchCredential = selectedCredentialProvider
@@ -4352,7 +4351,6 @@ export function SettingsModal({
                   <option value="brave">Brave</option>
                   <option value="google">Google Custom Search</option>
                   <option value="tavily">Tavily</option>
-                  <option value="none">None (disable web search)</option>
                 </select>
               </div>
               <div className="form-group">
@@ -4451,8 +4449,16 @@ export function SettingsModal({
             <div className="form-group">
               <label>Enabled Sources</label>
               <div className="settings-research-source-grid">
+                <div>
+                  <label htmlFor="research-project-source-webSearch" className="checkbox-label">
+                    <input id="research-project-source-webSearch" type="checkbox" checked disabled readOnly />
+                    Web Search
+                  </label>
+                  <div className="settings-field-help">
+                    Always on. The resolver ignores any older persisted <code>enabledSources.webSearch=false</code> value.
+                  </div>
+                </div>
                 {[
-                  ["webSearch", "Web Search"],
                   ["pageFetch", "Page Fetch"],
                   ["github", "GitHub"],
                   ["localDocs", "Local Docs"],

packages/dashboard/app/components/__tests__/ResearchView.test.tsx

@@ -134,19 +134,14 @@ describe("ResearchView", () => {
     expect(await screen.findByTestId("research-state-empty")).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it("shows friendly web-search disabled state when provider is none", async () => {
+  it("does not render a web-search disabled state when the provider setting is absent", async () => {
-    const onOpenSettings = vi.fn();
+    mockFetchSettings.mockResolvedValue({ researchSettings: { enabled: true } });
-    mockFetchSettings.mockResolvedValue({ researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "none" });
     mockFetchAuthStatus.mockResolvedValue({ providers: [] });
 
-    render(<ResearchView projectId="p1" onOpenSettings={onOpenSettings} />);
+    render(<ResearchView projectId="p1" />);
 
-    expect(await screen.findByTestId("research-state-web-search-disabled")).toHaveTextContent(
+    await screen.findByLabelText("Query");
-      "Web search is disabled. Page Fetch, Local Docs, GitHub and LLM Synthesis still work.",
+    expect(screen.queryByTestId("research-state-web-search-disabled")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
-    );
-    expect(screen.getByRole("checkbox", { name: "Web Search" })).toBeDisabled();
-    fireEvent.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Re-enable Web Search" }));
-    expect(onOpenSettings).toHaveBeenCalledWith("research-global");
   });
 
   it("renders selected run details, citations, and history", async () => {
@@ -389,19 +384,19 @@ describe("ResearchView", () => {
     });
     mockFetchAuthStatus.mockResolvedValue({ providers: [{ id: "openrouter", type: "api_key", authenticated: true }] });
     render(<ResearchView projectId="p1" />);
-    expect(await screen.findByText("Web Search")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(await screen.findByText("Web Search (always on)")).toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(screen.getByText("Page Fetch")).toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(screen.getByText("LLM Synthesis")).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it("disables provider checkboxes when sources are disabled in settings", async () => {
+  it("keeps web search visibly locked on when other sources are disabled in settings", async () => {
     mockFetchSettings.mockResolvedValue({
       ...configuredResearchSettings,
       researchGlobalDefaults: {
         ...configuredResearchSettings.researchGlobalDefaults,
         enabledSources: {
           webSearch: false,
-          pageFetch: true,
+          pageFetch: false,
           github: false,
           localDocs: true,
           llmSynthesis: true,
@@ -417,13 +412,14 @@ describe("ResearchView", () => {
 
     render(<ResearchView projectId="p1" />);
 
-    const webSearch = (await screen.findByLabelText("Web Search")) as HTMLInputElement;
+    const webSearch = (await screen.findByLabelText("Web Search (always on)")) as HTMLInputElement;
     const pageFetch = screen.getByLabelText("Page Fetch") as HTMLInputElement;
     expect(webSearch.disabled).toBe(true);
-    expect(pageFetch.disabled).toBe(false);
+    expect(webSearch.checked).toBe(true);
+    expect(pageFetch.disabled).toBe(true);
   });
 
