SearXNG Local Search

Query a local SearXNG instance for privacy-focused web searches, returning JSON results with customizable categories, languages, engines, and pagination.

SearXNG Local Search Skill

Overview

Query a local SearXNG instance for privacy-first web searches. Returns JSON results directly—no tracking, no external API keys.

Endpoint

text

http://localhost:8888/search?q=<query>&format=json

Usage

Basic search

bash

curl -s "http://localhost:8888/search?q=python+async+http&format=json"

With categories

bash

curl -s "http://localhost:8888/search?q=postgres+backups&format=json&categories=it"

Common categories: general, images, videos, news, music, it, science, files, social media.

With language

bash

curl -s "http://localhost:8888/search?q=recettes+fran%C3%A7aises&format=json&language=fr"

With pagination

bash

curl -s "http://localhost:8888/search?q=linux+kernel&format=json&page=2"

Parse results with jq

bash

curl -s "http://localhost:8888/search?q=terraform+aws&format=json" | jq '.results[:5] | .[] | {title, url, content}'

Get just titles and URLs

bash

curl -s "http://localhost:8888/search?q=rust+tutorial&format=json" | jq -r '.results[] | "\(.title)\n\(.url)\n"'

Response Format

json

{
  "query": "search terms",
  "number_of_results": 42,
  "results": [
    {
      "url": "https://example.com/page",
      "title": "Page Title",
      "content": "Snippet of page content...",
      "engine": "google",
      "score": 1.5,
      "category": "general"
    }
  ],
  "suggestions": ["related search 1", "related search 2"],
  "infoboxes": []
}

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
q	Search query (URL-encoded)	q=python+requests
format	Always json	format=json
categories	Filter by category	categories=it
language	Language code	language=en
page	Page number (1-based)	page=2
time_range	Time filter: day, week, month, year	time_range=week
engines	Comma-separated engine list	engines=google,ddg

Container Management

bash

# Check if running
docker ps --filter name=searx

# Start if stopped
docker start searx

# Stop
docker stop searx

# Restart
docker restart searx

# View logs
docker logs searx

# Re-create (if config changed)
docker stop searx && docker rm searx
docker run -d --name searx -p 8888:8080 -v /tmp/searxng/settings.yml:/etc/searxng/settings.yml:ro searxng/searxng

Tips

• URL-encode the query: replace spaces with + or %20
• Use jq for clean parsing: jq '.results[:5]' for top 5
• SearXNG aggregates multiple engines—results may vary by instance config
• If JSON returns 403, ensure formats: [html, json] is in /etc/searxng/settings.yml under search: