<p align="center">
  <img src="docs/assets/banner.svg" alt="gsearch: Google Search for AI agents. Real results as clean JSON, over MCP." width="100%">
</p>

<!-- mcp-name: io.github.RayenMlayeh/gsearch -->

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://github.com/RayenMlayeh/gsearch/actions/workflows/ci.yml"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/RayenMlayeh/gsearch/ci.yml?branch=main&label=tests&style=for-the-badge" alt="Tests"></a>
  <a href="https://pypi.org/project/gsearch-agent/"><img src="https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/gsearch-agent?color=4285F4&style=for-the-badge" alt="PyPI"></a>
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.12%2B-34A853?style=for-the-badge" alt="Python 3.12+">
  <a href="LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-FBBC05?style=for-the-badge" alt="MIT license"></a>
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP-server-EA4335?style=for-the-badge" alt="MCP server">
</p>

<p align="center">
  <b><a href="#-quick-start">Quick start</a></b> ·
  <b><a href="#-how-it-compares">How it compares</a></b> ·
  <b><a href="#-what-your-agent-gets">What you get</a></b> ·
  <b><a href="#-how-it-works">How it works</a></b> ·
  <b><a href="#-proxies">Proxies</a></b> ·
  <b><a href="#-performance">Performance</a></b> ·
  <b><a href="#-faq">FAQ</a></b>
</p>

<h3 align="center">Real Google Search for your AI agent. No API key. Self-hosted. Over MCP.</h3>

Your agent calls `google_search` and gets Google's actual results page as typed JSON: every link resolved to
its real URL, plus the AI Overview, People also ask and related searches. A real Firefox
([Camoufox](https://github.com/daijro/camoufox)) runs Google's page as it is, on your own IP or through any
proxy you already have.

**Why:** plain HTTP gets a JavaScript wall, automated Chrome got a CAPTCHA 2 out of 2 times in our test, and
Google's official Custom Search API closes on 1 January 2027. Other search MCP servers either aren't Google's
index (Brave, Tavily, Exa, DuckDuckGo) or charge per query (SerpApi, Bright Data).

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/demo.gif" alt="A live google_search call over MCP: python 3.14 release notes, 9 results in 1.5 s, every link resolved to its real URL, plus People also ask" width="100%"></p>
<p align="center"><sub>A real, live call on a home IP with a warm session, rendered from the recorded result; the wait shown is the measured time. <a href="docs/assets/demo.mp4">MP4</a></sub></p>

## 🚀 Quick start

```bash
uv tool install gsearch-agent                         # or: pipx install gsearch-agent
gsearch setup                                         # downloads the browser once (~1 GB), prints your MCP config
claude mcp add gsearch --scope user -- gsearch-mcp    # or any MCP client, below
```

Then just ask: *"Search Google for what asyncio is and give me the top three links"*, *"What do people also
ask about asyncio?"*, *"Find asyncio pages on python.org from the past year."*

Without a proxy, gsearch uses your own IP, at most 20 searches an hour. For more, add a proxy in any format:

```bash
claude mcp add gsearch --scope user -e GSEARCH_PROXY="gate.example.com:7000:user-sid-{sid}:password" -e GSEARCH_DATA_LIMIT_MB=1000 -- gsearch-mcp
```

