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
- 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
- web_search
- Execute meta searches across multiple engines
- Inputs:
query (string): Search termspage (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:8080SEARXNG_USER_AGENT: Custom User-Agent header for requests
Default: MCP-SearXNG/1.0NODE_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.