SearXNG Search

Free meta-search using SearXNG — a privacy-respecting, self-hosted search aggregator that queries 70+ search engines simultaneously.

No API key required when using a public instance. Can also be self-hosted for full control. Automatically appears as a fallback when the main web search toolset (FIRECRAWL_API_KEY) is not configured.

Configuration

SearXNG requires a SEARXNG_URL environment variable pointing to your SearXNG instance:

# Public instances (no setup required)
SEARXNG_URL=https://searxng.example.com

# Self-hosted SearXNG
SEARXNG_URL=http://localhost:8888

If no instance is configured, this skill is unavailable and the agent falls back to other search options.

Detection Flow

Check what is actually available before choosing an approach:

# Check if SEARXNG_URL is set and the instance is reachable
curl -s --max-time 5 "${SEARXNG_URL}/search?q=test&format=json" | head -c 200

Decision tree:

1. If SEARXNG_URL is set and the instance responds, use SearXNG
2. If SEARXNG_URL is unset or unreachable, fall back to other available search tools
3. If the user wants SearXNG specifically, help them set up an instance or find a public one

Method 1: CLI via curl (Preferred)

Use curl via terminal to call the SearXNG JSON API. This avoids assuming any particular Python package is installed.

# Text search (JSON output)
curl -s --max-time 10 \
  "${SEARXNG_URL}/search?q=python+async+programming&format=json&engines=google,bing&limit=10"

# With Safesearch off
curl -s --max-time 10 \
  "${SEARXNG_URL}/search?q=example&format=json&safesearch=0"

# Specific categories (general, news, science, etc.)
curl -s --max-time 10 \
  "${SEARXNG_URL}/search?q=AI+news&format=json&categories=news"

Common CLI Flags

Flag	Description	Example
q	Query string (URL-encoded)	q=python+async
format	Output format: json, csv, rss	format=json
engines	Comma-separated engine names	engines=google,bing,ddg
limit	Max results per engine (default 10)	limit=5
categories	Filter by category	categories=news,science
safesearch	0=none, 1=moderate, 2=strict	safesearch=0
time_range	Filter: day, week, month, year	time_range=week

Parsing JSON Results

# Extract titles and URLs from JSON
curl -s --max-time 10 "${SEARXNG_URL}/search?q=fastapi&format=json&limit=5" \
  | python3 -c "
import json, sys
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for r in data.get('results', []):
    print(r.get('title',''))
    print(r.get('url',''))
    print(r.get('content','')[:200])
    print()
"

Returns per result: title, url, content (snippet), engine, parsed_url, img_src, thumbnail, author, published_date

Method 2: Python API via requests

Use the SearXNG REST API directly from Python with the requests library:

import os, requests, urllib.parse

base_url = os.environ.get("SEARXNG_URL", "")
if not base_url:
    raise RuntimeError("SEARXNG_URL is not set")

query = "fastapi deployment guide"
params = {
    "q": query,
    "format": "json",
    "limit": 5,
    "engines": "google,bing",
}

resp = requests.get(f"{base_url}/search", params=params, timeout=10)
resp.raise_for_status()
data = resp.json()

for r in data.get("results", []):
    print(r["title"])
    print(r["url"])
    print(r.get("content", "")[:200])
    print()

Self-Hosting SearXNG

To run your own SearXNG instance:

# Using Docker
docker run -d -p 8888:8080 \
  -v $(pwd)/searxng:/etc/searxng \
  searxng/searxng:latest

# Then set
SEARXNG_URL=http://localhost:8888

Or install via pip:

pip install searxng
# Edit /etc/searxng/settings.yml
searxng-run

Public SearXNG instances are available at:

• https://searxng.example.com (replace with any public instance)

Workflow: Search then Extract

SearXNG returns titles, URLs, and snippets — not full page content. To get full page content, search first and then extract the most relevant URL with web_extract, browser tools, or curl.

# Search for relevant pages
curl -s "${SEARXNG_URL}/search?q=fastapi+deployment&format=json&limit=3"
# Output: list of results with titles and URLs

# Then extract the best URL with web_extract

Limitations

• Instance availability: If the SearXNG instance is down or unreachable, search fails. Always check SEARXNG_URL is set and the instance is reachable.
• No content extraction: SearXNG returns snippets, not full page content. Use web_extract, browser tools, or curl for full articles.
• Rate limiting: Some public instances limit requests. Self-hosting avoids this.
• Engine coverage: Available engines depend on the SearXNG instance configuration. Some engines may be disabled.
• Results freshness: Meta-search aggregates external engines — result freshness depends on those engines.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	What To Do
SEARXNG_URL not set	No instance configured	Use a public SearXNG instance or set up your own
Connection refused	Instance not running or wrong URL	Check the URL is correct and the instance is running
Empty results	Instance blocks the query	Try a different instance or self-host
Slow responses	Public instance under load	Self-host or use a less-loaded public instance
json format not supported	Old SearXNG version	Try format=rss or upgrade SearXNG

Pitfalls

• Always set SEARXNG_URL: Without it, the skill cannot function.
• URL-encode queries: Spaces and special characters must be URL-encoded in curl, or use urllib.parse.quote() in Python.
• Use format=json: The default format may not be machine-readable. Always request JSON explicitly.
• Set a timeout: Always use --max-time or timeout= to avoid hanging on unreachable instances.
• Self-hosting is best: Public instances may go down, rate-limit, or block. A self-hosted instance is reliable.

Instance Discovery

If SEARXNG_URL is not set and the user asks about SearXNG, help them either:

1. Find a public SearXNG instance (search for "public searxng instance")
2. Set up their own with Docker or pip

Public instances are listed at: https://searxng.org/