ddg-search

name	ddg-search
description	Search the web using DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API via a local shell script. Returns abstracts, redirect URLs, or related topics for a query. Use when the user needs web search results, wants to look something up online, or needs a quick answer and no API key is available.

DuckDuckGo Search

Performs web searches using the DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API. Returns abstracts, source URLs, redirect links, or related topics.

Quickstart

# Basic search
bash {baseDir}/scripts/search.sh "your search query"

How it works

The search.sh script:

1. URL-encodes the query using python3
2. Calls the DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API (api.duckduckgo.com)
3. Parses the JSON response with jq
4. Returns the abstract text and URL, a redirect URL, or up to 3 related topics

Requirements

• curl (for HTTP requests)
• jq (for JSON parsing)
• python3 (for URL encoding)

Examples

# Search for a topic
bash {baseDir}/scripts/search.sh "Rust programming language"

# Multi-word queries are supported
bash {baseDir}/scripts/search.sh "how to reverse a linked list"

Notes

• The DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API does not require an API key.
• Results are best for factual lookups and encyclopedia-style queries. Complex or recent-event searches may return no direct answer.
• If no abstract or redirect is found, the script falls back to related topics.