How do I install the Searxng skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/searxng-4 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Searxng safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: CAUTION, Skill Scanner: WARNING. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Searxng?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Searxng free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Searxng?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Searxng by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Searxng
Author: modbender

Searxng

Self-hosted web search aggregator for OpenClaw agents. Use this skill to (1) install SearXNG on a VPS/server so the agent can search the web without API keys, or (2) run web searches using an existing local SearXNG instance. Covers installation, configuration, the search.py CLI tool, and fallback behaviour. Use when the agent needs web search capability, when setting up a new OpenClaw instance, or when diagnosing search failures.

modbender Updated Sep 21, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

SearXNG

SearXNG is a self-hosted search aggregator that queries Google, Bing, Brave, Startpage, DuckDuckGo, and Wikipedia simultaneously. No API keys required. Results returned as JSON.

Quick start (already installed)

python3 scripts/search.py "your query"             # human-readable
python3 scripts/search.py "your query" --json      # JSON (for parsing)
python3 scripts/search.py "query" --count 5 --json # limit + JSON

Place search.py anywhere convenient — typically tools/search.py in the workspace.

For detailed usage patterns and service management: see references/usage.md.

Installation (new instance)

Run as root on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04:

bash scripts/install_searxng.sh

This installs SearXNG, creates a searxng system user, writes /etc/searxng/settings.yml, and starts a systemd service on http://127.0.0.1:8888.

Verify:

curl 'http://127.0.0.1:8888/search?q=test&format=json' | python3 -m json.tool | head -20
systemctl status searxng

Connecting search.py to the instance

search.py targets http://127.0.0.1:8888 by default. If the port differs, update SEARXNG_URL at the top of the script.

Fallback

If SearXNG is down, search.py falls back to Wikipedia + GitHub APIs automatically. No action needed — results still return, just from narrower sources.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
`[SearXNG unavailable]` in stderr	`systemctl restart searxng`
Port conflict on 8888	Change `port:` in `/etc/searxng/settings.yml` + update `SEARXNG_URL` in script
Empty results from all engines	Check `/etc/searxng/settings.yml` engines block; restart service
Connection refused	Service not running — `systemctl start searxng`

---name: searxng-4description: Self-hosted web search aggregator for OpenClaw agents. Use this skill to (1) install SearXNG on a VPS/server so the agent can search the web without API keys, or (2) run web searches using an existing local SearXNG instance. Covers installation, configuration, the search.py CLI tool, and fallback behaviour. Use when the agent needs web search capability, when setting up a new OpenClaw instance, or when diagnosing search failures.---# SearXNGSearXNG is a self-hosted search aggregator that queries Google, Bing, Brave, Startpage, DuckDuckGo, and Wikipedia simultaneously. No API keys required. Results returned as JSON.## Quick start (already installed)```bashpython3 scripts/search.py "your query" # human-readablepython3 scripts/search.py "your query" --json # JSON (for parsing)python3 scripts/search.py "query" --count 5 --json # limit + JSON```Place `search.py` anywhere convenient — typically `tools/search.py` in the workspace.For detailed usage patterns and service management: see `references/usage.md`.## Installation (new instance)Run as root on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04:```bashbash scripts/install_searxng.sh```This installs SearXNG, creates a `searxng` system user, writes `/etc/searxng/settings.yml`, and starts a systemd service on `http://127.0.0.1:8888`.Verify:```bashcurl 'http://127.0.0.1:8888/search?q=test&format=json' | python3 -m json.tool | head -20systemctl status searxng```## Connecting search.py to the instance`search.py` targets `http://127.0.0.1:8888` by default. If the port differs, update `SEARXNG_URL` at the top of the script.## FallbackIf SearXNG is down, `search.py` falls back to Wikipedia + GitHub APIs automatically. No action needed — results still return, just from narrower sources.## Troubleshooting| Symptom | Fix ||---------|-----|| `[SearXNG unavailable]` in stderr | `systemctl restart searxng` || Port conflict on 8888 | Change `port:` in `/etc/searxng/settings.yml` + update `SEARXNG_URL` in script || Empty results from all engines | Check `/etc/searxng/settings.yml` engines block; restart service || Connection refused | Service not running — `systemctl start searxng` |

Frequently asked questions