SearXNG MCP Server

An MCP server implementation that integrates with SearXNG, providing privacy-focused meta search capabilities.

Features

Meta Search: Combines results from multiple search engines
Privacy-Focused: No tracking, no user profiling
Multiple Categories: Support for general, news, science, files, images, videos, and more
Language Support: Search in specific languages or all languages
Time Range Filtering: Filter results by day, week, month, or year
Safe Search: Three levels of safe search filtering
Fallback Support: Multiple SearXNG instances for reliability

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install SearXNG MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @kevinwatt/mcp-server-searxng --client claude

Manual Installation

npm install -g @kevinwatt/mcp-server-searxng

Usage

Direct Run

mcp-server-searxng

With Dive Desktop

Click "+ Add MCP Server" in Dive Desktop
Copy and paste this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@kevinwatt/mcp-server-searxng"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Click "Save" to install the MCP server

Tool Documentation

web_search
- Execute meta searches across multiple engines
- Inputs:
  - query (string): Search terms
  - page (number, optional): Page number (default: 1)
  - language (string, optional): Language code (e.g., 'en', 'all', default: 'all')
  - categories (array, optional): Search categories (default: ['general'])
    - Available: "general", "news", "science", "files", "images", "videos", "music", "social media", "it"
  - time_range (string, optional): Time filter (day/week/month/year)
  - safesearch (number, optional): Safe search level (0: None, 1: Moderate, 2: Strict, default: 1)

Development

git clone https://github.com/kevinwatt/mcp-server-searxng.git
cd mcp-server-searxng
npm install
npm run build
npm start

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Prerequisites

You need a local SearXNG instance running. To set it up:

Run SearXNG with Docker

Quick Start

# Create config directory
mkdir -p searxng

# Create config file
tee searxng/settings.yml << EOF
use_default_settings: true

server:
  bind_address: "0.0.0.0"
  secret_key: "CHANGE_THIS_TO_SOMETHING_SECURE"  # Generate a random key
  port: 8080

search:
  safe_search: 0
  formats:
    - html
    - json

engines:
  - name: google
    engine: google
    shortcut: g

  - name: duckduckgo
    engine: duckduckgo
    shortcut: d

  - name: bing
    engine: bing
    shortcut: b

server.limiter: false
EOF

# Start container
docker run -d \
  --name searxng \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v "$(pwd)/searxng:/etc/searxng" \
  searxng/searxng

Test Search Function

# Test JSON API with curl
curl -v 'http://localhost:8080/search?q=test&format=json'

# Or visit in browser
http://localhost:8080/search?q=test

Container Management

# Stop container
docker stop searxng

# Remove container
docker rm searxng

# View container logs
docker logs searxng

# Enable auto-start on boot
docker update --restart always searxng

The --restart always flag ensures that:

Container starts automatically when Docker daemon starts
Container restarts automatically if it crashes
Container restarts automatically if it is stopped unless explicitly stopped by user

Custom Configuration

Edit searxng/settings.yml to:

Modify search engine list
Adjust security settings
Configure UI language
Change API limits

For detailed configuration options, see SearXNG Documentation

Environment Variables

SEARXNG_INSTANCES: Comma-separated list of SearXNG instances URLs Default: http://localhost:8080
SEARXNG_USER_AGENT: Custom User-Agent header for requests Default: MCP-SearXNG/1.0
NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED: Set to '0' to bypass SSL certificate verification (for development with self-signed certificates) Default: undefined (SSL verification enabled)

Example configuration with all options:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "name": "searxng",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@kevinwatt/mcp-server-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_INSTANCES": "http://localhost:8080,https://searx.example.com",
        "SEARXNG_USER_AGENT": "CustomBot/1.0",
        "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
      }
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Warning: Disabling SSL certificate verification is not recommended in production environments.

Install Server

HTTP connection URL

security – no known vulnerabilities

license - permissive license

quality - confirmed to work

How are these scores calculated?

local-only server

The server can only run on the client's local machine because it depends on local resources.

Tools

web_search

This server provides a privacy-focused meta search capability by integrating multiple search engines without tracking or user profiling, supporting various categories and languages for filtered searches.

Related Resources

Reddit Discussion about this server

Related MCP Servers

mcp-everything-search
mamertofabian
-
security
A
license
-
quality
This server provides: * Fast file search capabilities using Everything SDK * Windows-specific implementation * Complements existing filesystem servers with specialized search functionality
Last updated -
219
Python
MIT License
MCP Google Server
adenot
A
security
A
license
A
quality
Provides web search capabilities using Google Custom Search API, enabling users to perform searches through a Model Context Protocol server.
Last updated -
2
1,151
35
JavaScript
MIT License
SerpApi MCP Server
ilyazub
-
security
F
license
-
quality
An MCP server that integrates with SerpApi to retrieve search results from multiple search engines including Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others, enabling fast access to both live and archived search data.
Last updated -
10
Python
DARPEngine
DARPAI
-
security
A
license
-
quality
Stores metadata for MCP servers and provides smart search capabilities, allowing users to find appropriate MCP servers for their queries and route requests to the most suitable server.
Last updated -
9
Python
MIT License

View all related MCP servers

SearXNG MCP Server