OwnSearch

Self-hosted MCP and HTTP search over a scored fleet of public SearXNG instances.

Status: released, version 0.8.0.

mcp-name: io.github.devops-infinity/ownsearch is the identifier the MCP Registry reads when it verifies this repository.

Contents

• Getting started: What OwnSearch is, Who it is for, What you get, What it does not do, Requirements, Install, Quick start, Connect an MCP client, Your first search

• Using it: Fetch a page, HTTP mode, Container, Configuration, Tools

• About: Documentation, Privacy, Security, Support, Contributing, License

Related MCP server: @caikiji/mcp-search

What OwnSearch is

OwnSearch gives an AI client web search without a paid search API. It finds public SearXNG instances, tests them, ranks them, and answers each query from the healthiest ones. When an instance refuses or fails, the same search continues on the next instance, and every result keeps the name of the instance that supplied it.

Two terms come up throughout this page.

• SearXNG is a free meta-search engine that queries other search engines and merges their answers. Volunteers run public instances of it.

• The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is the interface an AI client uses to call a tool. OwnSearch is one such tool server.

OwnSearch runs on your machine. It stores its fleet in a local SQLite database, keeps a hash-chained ledger of calls, and sends nothing to a service of ours, because there is no such service.

Who it is for

• Developers building an AI assistant or agent that needs web search, and who do not want to buy a search API key.

• Teams that want search results with a named source for each result, so an answer can be traced back to the instance that produced it.

• Operators who need page fetching, JavaScript rendering, and page-to-Markdown extraction in the same local server.

• Anyone running a self-hosted setup who wants the fleet health, the scoring, and the call ledger to stay under their own control.

What you get

• A fleet of public SearXNG instances, discovered from searx.space, probed, scored, and kept in local state.

• Search with failover: a failing instance cools down and the search moves to the next one in score order.

• Result attribution: each result names its source instance, and, when known, the engine.

• Page fetch as Markdown, text, or cleaned HTML. An optional headless browser covers JavaScript pages, and the fetch follows links on the same host.

• Eight MCP tools, two REST endpoints, and a command line for setup, scanning, fleet changes, and database work.

• A local SQLite database with a typed change path, a verified backup and restore, and a hash-chained ledger of every call.

What it does not do

• It does not host or operate a SearXNG instance.

• It does not call a paid search API.

• It does not make your queries anonymous. The operator of each public instance sees them.

• It does not run JavaScript on a search answer. The headless browser runs for the fetch tool, on the page you name. It also runs for a search when an instance denies JSON, as a fallback that proves the instance can still answer.

• It passes the header checks a SearXNG limiter runs, because every request carries a browser-like Accept header. A CAPTCHA or a challenge page is still not solved, and OwnSearch records it; with OWNSEARCH_CAPSOLVER_KEY set, a challenge that appears only in a rendered page can be sent to the CapSolver service.

Requirements

• Rust 1.94.1 or newer to build. The repository pins Rust 1.99.1 in rust-toolchain.toml, and the gate builds against 1.94.1 as the minimum.

• Linux or macOS. A Windows binary is part of the release target list, and the MCP bundle ships for macOS and Linux.

• Outbound HTTPS for discovery, probes, and searches.

• A C compiler for the bundled SQLite build: build-essential on Debian and Ubuntu, or the Command Line Tools on macOS.

• A Chrome or Chromium executable for JavaScript rendering. Set OWNSEARCH_BROWSER_PATH when auto-detection misses it.

Install

Pick one channel. Each installs the same ownsearch binary.

Homebrew, on Linux or macOS:

brew trust devops-infinity/tap
brew install devops-infinity/tap/ownsearch

npm, which installs the platform binary through a small loader:

npm install -g @devops-infinity/ownsearch

Cargo:

cargo install --locked ownsearch

The shell installer from the release page:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://github.com/devops-infinity/ownsearch/releases/latest/download/ownsearch-installer.sh | sh

Check the result:

ownsearch --version

Keep one channel only. Two installs of the same binary on your PATH make it unclear which one your MCP client starts.

Update an install

ownsearch update --check     # report whether a newer release is published
ownsearch update             # download, verify, and install it

The updater fetches the release from GitHub, verifies sha256.sum against the minisign key built into the binary, checks the archive against the digest in that signed file, and replaces the running binary in place. It runs only when you call it. There is no background check and no automatic replacement.

--check works on every install and reports the published version, plus the command that installs it. A full update refuses when another tool owns the install and names that command: brew upgrade ownsearch for Homebrew, cargo install --locked ownsearch for cargo, npm install -g @devops-infinity/ownsearch for npm, and pulling the newer image for a container. Only an install that came from the shell installer or a plain binary copy updates itself.

Set GH_TOKEN or GITHUB_TOKEN to raise the GitHub API limit from 60 requests an hour. --json prints the result as data for a script.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/devops-infinity/ownsearch
cd ownsearch
cargo build --release --locked

The binary lands at target/release/ownsearch. To install it into ~/.local/bin after a full gate:

tools/reinstall.sh

Quick start

Five steps take you from a fresh install to a search answered from the fleet.

