private-web-search-searchxng

// Self-hosted private web search using SearXNG. Use when privacy is important, external APIs are blocked, you need search without tracking, or want to avoid paid search APIs.

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updated:March 4, 2026

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SKILL.md Frontmatter

nameprivate-web-search-searchxng

descriptionSelf-hosted private web search using SearXNG. Use when privacy is important, external APIs are blocked, you need search without tracking, or want to avoid paid search APIs.

metadata[object Object]

Private Web Search (SearXNG)

Privacy-respecting, self-hosted metasearch engine for AI agents.

Quick Setup

# 1. Start container
docker run -d --name searxng -p 8080:8080 -e BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080/ searxng/searxng

# 2. Enable JSON API
docker exec searxng sed -i 's/  formats:/  formats:\n    - json/' /etc/searxng/settings.yml
docker restart searxng

# 3. Verify
curl -sL "http://localhost:8080/search?q=test&format=json" | jq '.results[0]'

Usage

Basic Search

curl -sL "http://localhost:8080/search?q=YOUR_QUERY&format=json" | jq '.results[:10]'

Using the Helper Script

./scripts/search.sh "openclaw ai" 5

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
SEARXNG_PORT	8080	Container port
SEARXNG_HOST	localhost	Server host
BASE_URL	http://localhost:8080	Public URL

Available Engines

Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave, Startpage, Wikipedia, and more.

Management

docker start searxng   # Start
docker stop searxng    # Stop
docker logs searxng    # View logs
docker rm searxng -f   # Remove

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
No results	Check `docker logs searxng`
403 Forbidden	Enable JSON format (step 2)
Connection refused	Run `docker start searxng`