Min Web Search

Minimal cross-platform web search via Bing RSS — no API key, no dependencies beyond Python 3.8+ or curl.

Minimal web search using Bing's public RSS endpoint. No API key, no third-party packages, no Docker.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user asks you to search the web and the built-in web_search tool is unavailable (e.g. no API key configured, or the configured backend is unreachable).

How It Works

Queries www.bing.com/search?q=...&format=rss and parses the XML response. The RSS feed returns titles, URLs, and snippets — everything needed for a basic web search.

Usage

Python — recommended

bash

# Requires: Python 3.8+ (standard library only)
python3 scripts/search.py "your query"
python3 scripts/search.py "your query" --max 3
python3 scripts/search.py "your query" --json

Shell — fallback when Python is unavailable

bash

# Requires: curl (or wget) + sed + grep -oP + awk
./scripts/search.sh "your query"
./scripts/search.sh "your query" --max 3
./scripts/search.sh "your query" --json

Windows PowerShell

powershell

# Requires: PowerShell 5.1+ (built into Windows 10+)
.\scripts\search.ps1 "your query"
.\scripts\search.ps1 "your query" -Max 3
.\scripts\search.ps1 "your query" -Json

Which Implementation to Use

Environment	Recommended	Fallback
Python available	search.py	search.sh or search.ps1
No Python, Unix-like	search.sh	—
Windows	search.ps1	search.py
Minimal Docker / Alpine	search.sh	—

Output Format

Human-readable (default):

text

1. Title of Result
   https://example.com/page
   Snippet text up to 200 chars...

JSON (--json):

json

{
  "success": true,
  "query": "your query",
  "results": [
    {"title": "...", "url": "...", "snippet": "..."}
  ]
}

Limitations

• Uses Bing China (www.bing.com) — results may be region-biased
• RSS endpoint returns ~10 results max per query, no pagination
• Rate limiting may apply under heavy use
• grep -oP in the shell version requires GNU grep (macOS: brew install grep)

Common Pitfalls

• On some networks www.bing.com may be slow; www.bing.com is an alternative
• The RSS feed occasionally returns empty results for very niche queries
• PowerShell 5.1+ is required on Windows (ships with Windows 10+)

Verification Checklist

• Script runs without errors on target platform
• Returns valid JSON with --json flag
• Human-readable output shows title, URL, snippet
• Handles network errors gracefully (returns {"success": false, ...})