<details>
<summary><b>Claude Desktop, Cursor and other MCP clients</b></summary>

`gsearch setup` prints this block with the full path of `gsearch-mcp` filled in. Use the full path if your
client doesn't find the command.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gsearch": {
      "command": "gsearch-mcp",
      "env": { "GSEARCH_PROXY": "optional, any format", "GSEARCH_DATA_LIMIT_MB": "1000" }
    }
  }
}
```

**Claude Desktop:** `claude_desktop_config.json`. **Cursor:** `~/.cursor/mcp.json`, or `.cursor/mcp.json` in a
project.

**No install, with uv:** use `"command": "uvx", "args": ["gsearch-agent"]`, after fetching the browser once
with `uvx --from gsearch-agent gsearch setup`.

**Settings in a file:** put them in a `.env` (see [`.env.example`](.env.example)) and set
`GSEARCH_ENV_FILE` to its absolute path instead.

</details>

> [!NOTE]
> Automated access to Google Search may breach Google's Terms of Service. Read
> [Legal and responsible use](#-legal-and-responsible-use) before running live searches.

## 🆚 How it compares

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/compare.svg" alt="How gsearch compares with paid SERP APIs, other search indexes, free engine MCP servers and Playwright Chromium Google MCP servers" width="100%"></p>

<details>
<summary><b>The same comparison as text</b></summary>

| | **gsearch** | SerpApi, Bright Data | Brave, Tavily, Exa | DuckDuckGo, SearXNG MCPs | Playwright + Chromium Google MCPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google's own results | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ their own index | ❌ / depends on the instance | ✅ |
| API key or account | **none** | required | required | none | none |
| Cost | **free** (+ your proxy, optional) | per query | usage-based plans | free | free |
| Runs on your machine | ✅ | ❌ hosted | ❌ hosted | ✅ | ✅ |
| AI Overview, People also ask | ✅ | ✅ (SerpApi) | ❌ | ❌ | varies |
| Google's redirect links resolved to real URLs | ✅ | ✅ | n/a | n/a | varies |
| Blocks reported as errors with a retry time | ✅ | n/a | n/a | varies | varies |
| Terms-of-Service risk is yours | **yes** ([Legal](#-legal-and-responsible-use)) | the provider's | no | low | yes |

</details>

<sub>"Varies": we did not test those projects. Our only Chromium measurement is
[F-0001](docs/findings/F-0001-cold-start-chrome-vs-camoufox.md): Playwright Chrome was sent to a CAPTCHA 2 of 2
times on an IP where gsearch was served. Read [Legal](#-legal-and-responsible-use) before running live searches.</sub>

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/results.svg" alt="Results: 24 of 24 searches served with 0 CAPTCHAs on a home IP, 1.2 s per search on a warm session, 0.6 MB per search on a clean proxy IP, every link resolved to its real URL" width="100%"></p>

<p align="center"><sub>
Measured in October 2026:
<a href="docs/findings/F-0014-eh1-hybrid-session-reuse.md">F-0014</a>,
<a href="docs/findings/F-0006-fixture-provenance-and-serp-anatomy.md">F-0006</a>,
<a href="docs/findings/F-0011-goto-resolution-leak-and-fix.md">F-0011</a>,
<a href="docs/findings/F-0012-headless-vs-headed-fingerprint.md">F-0012</a>,
<a href="docs/findings/F-0001-cold-start-chrome-vs-camoufox.md">F-0001</a>;
14 s and 0.6 MB on a clean proxy IP: <a href="docs/findings/F-0015-b1-residential-proxy-benchmark.md">F-0015</a>.
Flagged proxy pools are slower: see <a href="#-performance">Performance</a>.
</sub></p>

## ✨ Why gsearch

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/why.svg" alt="Same IP: plain HTTP gets 0 results, automated Chrome gets a CAPTCHA 2 of 2 times, gsearch is served 24 of 24" width="100%"></p>

Google's official search API is closed to new customers and shuts down on 1 January 2027
([F-0005](docs/findings/F-0005-custom-search-api-sunset.md)). gsearch is built for AI agents instead:

- 🦊 **A real browser, not a scraper.** Camoufox, a hardened Firefox, runs Google's page as it is, with a
  real-device fingerprint and a locale that matches its IP.
- 🔗 **Real URLs.** Google hides result links behind `/goto` redirects. gsearch resolves every one to the
  page it points to, without loading that page.
- 🤖 **Built for agents.** One MCP server, two tools, typed JSON. Blocks come back as clear errors with
  `retry_after_s`, never as empty results, and every string is flagged as untrusted web content.
- 🌍 **Any proxy, any format.** Rotating residential, static VPS or datacenter lists, HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS5,
  in any common layout. Every byte is counted, with a hard data limit.
- 🎯 **Nothing to tune.** Two settings. Everything else is fixed to what worked best in testing.
- 📊 **Honest numbers.** Every claim in this README links to a write-up of how it was measured.

## 📦 What your agent gets

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/what-you-get.svg" alt="Each part of a Google results page and the JSON field it becomes" width="100%"></p>

Real output from a saved results page (offline demo mode, where `url` stays `null`; a live search fills it):

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/search.svg" alt="gsearch search output" width="820"></p>

A block is never an empty list. It comes back as an error that says what happened and how long to wait:

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/captcha.svg" alt="A CAPTCHA returned as a structured error" width="820"></p>

<details>
<summary><b>Every field explained</b></summary>

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `organic[].url` | The real destination of each result, resolved from Google's `/goto` redirect in the same session. |
| `organic[].title`, `snippet`, `date`, `domain`, `display_url` | What the result shows, as text. `link` keeps the exact link Google served. |
| `organic[].sitelinks`, `source_meta` | A result's sub-links, and what Google shows instead of a URL on forum and video results (`2 years ago`). |
| `ai_overview` | The AI Overview text and its sources, when Google shows one. |
| `people_also_ask`, `related_searches` | The questions and related queries on the page. |
| `ads` | Text ads, when the market serves them. |
| `pagination` | Current page and next page. Ask for more results with `page`. |
| `meta.untrusted_content` | Always `true`: every string is third-party web text (see [prompt injection](#prompt-injection)). |

Error codes: `captcha`, `soft_block`, `hard_block`, `consent_wall`, `js_gate`, `rate_limited`,
`parse_drift`, `network`, `proxy`, `backend_unavailable`, `invalid_request`. The full JSON Schema is in
[`serp.schema.json`](packages/gsearch-parse/src/gsearch_parse/serp.schema.json).

</details>

## 🔍 How it works

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/how-it-works.svg" alt="One search: agent asks, fresh IP, real Firefox, clean JSON, all closed" width="100%"></p>

- **Like a person.** A visible window, because headless sessions were challenged far more often on proxy IPs
  ([F-0015](docs/findings/F-0015-b1-residential-proxy-benchmark.md)). The query is typed into the address
  bar. WebRTC is off, so your own IP can't leak around the proxy.
- **Never forged.** gsearch never generates or alters Google's tokens: the browser runs the page as it is.
- **Cheap links.** Links are resolved on the same IP with the same cookies and a TLS fingerprint matching the
  browser's ([F-0011](docs/findings/F-0011-goto-resolution-leak-and-fix.md),
  [F-0013](docs/findings/F-0013-tls-camoufox-vs-curl-cffi.md)).
- **Runs on servers.** On a Linux machine without a screen, the browser uses a virtual display
  automatically (`sudo apt install xvfb`).

## 🌍 Proxies

<p align="center"><img src="docs/assets/proxies.svg" alt="Rotating residential, static or VPS proxies, or no proxy; any format" width="100%"></p>