1. Check the resolved settings and the state.

   ownsearch doctor

2. Create the state and score the fleet. The first command that reads the database creates it, applies the schema, and seeds an embedded fleet of 67 instances.

   ownsearch scan

   A scan probes each candidate over the network. --limit caps how many instances a run probes, and --dry-run reports what would change without writing state.

3. Look at what the scan found.

   ownsearch instances list

   Instances start as candidates. Two passing probes promote one to active, so a second scan after OWNSEARCH_SCAN_MIN_INTERVAL_SECS (30 seconds by default) moves the repeat winners into the fleet.

   ownsearch scan
   ownsearch instances list

   A scan inside that interval is refused with the remaining wait. ownsearch scan --force runs it now.

4. Start the MCP server. Your client starts it for you once it is configured, and running it by hand shows its errors.

   ownsearch serve

5. Connect a client and run a search. The next section covers the client entry.

Search has no terminal command. It runs through an MCP client, through the two REST endpoints, or through the tools a client calls. The CLI covers setup, scanning, fleet changes, and database work.

The state lives in ${XDG_STATE_HOME}/ownsearch by default, which is ~/.local/state/ownsearch on most machines. Point every command and every MCP client at the same directory if you move it, with OWNSEARCH_STATE_DIR or --state-dir.

A dry run changes nothing and prints what would happen:

ownsearch scan --dry-run --limit 12

Searches use the active fleet. When no instance is active, OwnSearch falls back to scanned candidates that passed every hard gate and says so in warnings.

Connect an MCP client

Every MCP client starts a server process. Point it at the installed binary with serve as the only argument.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --scope user ownsearch -- /home/you/.local/bin/ownsearch serve

Any client that reads a JSON config, such as Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ownsearch": {
      "command": "/home/you/.local/bin/ownsearch",
      "args": ["serve"]
    }
  }
}

Codex reads a TOML config:

[mcp_servers.ownsearch]
command = "/home/you/.local/bin/ownsearch"
args = ["serve"]

Use the absolute path to the binary. A desktop client usually does not load your shell profile, so a bare ownsearch may not resolve, and a Homebrew or npm install puts the binary somewhere else.

The server reads the same settings as the CLI. With nothing set, both use the default state directory, so one ownsearch scan in a terminal and the client see the same fleet. Set OWNSEARCH_STATE_DIR on both only when you moved the state.

After you add the entry, the client lists eight tools: ownsearch_search, ownsearch_fetch, ownsearch_instance_info, ownsearch_instance_health, ownsearch_scan, ownsearch_session, ownsearch_db_query, and ownsearch_db_crud.

OwnSearch holds three secrets at most: the HTTP bearer tokens, used only when you serve Streamable HTTP; an optional CapSolver key, used only when you turn on the paid captcha service; and an optional outbound proxy URL. None is read from a flag or the profile. All three come from the environment, and the bearer tokens can also live in the OS keychain.

Over Streamable HTTP, point the client at http://127.0.0.1:8774/mcp, or at the same host with no path. Both serve the MCP endpoint, and any other path answers 404 with a problem body. The port also answers /healthz, /startupz, /readyz, and /metrics. Send Authorization: Bearer <token> once OWNSEARCH_BEARER_TOKENS is set. The REST calls POST /v1/search and POST /v1/fetch take the tool arguments as the JSON body.

Your first search

Ask your client to call ownsearch_search with a query:

{ "query": "rust programming language", "limit": 5 }

The answer carries the results, the mode that was used, and a sources block. Each source names the instance that supplied results, and sources.failed names any instance that refused. A result keeps its title, URL, snippet, engine, and published date according to the fields preset.

fast targets one instance, balanced targets three, and exhaustive targets OWNSEARCH_EXHAUSTIVE_MAX. The default mode is balanced.

Fetch a page

ownsearch_fetch returns a public page as Markdown by default:

{ "url": "https://example.org/article", "max_pages": 3 }

It refuses private and loopback addresses, follows same-host links up to max_pages, and reports finalUrl plus the redirect chain. render: "always" sends the page through headless Chrome, and render: "auto" does that only for a page that looks like an empty JavaScript shell.

HTTP mode

OWNSEARCH_BEARER_TOKENS="$(openssl rand -hex 24)" ownsearch serve --http

Any random value of at least 32 characters works; openssl rand -hex 24 is one way to make one.

• The default bind is 127.0.0.1:8774.

• A non-loopback bind without a bearer token is refused at startup.

• Tokens need at least 32 characters and are compared in constant time.

• Host is checked against a loopback list or OWNSEARCH_ALLOWED_HOSTS.

• An Origin header is rejected unless it matches OWNSEARCH_ALLOWED_ORIGINS.

• Request bodies are capped at 1 MiB, headers must arrive within 10 seconds, and concurrent requests are capped.

• GET /healthz is liveness, GET /startupz checks the database, GET /readyz reports readiness, and GET /metrics reports call counters, per-tool counts, and per-route HTTP counts.

