| name | duckduckgo-websearch |
| description | Search the web using DuckDuckGo. Use when the user wants to search the internet, find current information, look up facts, search for news, or find websites about specific topics. Triggers include requests like "search for X", "look up Y", "find information about Z", "what is X" (when X may be recent, niche, or unknown), "tell me about Y", "what's the latest on", "news about", or any query requiring up-to-date web information. Also use when the user asks about a specific named entity (product, company, tool, person, event) that might not be in the training data. |
DuckDuckGo Web Search
Search the web using DuckDuckGo's search engine. Returns results in JSON format for easy parsing.
Quick Start
This skill uses uv to manage dependencies. The ddgs package is automatically installed when you run the script.
uv run --directory /path/to/duckduckgo-websearch python scripts/search.py "your query here"
uv run --directory /path/to/duckduckgo-websearch python scripts/search.py "query" --num 5 --time w
uv run --directory /path/to/duckduckgo-websearch python scripts/search.py "query" --type news --num 5
Tip: When calling from the skills directory, {baseDir} refers to /Users/leekayiu/Documents/workspace/fastskills/skills/duckduckgo-websearch.
When to Use This Skill
Use web search when the user asks:
- "What is X?" or "Tell me about Y" (especially if X/Y might be recent or niche)
- "Search for..." or "Look up..."
- "What's the latest on..." or "News about..."
- About a specific named entity you're unsure about (new tools, recent events, obscure topics)
- For current information that may have changed since training data
Search Script Usage
The search.py script provides web and news search capabilities.
Basic Search
uv run --directory {baseDir} python scripts/search.py "python programming tips"
Search Options
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|
--num N | Number of results | 10 |
--type {web,news} | Search type | web |
--region CODE | Region (e.g., us-en, uk-en) | wt-wt (worldwide) |
--safesearch {on,moderate,off} | SafeSearch level | moderate |
--time {d,w,m,y} | Time filter | none |
Examples
Search recent news:
uv run --directory {baseDir} python scripts/search.py "AI breakthroughs" --type news --time d --num 5
Search for past week:
uv run --directory {baseDir} python scripts/search.py "climate summit" --time w --num 8
Region-specific search:
uv run --directory {baseDir} python scripts/search.py "local restaurants" --region us-en --num 5
Result Format
Results are returned as JSON:
{
"query": "python programming",
"total_results": 10,
"results": [
{
"title": "Python Programming Language",
"href": "https://www.python.org/",
"body": "The official home of the Python Programming Language..."
},
...
]
}
Python API
Use the search functions directly in Python code:
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, "{baseDir}/scripts")
from search import search_web, search_news
results = search_web("machine learning", max_results=5)
for r in results["results"]:
print(f"{r['title']}: {r['href']}")
news = search_news("technology", max_results=5, time_range="d")
Requirements
This skill requires uv to be installed. The ddgs dependency is automatically managed via the pyproject.toml file.
Troubleshooting
No Results Returned
- Check your internet connection
- DuckDuckGo may rate-limit excessive queries
- Try a different query or wait a moment before retrying
Notes
- DuckDuckGo does not require an API key
- Rate limits apply; avoid excessive queries
- Results may vary slightly between calls
- Some regions may have different result availability