```ini
# rotating residential: {sid}, or your provider's sid-…, session-…, sessid-… part, gives a new IP per search
GSEARCH_PROXY=gate.example.com:7000:user-country-us-sid-{sid}:password

# static proxies (VPS, datacenter, ISP): one or many, separated by commas, spaces or new lines
GSEARCH_PROXY=socks5://user:password@203.0.113.10:1080, http://203.0.113.11:3128

# or a file with one proxy per line
GSEARCH_PROXY=/path/to/proxies.txt
```

- **Rotating:** a new IP and a new browser for every search, up to 3 at once. A blocked IP is replaced, up to
  4 IPs per search. `country-xx` or `cc-xx` in the login is checked, and exits elsewhere are dropped.
- **Static:** each IP keeps one warm session, and the IPs take turns. Each IP has its own budget (20 searches
  an hour, 150 a day) and rests until midnight after a CAPTCHA, so ten IPs allow up to about 200 searches an
  hour.
- **Data:** every byte goes through a local relay that counts it, and `GSEARCH_DATA_LIMIT_MB` stops
  everything at your limit, across restarts.

> [!TIP]
> Check your proxy provider's acceptable-use policy. Many forbid using their network on sites whose terms
> prohibit automated access, and forbid solving CAPTCHAs.

## 📊 Performance

**Proxy quality decides speed and cost.** Many residential IPs are already flagged by Google. Each flagged
IP costs a browser launch (about 0.7–1 MB and 20 s) before the next one is tried.

| | Expected with a high-quality rotating proxy | Measured on a low-quality pool ([F-0015](docs/findings/F-0015-b1-residential-proxy-benchmark.md)) |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh IPs served by Google | ~85% or more (assumed) | 1 in 3 to 1 in 5 |
| Time per search | ~15–20 s (14 s measured on a clean IP) | 40–75 s |
| Proxy data per search | ~0.6–1 MB (0.6 MB measured on a clean IP) | 4.7–6.3 MB |
| Searches per hour (3 browsers) | ~500–600 | ~72 |
| 1,000 searches | ~0.6–1 GB, under 2 hours | ~5–6.5 GB, ~14 hours |

Without a proxy, a warm session on your own IP takes **~1.2 s per search**, with every link resolved and 0
CAPTCHAs in testing ([F-0014](docs/findings/F-0014-eh1-hybrid-session-reuse.md)), capped at 20 searches an
hour to protect your IP. Static proxies have not been benchmarked yet.

**Measure your own proxy** within your data limit:

