Duckduckgo Search

DuckDuckGo Search

Free web search using DuckDuckGo. No API key required.

Preferred when web_search is unavailable or unsuitable (for example when FIRECRAWL_API_KEY is not set). Can also be used as a standalone search path when DuckDuckGo results are specifically desired.

Detection Flow

Check what is actually available before choosing an approach:

# Check CLI availability
command -v ddgs >/dev/null && echo "DDGS_CLI=installed" || echo "DDGS_CLI=missing"

Decision tree:

1. If ddgs CLI is installed, prefer terminal + ddgs
2. If ddgs CLI is missing, do not assume execute_code can import ddgs
3. If the user wants DuckDuckGo specifically, install ddgs first in the relevant environment
4. Otherwise fall back to built-in web/browser tools

Important runtime note:

• Terminal and execute_code are separate runtimes
• A successful shell install does not guarantee execute_code can import ddgs
• Never assume third-party Python packages are preinstalled inside execute_code

Installation

Install ddgs only when DuckDuckGo search is specifically needed and the runtime does not already provide it.

# Python package + CLI entrypoint
pip install ddgs

# Verify CLI
ddgs --help

If a workflow depends on Python imports, verify that same runtime can import ddgs before using from ddgs import DDGS.

Method 1: CLI Search (Preferred)

Use the ddgs command via terminal when it exists. This is the preferred path because it avoids assuming the execute_code sandbox has the ddgs Python package installed.

# Text search
ddgs text -q "python async programming" -m 5

# News search
ddgs news -q "artificial intelligence" -m 5

# Image search
ddgs images -q "landscape photography" -m 10

# Video search
ddgs videos -q "python tutorial" -m 5

# With region filter
ddgs text -q "best restaurants" -m 5 -r us-en

# Recent results only (d=day, w=week, m=month, y=year)
ddgs text -q "latest AI news" -m 5 -t w

# JSON output for parsing
ddgs text -q "fastapi tutorial" -m 5 -o json

CLI Flags

Method 2: Python API (Only After Verification)

Use the DDGS class in execute_code or another Python runtime only after verifying that ddgs is installed there. Do not assume execute_code includes third-party packages by default.

Safe wording:

• "Use execute_code with ddgs after installing or verifying the package if needed"

Avoid saying:

• "execute_code includes ddgs"
• "DuckDuckGo search works by default in execute_code"

Important: max_results must always be passed as a keyword argument — positional usage raises an error on all methods.

Text Search

Best for: general research, companies, documentation.

from ddgs import DDGS

with DDGS() as ddgs:
    for r in ddgs.text("python async programming", max_results=5):
        print(r["title"])
        print(r["href"])
        print(r.get("body", "")[:200])
        print()

Returns: title, href, body

News Search

Best for: current events, breaking news, latest updates.

from ddgs import DDGS

with DDGS() as ddgs:
    for r in ddgs.news("AI regulation 2026", max_results=5):
        print(r["date"], "-", r["title"])
        print(r.get("source", ""), "|", r["url"])
        print(r.get("body", "")[:200])
        print()

Returns: date, title, body, url, image, source

Image Search

Best for: visual references, product images, diagrams.

from ddgs import DDGS

with DDGS() as ddgs:
    for r in ddgs.images("semiconductor chip", max_results=5):
        print(r["title"])
        print(r["image"])
        print(r.get("thumbnail", ""))
        print(r.get("source", ""))
        print()

Returns: title, image, thumbnail, url, height, width, source

Video Search

Best for: tutorials, demos, explainers.

from ddgs import DDGS

with DDGS() as ddgs:
    for r in ddgs.videos("FastAPI tutorial", max_results=5):
        print(r["title"])
        print(r.get("content", ""))
        print(r.get("duration", ""))
        print(r.get("provider", ""))
        print(r.get("published", ""))
        print()

Returns: title, content, description, duration, provider, published, statistics, uploader

Quick Reference

Workflow: Search then Extract

DuckDuckGo returns titles, URLs, and snippets — not full page content. To get full page content, search first and then extract the most relevant URL with web_extract, browser tools, or curl.

CLI example:

ddgs text -q "fastapi deployment guide" -m 3 -o json

Python example, only after verifying ddgs is installed in that runtime:

from ddgs import DDGS

with DDGS() as ddgs:
    results = list(ddgs.text("fastapi deployment guide", max_results=3))
    for r in results:
        print(r["title"], "->", r["href"])

Then extract the best URL with web_extract or another content-retrieval tool.

Limitations

• Rate limiting: DuckDuckGo may throttle after many rapid requests. Add a short delay between searches if needed.
• No content extraction: ddgs returns snippets, not full page content. Use web_extract, browser tools, or curl for the full article/page.
• Results quality: Generally good but less configurable than Firecrawl's search.
• Availability: DuckDuckGo may block requests from some cloud IPs. If searches return empty, try different keywords or wait a few seconds.
• Field variability: Return fields may vary between results or ddgs versions. Use .get() for optional fields to avoid KeyError.
• Separate runtimes: A successful ddgs install in terminal does not automatically mean execute_code can import it.

Troubleshooting

Pitfalls

• max_results is keyword-only: ddgs.text("query", 5) raises an error. Use ddgs.text("query", max_results=5).
• Do not assume the CLI exists: Check command -v ddgs before using it.
• Do not assume execute_code can import ddgs: from ddgs import DDGS may fail with ModuleNotFoundError unless that runtime was prepared separately.
• Package name: The package is ddgs (previously duckduckgo-search). Install with pip install ddgs.
• Don't confuse -q and -m (CLI): -q is for the query, -m is for max results count.
• Empty results: If ddgs returns nothing, it may be rate-limited. Wait a few seconds and retry.

Validated With

Validated examples against ddgs==9.11.2 semantics. Skill guidance now treats CLI availability and Python import availability as separate concerns so the documented workflow matches actual runtime behavior.

Source: NousResearch/hermes-agent → optional-skills/research/duckduckgo-search/SKILL.md