<div align="center">
  <h1>🗽 Privacy-respecting web search for AI assistants! This fork is 🇺🇸 based and verified safe. 🦅</h1>

# 🔍 SearXNG MCP Server

**Privacy-respecting web search for AI assistants — use an operator-controlled, trusted SearXNG instance with Claude, Cursor, Cline, Bionic, and more.**



🎇An [MCP server](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction) that integrates the [SearXNG](https://docs.searxng.org) API, giving AI assistants web search capabilities.


</div>

## Quick Start

Add to your MCP client configuration (e.g. `mcp-client-config.json`):



⚠️ Supply Chain Security Warning

The standard `npx` configuration execution model carries an inherent supply chain risk:

json

```
// ❌ RISKY CONFIGURATION
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-searxng"]
```

Use that code with caution.

Why this is unsafe:

- **Bypassed Prompts**: The `-y` flag auto-approves installation, giving you no chance to verify changes before execution.
    
- **Typosquatting Vulnerability**: If you misspell the package name in your config file, `npx` will instantly execute whatever malicious package occupies that typo's slot on the public npm registry.
    
- **Implicit Latest Tag**: Without an explicit version pin, `npx` dynamically fetches the absolute latest code directly from npm on every server initialization. If the upstream repository or developer account is compromised, the malicious update executes automatically on your host machine.
    

---

🛡️ Safer Workaround

To mitigate _some of this risk_, avoid dynamic remote execution entirely. Install a specific, audited version locally or globally, and point your configuration directly to that fixed binary.

Option A: Local Installation (Recommended for project isolation)

1. Install the package explicitly as a dependency with a pinned version:
    
    bash
    
    ```
    npm install mcp-searxng@1.0.0 --save-exact
    ```
    
    
    
2. Point your configuration directly to the local node modules binary path:
    
    json
    
    ```
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "searxng": {
          "command": "node",
          "args": ["./node_modules/mcp-searxng/dist/index.js"],
          "env": {
            "SEARXNG_URL": "https://YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```
    
    
    

Option B: Global Pinned Installation

1. Install the audited version globally:
    
    bash
    
    ```
    npm install -g mcp-searxng@1.0.0
    ```
    
    
    
2. Call the command directly (ensure your global npm `bin` directory is in your system's PATH):
    
    json
    
    ```
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "searxng": {
          "command": "mcp-searxng",
          "args": [],
          "env": {
            "SEARXNG_URL": "https://YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```
    
    

Replace `YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL` with the URL of your SearXNG instance (e.g. `https://searxng.example.com`). You can also provide interchangeable replicas as a semicolon-separated list, e.g. `https://one.example.com;https://two.example.com`.

For verified Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf,
Cline, and OpenCode recipes, see the
[MCP client configuration cookbook](docs/client-configurations.md).

For a bounded, client-neutral method to search, inspect sources, cross-check
claims, and cite evidence, see the
[evidence-focused research workflow](docs/research-workflow.md).

For measured MCP-process CPU and memory starting points, see
[measured deployment profiles](docs/deployment-profiles.md).

---

## 🛡️ Safe and Secure Local Clone Usage (recommended)

If you have *cloned this repository* and want to run the server locally without relying on `npx`, follow the **Local MCP-SearXNG Quickstart** below:

You may use my known good config for a local mcp-searxng running on Windows. 

*Modify the following with your values.*

Build mcp-searxng
```shell
cd D:\c0dex\GitHub\vinas1\vinas1.github.io
npm install
npm run build
```
<br><br>

### Cline config
I'm providing the quick start to [Cline](https://www.cline.bot), which is how I use searXNG MCP every day. 
First, open your IDE and open cline. In VScode you'd click the hambuger looking icon, then press the gear icon. See the graphic for help, then enter the following JSON.



<img width="551" height="187" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/922990f8-7d46-4df3-94f4-511375ef23af" />

*a green dot will be present when the MCP server is working, as shown above*
> make sure to replace my local path with yours!
> example: D:\\c0dex\\GitHub\\vinas1\\mcp-searxng

```json
{  
"mcpServers": {  
"searxng": {  
"command": "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe",  
"args": [  
"D:\\c0dex\\GitHub\\vinas1\\mcp-searxng\\dist\\cli.js"  
],  
"cwd": "D:\\c0dex\\GitHub\\vinas1\\mcp-searxng",  
"env": {  
"SEARXNG_URL": "http://192.168.0.60:8080/"  
},  
"disabled": false,  
"autoApprove": []  
}  
}  
}
```
> the SEARXNG_URL should be updated to your locally installed searXNG IP!

Then:

1. Save the file with Ctrl+S.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P.
3. Run **Developer: Reload Window**.
4. Open Cline → MCP Servers → Installed.