```bash
python tools/benchmark.py -n 10
```

## 🛠 Reference

<details>
<summary><b>Settings</b> (five in total; most people need the first two)</summary>

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| `GSEARCH_PROXY` | Your proxies, in any format above, or a file listing them. Unset: your own IP. |
| `GSEARCH_DATA_LIMIT_MB` | Stop all proxy traffic at this many MB, counted across restarts. Unset: no limit. |
| `GSEARCH_ENV_FILE` | Absolute path of your `.env`. Needed in MCP client configs. If set, the file must exist. |
| `GSEARCH_FIXTURES_DIR` | Answer from saved pages instead of Google (demos and tests). |
| `GSEARCH_STATE_DIR` | Where budgets, the data meter and saved block pages live. Default: `%LOCALAPPDATA%\gsearch` or `~/.local/share/gsearch`. |

Everything else is fixed to what worked best in testing: a new IP per search with rotating proxies, a
visible browser, address-bar search, real-device fingerprints, 4 attempts per search, always resolving URLs,
and a 10-minute cache for repeated queries.

</details>

<details>
<summary><b>MCP tools, CLI and Python</b></summary>

| MCP tool | Arguments | Returns |
|---|---|---|
| `google_search` | `query`, and optionally `page` (1–50), `lang` (`en`, `fr`, …), `country` (`us`, …), `time_range` (`h`, `d`, `w`, `m`, `y`), `site` (a domain) | The JSON above plus a short text summary, or an error result on a block. |
| `google_search_status` | none | Proxy data used against the limit, IPs used and blocked, and the cache. Never contacts Google. |

```text
gsearch search "query" [--page N] [--lang xx] [--country xx] [--time-range h|d|w|m|y] [--site domain]
gsearch search "query" --fixtures fixtures/gecko     answer from saved pages (offline, from a clone of this repo)
gsearch parse page.html                              parse any saved Google results page
gsearch schema                                       print the JSON Schema
gsearch identity check                               check the browser's fingerprint matches its IP (no Google traffic)
gsearch setup                                        download the browser once and print the MCP config
```

Exit codes: `0` results, `2` usage or settings error, `3` blocked or other error, `4` Google changed its
layout.

```python
import asyncio
from gsearch_core.client import SearchClient
from gsearch_core.config import fetcher_from_env
from gsearch_parse.models import SearchRequest

async def main() -> None:
    fetcher, _live = fetcher_from_env()      # reads the settings and .env
    result = await SearchClient(fetcher).search(SearchRequest(query="what is asyncio in python"))
    print(result.model_dump_json(indent=2))  # SearchResponse or SearchError
    await fetcher.aclose()

