web-search

name	web-search
category	web
description	Search the internet for current information using the DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API. Use when the user asks to find, look up, or search for something online, needs up-to-date information, wants facts about a topic, definitions, or general knowledge that is not available locally. Keywords: search, find, look up, google, what is, who is, define, current, latest, news.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires curl and jq
metadata	{"author":"zeph","version":"1.0"}

Web Search via DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API

Endpoint

GET https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=QUERY&format=json&no_html=1&skip_disambig=1

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Take the user's query and convert it into effective search terms
2. URL-encode the query (spaces become +, special characters percent-encoded)
3. Execute the curl command below
4. Parse the JSON response to find the best answer
5. Summarize the results for the user in natural language
6. Always cite the source URL from the response

Quick Search

curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=QUERY&format=json&no_html=1&skip_disambig=1" | jq '{
  type: .Type,
  abstract: .AbstractText,
  abstract_source: .AbstractSource,
  abstract_url: .AbstractURL,
  answer: .Answer,
  definition: .Definition,
  definition_source: .DefinitionSource,
  redirect: .Redirect,
  related: [.RelatedTopics[:5][] | select(.Text) | {text: .Text, url: .FirstURL}]
}'

Compact Search (Best Single Answer)

curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=QUERY&format=json&no_html=1&skip_disambig=1" | jq -r '
  if .Redirect != "" then "Redirect: " + .Redirect
  elif .Answer != "" then .Answer
  elif .AbstractText != "" then .AbstractText + "\nSource: " + .AbstractURL
  elif .Definition != "" then .Definition + "\nSource: " + .DefinitionURL
  elif (.RelatedTopics | length) > 0 then .RelatedTopics[0].Text + "\nURL: " + .RelatedTopics[0].FirstURL
  else "No results found. Try different keywords."
  end'

Detailed Results (All Fields)

curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=QUERY&format=json&no_html=1&skip_disambig=1" | jq '{
  type: .Type,
  heading: .Heading,
  abstract: .AbstractText,
  abstract_source: .AbstractSource,
  abstract_url: .AbstractURL,
  answer: .Answer,
  answer_type: .AnswerType,
  definition: .Definition,
  definition_source: .DefinitionSource,
  definition_url: .DefinitionURL,
  image: .Image,
  redirect: .Redirect,
  related: [.RelatedTopics[]? | select(.Text) | {text: .Text, url: .FirstURL, icon: .Icon.URL}],
  results: [.Results[]? | {text: .Text, url: .FirstURL}],
  infobox: .Infobox
}'

Query Parameters

Parameter	Value	Purpose
q	search terms	The search query (required)
format	json	Response format (use json, also supports xml)
no_html	1	Strip HTML from response text (recommended)
skip_disambig	1	Skip disambiguation pages, return first result directly
no_redirect	1	Do not follow !bang redirects
pretty	1	Pretty-print JSON (for debugging only)
t	app name	Application name identifier (optional, for attribution)

Response Fields

Primary Answer Fields

Field	Description
Type	Response category: A (article), D (disambiguation), C (category), N (name), E (exclusive), or empty
AbstractText	Summary text for the topic (no HTML when no_html=1)
AbstractSource	Name of the source (e.g., "Wikipedia")
AbstractURL	Deep link to the full article at the source
Heading	Title/heading of the result
Image	URL of a relevant image
Answer	Instant answer text (for calculations, conversions, IP lookups, etc.)
AnswerType	Type of instant answer: calc, color, digest, info, ip, iploc, phone, pw, rand, regexp, unicode, upc, zip

Definition Fields

Field	Description
Definition	Dictionary definition text
DefinitionSource	Source of the definition
DefinitionURL	URL to the full definition

Related and Redirect

Field	Description
RelatedTopics	Array of related topic objects (see below)
Results	Array of external result links
Redirect	URL to redirect to (for !bang commands)
Infobox	Structured data box (key-value facts)

RelatedTopics Object

Each item in RelatedTopics contains:

Field	Description
Text	Description text
FirstURL	Link to the DuckDuckGo page for this topic
Icon.URL	Icon/thumbnail URL
Icon.Width	Icon width
Icon.Height	Icon height
Result	HTML link string

When Type is D (disambiguation), RelatedTopics may contain grouped items with a Name key and nested Topics array.

Search Strategies

Strategy 1: Direct Query

Use the user's question directly as the query.

# "What is Rust programming language?"
curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=Rust+programming+language&format=json&no_html=1&skip_disambig=1"

Strategy 2: Keyword Extraction

Extract key nouns and concepts, drop filler words.

# "Can you tell me about the history of the Internet?" -> "history Internet"
curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=history+of+the+Internet&format=json&no_html=1&skip_disambig=1"

Strategy 3: Specific Entity Lookup

For people, places, or things, use the proper name.

# "Who created Linux?"
curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=Linus+Torvalds&format=json&no_html=1&skip_disambig=1"

Strategy 4: Fallback Rephrasing

If the first query returns empty fields, try rephrasing:

• Add context words: "Python" -> "Python programming language"
• Use the full proper name: "JS" -> "JavaScript"
• Try a definition query: "define quantum computing"
• Remove overly specific terms and broaden the search

Parsing the Response

Priority Order for Extracting the Best Answer

1. Redirect — if non-empty, the query is a !bang command; follow the URL
2. Answer — instant answers (calculations, IP lookups, conversions) are the most direct
3. AbstractText — topic summaries from sources like Wikipedia
4. Definition — dictionary definitions
5. RelatedTopics[0].Text — first related topic as a fallback
6. If all are empty, rephrase and retry with different keywords

Extracting Structured Data from Infobox

curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=Albert+Einstein&format=json&no_html=1" | jq '.Infobox.content[]? | {label: .label, value: .value}'

URL Encoding Rules

Character	Encoded
Space	+ or %20
&	%26
=	%3D
?	%3F
/	%2F
#	%23
+	%2B
"	%22

In bash, use jq -rn --arg q "search terms" '$q | @uri' for proper encoding.

Important Notes

• The DuckDuckGo API returns instant answers, not web search results. It excels at factual lookups, definitions, and entity information, but may return empty for very recent events or niche topics
• Always use format=json for machine-readable output
• Always use no_html=1 to get clean text without HTML tags
• Use skip_disambig=1 to get direct answers instead of disambiguation pages
• Always cite the source URL (AbstractURL, DefinitionURL, or FirstURL) when presenting results
• The API is free and does not require authentication
• Rate limiting: be respectful; do not send rapid-fire requests. A brief pause between retries is courteous
• If the API returns no useful data after 2 attempts with different phrasings, inform the user that the information could not be found via this source
• The Redirect field handles DuckDuckGo !bang shortcuts (e.g., !w for Wikipedia, !so for StackOverflow)