searxng-search

name	searxng-search
description	Search the internet and news using a local SearXNG instance. Use when the user wants to search the web, find current information, search for news, or research a topic without depending on third-party APIs.
compatibility	Requires Python 3 (stdlib only — no extra packages needed). Requires a running SearXNG instance (Docker).
group	domain
triggers	["поиск в интернете","актуальная информация"]
output	search results with titles, URLs, and snippets
calls	[]

SearXNG Search

Search the internet and news using a self-hosted SearXNG metasearch engine.

When to use this skill

• User wants to search the internet for information
• User wants to find recent news on a topic
• User needs current information beyond the model's knowledge cutoff
• User wants privacy-respecting search (no API keys, no tracking)

Prerequisites

1. Install Docker Desktop (first time only)

winget install -e --id Docker.DockerDesktop

After installation, restart the computer and launch Docker Desktop.

2. Start SearXNG

cd D:/Projects/searxng && docker compose up -d

To stop:

cd D:/Projects/searxng && docker compose down

To check status:

docker ps --filter name=searxng

First run: SearXNG generates its own uwsgi.ini on startup. The settings.yml in D:/Projects/searxng/searxng/ overrides defaults.

IMPORTANT: Before the first start, generate a real secret key and replace the placeholder in settings.yml:

py -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))"

Steps

Search the web (general)

py scripts/search_searxng.py "your query"

Search for news

py scripts/search_searxng.py "your query" --category news

Options

Option	Description	Default
--category	general, news, images, videos, science, it, social media	general
--max-results N	Number of results to return	10
--language CODE	Language code: en, ru, de, all	all
--url URL	SearXNG base URL	http://localhost:8888
--json	Output raw JSON	off

Examples

# General search
py scripts/search_searxng.py "Python asyncio best practices"

# News search in Russian
py scripts/search_searxng.py "искусственный интеллект новости" --category news --language ru

# Tech news, top 5
py scripts/search_searxng.py "OpenAI GPT" --category news --max-results 5

# IT-focused search
py scripts/search_searxng.py "Docker networking" --category it

# Raw JSON for further processing
py scripts/search_searxng.py "machine learning" --json

Troubleshooting

Error	Fix
Cannot connect to SearXNG	Run docker compose up -d in D:/Projects/searxng/
Invalid JSON response	Add json to search.formats in settings.yml and restart
No results found	Try a different query or category; check SearXNG web UI at http://localhost:8888
Docker not found	Install Docker Desktop via winget install -e --id Docker.DockerDesktop

Scripts

• search_searxng.py — Query SearXNG and display formatted results