asyncio.run(main())
```

To call it over MCP from your own code, the way an agent does, see
[`examples/mcp_client.py`](examples/mcp_client.py).

</details>

<details>
<summary><b>Troubleshooting</b></summary>

| You see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| `captcha` on most searches | Your proxy's IPs are flagged by Google. | Try another pool or country. Measure with `tools/benchmark.py`. |
| `captcha` with hours to wait, no proxy | Your own IP was challenged and rests until midnight. | Wait, or add a proxy. |
| `rate_limited` | Every IP is at its hourly or daily budget (own IP or static proxies). | Wait `retry_after_s`, or add proxies. |
| `proxy: no usable exit in 4 draws` | Four IPs in a row were dead or in the wrong country. | Check the country part of the login, and the provider. |
| `proxy: proxy data limit reached` | `GSEARCH_DATA_LIMIT_MB` is used up. | Raise it, or delete `proxy_bytes.json` in the state folder to count from zero. |
| `parse_drift` | Google changed its page layout. | Update gsearch, or see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#when-google-changes-its-page). |
| `GSEARCH_ENV_FILE=… does not exist` | The settings path is wrong. | Use an absolute path. gsearch refuses to start rather than fall back to your own IP. |
| `the Camoufox browser is not installed` | The browser has not been downloaded yet. | Run `gsearch setup` once. |
| Browser windows open | Expected with a proxy: visible sessions are challenged far less. | On a server without a screen, install Xvfb and they run on a virtual display. |

When the browser hits a block or an error, the page is saved with a screenshot in the state folder's
`evidence/`, and the error's `evidence_ref` points to it.

</details>

## ❓ FAQ

**Do I need a proxy?** No. Without one, gsearch uses your own IP with a warm session (~1.2 s per search),
capped at 20 searches an hour and 150 a day to keep your IP clean. For volume, use a proxy.

**Which proxy should I buy?** A rotating residential proxy with sticky sessions (a session id in the
username). Quality matters more than price: run `tools/benchmark.py` on a small plan before buying more.

**How much proxy data does a search use?** About 0.6 MB on a clean IP. Flagged IPs cost more, because each
one is a wasted browser launch. Set `GSEARCH_DATA_LIMIT_MB` so you can never overspend.

**Does it solve CAPTCHAs?** No. A blocked IP is dropped and a fresh one is tried. gsearch ships no CAPTCHA
solver and never forges Google's tokens.

**Can it run on a server?** Yes. On Linux without a screen, install Xvfb and the browser runs on a virtual
display.

**Which agents work with it?** Any MCP client: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and others. You can also
use the CLI or call it from Python.

## 📜 Legal and responsible use

- **Google's Terms of Service restrict automated access to Google Search.** Running this tool against Google
  may breach those terms, whatever this project's license says.
- **Litigation risk is real and current.** In *Google v. SerpApi* (N.D. Cal., filed 2025-12-19), Google argues
  that solving its SearchGuard JavaScript challenge by automated means is circumvention under DMCA §1201.
  gsearch runs that challenge in a real browser and does not forge or alter tokens, but the complaint also
  targets automated browsers. See [docs/DESIGN.md](docs/DESIGN.md) (D-004).
- **No CAPTCHA solver is shipped, wired in or recommended.** `gsearch_core.captcha` defines an interface only;
  anything you plug into it, and its legality, is your responsibility.
- **Get legal advice** for your jurisdiction and use case before running live searches. The parser
  (`gsearch_parse`) only reads HTML you already have.
- **Limits are on by default and cannot be bypassed from the CLI or MCP.** Don't use proxies to hammer
  Google.
- **No personal-data harvesting.** Don't profile people, scrape people-search results or collect personal
  data at scale. Keep caches short-lived and don't republish raw results.
- **On a block, back off.** CAPTCHAs and rate limits come back as errors with `retry_after_s`. gsearch never
  tries to defeat the challenge.

### Prompt injection

Every title, snippet, URL and question in a result is **untrusted third-party text** from the open web, and
may contain instructions aimed at your agent. The tool descriptions say so, every response carries
`meta.untrusted_content: true` and an MCP `untrusted_content` flag, and the text summary ends with a
warning. Treat results strictly as data.

## 🤝 Contributing

Tests never contact Google: the parser is tested against saved pages, and the browser against a local fake
Google. Pull requests are welcome: pick a
[good first issue](https://github.com/RayenMlayeh/gsearch/labels/good%20first%20issue), see the
[roadmap](https://github.com/RayenMlayeh/gsearch/issues?q=is%3Aissue+label%3Aroadmap), and start with
[CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) and [docs/DESIGN.md](docs/DESIGN.md).

<p align="center">
  <b>If gsearch saves you time, a ⭐ helps other people find it.</b>
</p>

## License

[MIT](LICENSE). Camoufox (MPL-2.0) is installed from PyPI as a dependency and is never vendored.