APIsResearch APIFeatures

Source Control

Constrain which web sources the research agent searches and visits.
View as MarkdownOpen in Claude

source_control lets you constrain which web sources the research agent searches and visits. Use it when you want results from trusted domains only, need to block specific sites, want recent content, or need results focused on a specific country.

source_control is a top-level request field alongside input and research_effort.

FieldTypeDescription
include_domainsstring[]Only return results from these domains. Max 500 domains. Cannot be used with exclude_domains or boost_domains.
exclude_domainsstring[]Never return results from these domains. Max 500 domains. Also blocks the research agent from visiting pages on those domains during browsing.
boost_domainsstring[]Boost results from these domains without excluding other domains. Max 500 domains. Cannot be used with include_domains. Boosted domains are not guaranteed to appear in the final answer—the research agent may still select other sources if they are a better fit.
freshnessstringFilter results by recency. Accepts day, week, month, year, or a custom date range in YYYY-MM-DDtoYYYY-MM-DD format.
countrystringISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code, such as US, GB, or DE, to geographically focus web results.

include_domains and exclude_domains cannot be used together in the same request. boost_domains can be combined with exclude_domains, but not with include_domains.

curl -X POST https://api.you.com/v1/research \
  -H "X-API-Key: $YDC_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input": "What are the latest developments in quantum computing?",
    "research_effort": "deep",
    "source_control": {
      "include_domains": ["nature.com", "arxiv.org", "science.org"]
    }
  }'

You can also combine filters:

curl -X POST https://api.you.com/v1/research \
  -H "X-API-Key: $YDC_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input": "New fintech regulations",
    "research_effort": "standard",
    "source_control": {
      "country": "GB",
      "freshness": "2026-01-01to2026-04-01"
    }
  }'

source_control and output_schema can be combined in a single request. See Structured Output for the combined example.

The Finance Research API does not support source_control. If you need domain filtering on financial questions, use the Research API.

View full API reference

Next Steps

Structured Output

Return JSON that follows a schema, including combined with source control

Research API Overview

Effort levels, how research works, and pricing

API reference

Full parameter reference and playground