ddgs (DuckDuckGo Search)

Perform privacy-focused web searches via DDGS metasearch for webpages, news, images, videos, or books with no tracking and no API key required.

DDGS Web Search Skill

This skill implements web search functionality via the DDGS (Dux Distributed Global Search) engine, aggregating results from diverse search services to fetch real-time information.

Features

🔍 Privacy-friendly metasearch
📰 News search support
🖼️ Image search support
📹 Video search support
📚 Books search support
🌐 Free to use, no API Key required
🔒 Privacy protection, no user tracking
⚡ MCP (Model Context Protocol) and API server support

Installation

# Install via uv (Recommended)
uv pip install ddgs

# Or install via pip
pip install ddgs

Quick Start

1. Text Search

The most commonly used search method, returning webpage results:

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS

query = 'your search query'

results = DDGS().text(
    query,
    region='wt-wt',        # Region: cn-zh (China), us-en (US), wt-wt (Global)
    safesearch='moderate', # Safe search: on, moderate, off
    timelimit='m',         # Time range: d (day), w (week), m (month), y (year), None (unlimited)
    max_results=10,        # Maximum number of results
    backend='auto'         # Backends: auto, duckduckgo, brave, bing, etc.
)

for i, r in enumerate(results, 1):
    print(f\"{i}. {r.get('title')}\")
    print(f\"   URL: {r.get('href')}\")
    print(f\"   Snippet: {str(r.get('body'))[:100]}...\n\")
"

2. News Search

Search for the latest news:

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS

results = DDGS().news(
    'AI technology',
    region='wt-wt',
    safesearch='moderate',
    timelimit='d',       # d=past 24 hours, w=past week, m=past month
    max_results=10
)

for r in results:
    print(f\"📰 {r.get('title')}\")
    print(f\"   Source: {r.get('source')}\")
    print(f\"   Date: {r.get('date')}\")
    print(f\"   Link: {r.get('url')}\n\")
"

3. Image Search

Search for image resources:

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS

results = DDGS().images(
    'cute cats',
    region='wt-wt',
    safesearch='moderate',
    size='Medium',       # Small, Medium, Large, Wallpaper
    type_image='photo',  # photo, clipart, gif, transparent, line
    layout='Square',     # Square, Tall, Wide
    max_results=10
)

for r in results:
    print(f\"🖼️ {r.get('title')}\")
    print(f\"   Image: {r.get('image')}\")
    print(f\"   Thumbnail: {r.get('thumbnail')}\")
    print(f\"   Source: {r.get('source')}\n\")
"

4. Video Search

Search for video content:

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS

results = DDGS().videos(
    'Python programming',
    region='wt-wt',
    safesearch='moderate',
    timelimit='w',       # d, w, m
    resolution='high',   # high, standard
    duration='medium',   # short, medium, long
    max_results=10
)

for r in results:
    print(f\"📹 {r.get('title')}\")
    print(f\"   Duration: {r.get('duration', 'N/A')}\")
    print(f\"   Publisher: {r.get('publisher')}\")
    print(f\"   Link: {r.get('content')}\n\")
"

5. Books Search

Search for books:

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS

results = DDGS().books(
    'sea wolf jack london',
    max_results=5
)

for r in results:
    print(f\"📚 {r.get('title')}\")
    print(f\"   Author: {r.get('author')}\")
    print(f\"   Publisher: {r.get('publisher')}\")
    print(f\"   Link: {r.get('link')}\n\")
"

Practical Scripts

Reusable Search Function

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS

def web_search(query, search_type='text', max_results=5, region='wt-wt', timelimit=None):
    '''
    Execute DDGS search
    
    Args:
        query: Search keyword
        search_type: text, news, images, videos, books
        max_results: Maximum results
        region: Region (cn-zh, us-en, wt-wt)
        timelimit: Time limit (d, w, m, y)
    '''
    ddgs = DDGS()
    if search_type == 'text':
        return list(ddgs.text(query, region=region, timelimit=timelimit, max_results=max_results))
    elif search_type == 'news':
        return list(ddgs.news(query, region=region, timelimit=timelimit, max_results=max_results))
    elif search_type == 'images':
        return list(ddgs.images(query, region=region, max_results=max_results))
    elif search_type == 'videos':
        return list(ddgs.videos(query, region=region, timelimit=timelimit, max_results=max_results))
    elif search_type == 'books':
        return list(ddgs.books(query, max_results=max_results))
    return []

results = web_search('Python 3.12 new features', max_results=5)
print(f'📊 Found {len(results)} results')
"

Parameters Explained

Region Codes (region)

Code	Region
cn-zh	China
us-en	United States
uk-en	United Kingdom
jp-jp	Japan
kr-kr	South Korea
wt-wt	Global (No region limit)

Time Limit (timelimit)

Value	Meaning
d	Past 24 hours
w	Past week
m	Past month
y	Past year
None	No limit

Safe Search (safesearch)

Value	Meaning
on	Strict filtering
moderate	Moderate filtering (Default)
off	Filtering disabled

Error Handling & Proxies

Basic Error Handling

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS
from ddgs.exceptions import DDGSException

try:
    results = DDGS().text('test query', max_results=5)
    print(f'✅ Search successful, found {len(results)} results')
except DDGSException as e:
    print(f'❌ Search error: {e}')
except Exception as e:
    print(f'❌ Unknown error: {e}')
"

Using Proxies

python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS

# Set proxy (supports http/https/socks5)
proxy = 'http://127.0.0.1:7890'  

results = DDGS(proxy=proxy).text('test query', max_results=5)
print(f'Successfully searched via proxy, found {len(results)} results')
"

FAQ

Installation Failed?

pip install --upgrade pip
pip install ddgs

No Results Found?

• Check your network connection.
• Try using a proxy.
• Simplify your search query.
• Verify that your region settings are correct.

Rate Limited?

• Add a delay between multiple requests (e.g., import time; time.sleep(1)).
• Reduce the max_results per request.

Integration & Notes

Integration Example

# 1. Search with DDGS
python -c "
from ddgs import DDGS
results = DDGS().text('Python async tutorial', max_results=1)
if results:
    print(f\"URL: {results[0].get('href')}\")
"

# 2. Open result with your browser-use tool
browser-use open <url_from_search>

⚠️ Best Practices:

• Respect Rate Limits: Avoid sending a massive volume of requests in a short period.
• Optimize Results: Do not request more results than necessary in a single query.
• Add Delays: Use time.sleep() when executing batch searches.
• Handle Exceptions: Always wrap your API calls in try/except blocks.
• Copyright Awareness: Search results are for reference only; respect the copyright of the indexed content.