the-hugin 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.inion startup. Thesettings.ymlinD:/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