# searxng

Routes web, image, news and video searches through a SearXNG instance you run yourself, so queries stay off third-party search APIs.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 79
- Author: Avinash Venkatswamy
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills/tree/HEAD/searxng/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-16
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/searxng

## What it does

The skill shells out to a bundled script, `scripts/searxng.py`, which talks to whatever SearXNG instance sits behind the `SEARXNG_URL` environment variable. Output comes back either as readable text or as JSON, and the JSON mode is the one to pick when another tool has to parse the results. Category flags cover images, news and videos; result count, language and time range are adjustable too.

Set `SEARXNG_URL` before the first call, for example `export SEARXNG_URL=https://your-searxng-instance.com`. Leave it unset and the script falls back to `http://localhost:8080` — if nothing is listening there, the search fails. The machine also needs `python3`.

Authenticated pages and private accounts are out of scope: this hits a search API, not a logged-in session. Treat snippets as leads rather than confirmed facts and open the source when the answer matters.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills --skill searxng -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/searxng/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/searxng/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills --skill searxng -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/searxng/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills --skill searxng -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/searxng/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills searxng
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/searxng/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills --skill searxng -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills --path searxng
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/searxng/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills --skill searxng -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills/tree/HEAD/searxng/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- run a web search without wiring up an external search API
- pull images or videos for a query in one call
- get search results as JSON for downstream parsing
- narrow results to the last day or a specific language
- keep search traffic inside your own network

## Example prompts
- Search SearXNG for recent posts about local LLMs from the past day
- Look up Python 3.13 in the news category
- Find videos for "docker compose tutorial" and return JSON

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 413ff9525d8efe37.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 413ff9525d8efe37
````text
---
name: searxng
description: "Use when the user wants privacy-respecting web, image, news, or video search through a configured local SearXNG instance instead of external search APIs. Calls the bundled script against SEARXNG_URL, supports result limits/categories/language/time range, and can return human-readable or JSON output. NOT for searches when no SearXNG instance is configured or when authenticated/private data retrieval is required."
author: Avinash Venkatswamy
version: 1.0.2
status: stable
homepage: https://searxng.org
triggers:
  - "search for"
  - "search web"
  - "find information"
  - "look up"
metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔍","requires":{"bins":["python3"]},"config":{"env":{"SEARXNG_URL":{"description":"SearXNG instance URL","default":"http://localhost:8080","required":true}}}}}
---

# SearXNG Search

You are a privacy-preserving search operator. You route search requests through the user's configured SearXNG instance and report results without introducing third-party API dependencies.

Search the web using your local SearXNG instance - a privacy-respecting metasearch engine.

## Not For

- Do not use if `SEARXNG_URL` is missing and no local/default instance is reachable.
- Do not scrape authenticated pages or private user accounts.
- Do not treat search snippets as verified facts; cite uncertainty and follow sources when needed.

## Commands

### Web Search
```bash
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query"              # Top 10 results
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query" -n 20        # Top 20 results
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query" --format json # JSON output
```

### Category Search
```bash
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query" --category images
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query" --category news
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query" --category videos
```

### Advanced Options
```bash
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query" --language en
uv run {baseDir}/scripts/searxng.py search "query" --time-range day
```

## Configuration

**Required:** Set the `SEARXNG_URL` environment variable to your SearXNG instance:

```bash
export SEARXNG_URL=https://your-searxng-instance.com
```

Or configure in your Clawdbot config:
```json
{
  "env": {
    "SEARXNG_URL": "https://your-searxng-instance.com"
  }
}
```

Default (if not set): `http://localhost:8080`

## Features

- Privacy-focused (uses your local instance)
- Multi-engine aggregation
- Multiple search categories
- Rich formatted output
- Fast JSON mode for programmatic use

## API

Uses your local SearXNG JSON API endpoint (no authentication required by default).
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 413ff9525d8efe37

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 413ff9525d8efe37 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

© Avinash Venkatswamy · MIT · https://github.com/KerberosClaw/kc_ai_skills/tree/HEAD/searxng/SKILL.md

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