-  it("submits only enabled providers", async () => {
+  it("submits only enabled providers while always including web search", async () => {
     const createRun = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ run: { id: "RR-2" } });
     mockFetchSettings.mockResolvedValue({
       ...configuredResearchSettings,
@@ -450,7 +446,7 @@ describe("ResearchView", () => {
     fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("Create Run"));
 
     await waitFor(() => {
-      expect(createRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({ providers: ["page-fetch", "llm-synthesis"] }));
+      expect(createRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({ providers: ["web-search", "page-fetch", "llm-synthesis"] }));
     });
   });
 

packages/dashboard/app/components/__tests__/SettingsModal.test.tsx

@@ -3411,6 +3411,17 @@ describe("SettingsModal", () => {
       );
     });
 
+    it("shows web search as always on in project research settings", async () => {
+      renderModal();
+      await waitForSettingsModalReady();
+      await openResearchProjectSection();
+
+      const webSearch = await screen.findByLabelText("Web Search");
+      expect(webSearch).toBeChecked();
+      expect(webSearch).toBeDisabled();
+      expect(screen.getByText(/Always on\./i)).toBeInTheDocument();
+    });
+
     it("saves project research settings through updateSettings only", async () => {
       renderModal();
       await waitForSettingsModalReady();

packages/engine/src/__tests__/agent-tools.test.ts

@@ -962,7 +962,7 @@ describe("createResearchTools", () => {
     researchGlobalMaxConcurrentRuns: 2,
     researchGlobalDefaultTimeout: 30_000,
     researchGlobalMaxSynthesisRounds: 2,
-    researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "none",
+    researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "builtin",
     researchSettings: { enabled: true },
   };
 

packages/engine/src/research/__tests__/provider-registry.test.ts

@@ -11,11 +11,6 @@ describe("ResearchProviderRegistry", () => {
     expect(registry.isProviderAvailable("github")).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it("honors explicit none by disabling web-search", () => {
-    const registry = new ResearchProviderRegistry({ researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "none" }, process.cwd());
-    expect(registry.isProviderAvailable("web-search")).toBe(false);
-  });
-
   it("requires credentials for explicit external providers", () => {
     const registry = new ResearchProviderRegistry({ researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "tavily" }, process.cwd());
     expect(registry.isProviderAvailable("web-search")).toBe(false);
@@ -37,7 +32,7 @@ describe("ResearchProviderRegistry", () => {
   });
 
   it("refreshes providers after settings changes", () => {
-    const registry = new ResearchProviderRegistry({ researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "none" }, process.cwd());
+    const registry = new ResearchProviderRegistry({ researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "tavily" }, process.cwd());
     expect(registry.isProviderAvailable("web-search")).toBe(false);
 
     registry.refreshSettings({ researchGlobalWebSearchProvider: "tavily", researchGlobalTavilyApiKey: "key" });

packages/engine/src/research/providers/__tests__/web-search-provider.test.ts

@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ describe("WebSearchProvider", () => {
 
   it("validates configuration for each backend", () => {
     expect(new WebSearchProvider({ backend: "builtin", projectRoot: process.cwd() }).isConfigured()).toBe(true);
-    expect(new WebSearchProvider({ backend: "none" }).isConfigured()).toBe(false);
     expect(new WebSearchProvider({ backend: "searxng", searxngUrl: "https://sx" }).isConfigured()).toBe(true);
     expect(new WebSearchProvider({ backend: "brave", braveApiKey: "k" }).isConfigured()).toBe(true);
     expect(new WebSearchProvider({ backend: "google", googleApiKey: "k", googleCx: "cx" }).isConfigured()).toBe(true);

packages/engine/src/research/providers/web-search-provider.ts

@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ export class WebSearchProvider implements ResearchProvider {
   isConfigured(): boolean {
     const backend = this.options.backend ?? "builtin";
     if (backend === "builtin") return true;
-    if (backend === "none") return false;
     if (backend === "searxng") return Boolean(this.options.searxngUrl);
     if (backend === "brave") return Boolean(this.options.braveApiKey);
     if (backend === "google") return Boolean(this.options.googleApiKey && this.options.googleCx);