• Shutdown flips readiness first, then drains in-flight calls under a deadline.

A REST call:

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8774/v1/search \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"query":"rust programming language","limit":5}'

A successful call answers 200 with the structured content the MCP tool returns. A refused call answers a status between 400 and 504 with an RFC 9457 application/problem+json body that carries type, title, status, detail, instance, and the stable code and remedy as extension members. Every REST call is recorded in the ledger and counted in /metrics exactly like an MCP call.

Put Caddy in front for any remote use. Never expose an anonymous scanner.

Store the token list in the OS keychain instead of the environment:

printf '%s' "$TOKEN" | ownsearch config set-bearer-token

Container

docker build -t ownsearch .
docker run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:8774:8774 \
  -e OWNSEARCH_BEARER_TOKENS="$(openssl rand -hex 24)" \
  -v ownsearch-state:/home/ownsearch/.local/state/ownsearch \
  ownsearch

docker-compose.yml holds the same setup with restart: unless-stopped, both state volumes, and a healthcheck. The image sets OWNSEARCH_BIND=0.0.0.0:8774, a ledger directory under /home/ownsearch/.local/share/ownsearch/ledger, and OWNSEARCH_BROWSER=false, so a container renders no page. OWNSEARCH_BEARER_TOKENS is required at run time and the server refuses to start without it. Add OWNSEARCH_ALLOWED_HOSTS with the names clients use, or the Host check refuses every request that does not name localhost or the bind address.

Configuration

Settings resolve in this order: CLI flags, OWNSEARCH_* environment variables, a TOML profile at ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/ownsearch/profile.toml, then built-in defaults. Most environment variables map to a lowercase profile key, so OWNSEARCH_FLEET_MAX is fleet_max.

docs/configuration.md lists every setting with its default and its bounds, shows a profile example, and covers the paths, the keep windows, and the AI database mode.

Tools

Eight tools, described in full in docs/tools.md:

• ownsearch_search: federated web search across the fleet.

• ownsearch_fetch: one page, or a few same-host pages, as Markdown, text, or HTML.

• ownsearch_instance_info and ownsearch_instance_health: what one instance can do and how it is doing.

• ownsearch_scan: refresh discovery, probe, rescore, and reselect the fleet. It defaults to a dry run.

• ownsearch_session: local counts, cache state, ledger head, and fleet size.

• ownsearch_db_query and ownsearch_db_crud: bounded reads and typed changes over the local database.

Documentation

• docs/configuration.md: every setting, its default, and its bounds.

• docs/tools.md: the tool arguments, search behavior, and the quality model.

• docs/database.md: the schema, the commands, the instance lifecycle, and the local files.

• docs/scanner-policy.md: how instances are contacted, scored, cooled down, and kept.

• docs/operations.md: service levels, detection signals, and the triage path for each failure.

• docs/troubleshooting.md: the messages you are likely to hit and the step that clears each one.

• RELEASING.md: the release procedure.

• SECURITY.md: how to report a vulnerability.

Privacy

Queries go to the public instances you selected and to the engines behind them. OwnSearch stores no raw query text. The ledger records a keyed hash of the arguments, the tool name, the status, the upstream HTTP status class, timing, byte counts, parser, and instance ids. There is no telemetry.

One more destination exists, and only when you set it: with OWNSEARCH_CAPSOLVER_KEY set, a detected captcha sends the page URL and the site key to https://api.capsolver.com to solve the challenge. With OWNSEARCH_PROXY set, every outbound HTTP request goes through the proxy you name. A per-instance credential is stored as an environment variable name and sent only to that instance's own origin, never to another host. Nothing else leaves the machine.

SECURITY.md lists everything OwnSearch stores and every host it contacts.

Security

• No unsafe code anywhere in the workspace.

• Discovery records and fetch targets are limited to public addresses, so a hostile document cannot point the scanner at a local or internal service.

• rustls with strict certificate validation on every outbound connection.

• Bounded response reads, connection limits, and request deadlines.

• Search results are data. Every string passes a sanitizer that removes invisible and control characters, URLs must be HTTP or HTTPS, and long values are cut with a visible marker.

• No secret is accepted on a command line, written to the profile, or printed by any command.

Report a vulnerability privately; SECURITY.md states how.

Support

Write to sazzad@devops.bd for a question, a bug report, or an install problem. Include the version, the command you ran, and the output. Security problems follow SECURITY.md, not this address's normal queue.

Most failures have a written remedy in docs/troubleshooting.md, and a running service has an operator path in docs/operations.md.

Contributing

OwnSearch is maintained by Md. Sazzad Hossain Sharkar. Send a patch or a proposal to sazzad@devops.bd before starting large work, and run tools/verify.sh before sending a change. A change lands when the full gate passes; RELEASING.md lists what the gate runs.

License

MIT OR Apache-2.0, at your choice. The full texts are in LICENSE-MIT and LICENSE-APACHE. The HTML parser (scraper) brings MPL-2.0 components (cssparser, selectors, dtoa-short), used as unmodified dependencies; MPL-2.0 permits that use inside a larger work under another license.