<br>

---

### Local Install Details

1. Build the project
Install dependencies and build the project to generate the necessary distribution files:

```bash
npm install
npm run build
```

### 2. Configure your MCP client
Point your configuration to the local Node binary and the built entry point. Replace `dist/cli.js` with the actual path to the file if you are running from a different directory:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/cli.js"],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### 🛡️ Security Note
Running from a local clone is significantly safer than using `npx`. While `npx` can lead to supply chain attacks by fetching and executing remote code without verification (e.g., typosquatting or package hijacking), building locally ensures you are executing the exact source code you have reviewed in your repository.


---

## Features

- **Web Search**: General, news, and article queries with pagination, time-range/language/safe-search filters, relevance filtering (`min_score`), and formatted-text or raw-JSON output selected per call (`response_format`) or with the operator default (`SEARXNG_DEFAULT_RESPONSE_FORMAT`).
- **Instance Failover & Fan-out**: Configure interchangeable SearXNG replicas in `SEARXNG_URL`; searches fail over in order by default, or query all healthy replicas in parallel and merge results with `SEARXNG_FANOUT`.
- **Direct Answers & Metadata**: Text results surface SearXNG answers, corrections, suggestions, and infoboxes before the result list.
- **Search Suggestions**: Query autocomplete via SearXNG's `/autocompleter` endpoint.
- **Instance Capability Discovery**: Inspect configured categories, engines, defaults, locales, and plugins from `/config`.
- **URL Content Reading**: Content-type-aware Markdown conversion, including bounded PDF text extraction, with pagination, section filtering, paragraph ranges, and heading extraction.
- **Browser Solver Support**: For each uncached URL that passes static URL validation and the HEAD size preflight, optionally acquire a browser session from FlareSolverr, Byparr, or both, then replay the returned user-agent and scoped cookies through the bounded URL reader. In dual-provider mode FlareSolverr is always primary and Byparr is attempted only after a busy or transient-unavailable primary. FlareSolverr 3.5.0 and Byparr 2.1.0 were verified on 2026-07-30.
- **Intelligent Caching**: Both search results and URL content are cached in memory with configurable TTL and least-frequently-used (LFU) eviction, reducing redundant requests.
- **SSRF Protection**: `web_url_read` blocks private/internal URLs and redirects by default in all transport modes.
- **HTTP Transport**: Optional Streamable HTTP mode with opt-in hardening, rate limiting, and bounded stateless compatibility for serverless or horizontally scaled deployments.
- **HTML Fallback**: Optionally parse results from the HTML page for public instances that reject `format=json`.
- **Lite Tools Mode**: Minimal tool schemas for local models with small context windows.
- **Proxy Support**: Global or per-tool HTTP/HTTPS proxies for search and URL-reader traffic.

The verified `linux/amd64` images came from multi-architecture manifests
`ghcr.io/flaresolverr/flaresolverr:v3.5.0@sha256:139dfee1c6f89249c8d665d1333a42e8ec74ec0a86bc6bb1c8461e10d3a66a47`
and
`ghcr.io/thephaseless/byparr:2.1.0@sha256:01a46a2865d9a6db5eb8ead04ec0dd33b8fbe233e8565ae70b50d4cc0af4cfb0`.
Client cancellation stops local work promptly, but a remote browser may
continue until its configured provider timeout after the HTTP client
disconnects. See [browser solver verification](docs/browser-solver-verification.md).

## Why mcp-searxng?

As of 2026-07-29, the capability comparison below reflects the official
[Brave MCP](https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server),
[Exa MCP](https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server), and
[Firecrawl MCP](https://github.com/mendableai/firecrawl-mcp-server) projects.
“Pagination” means an exposed page or offset control. “Self-hosted” means the
search service can run under your control. “Free / No API key” means this MCP
server does not require a paid search-vendor API key; you still operate or
select the underlying SearXNG instance.

| | Brave MCP | Exa MCP | Firecrawl MCP | **mcp-searxng** |
|--|:---------:|:-------:|:-------------:|:---------------:|
| Web Search | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Read URL | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pagination | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self-hosted | ✗ | ✗ | Partial | ✓ |
| Free / No API key | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |

Privacy depends on the SearXNG deployment. An operator-controlled instance can
avoid trusting a third-party search operator, while a public instance receives
the query and may log it. SearXNG and this MCP integration do not by themselves
provide anonymity.

## How It Works

`mcp-searxng` is a standalone MCP server — a separate Node.js process that your AI assistant connects to for web search. It queries one SearXNG instance, or a semicolon-separated list of interchangeable SearXNG replicas, via the HTTP JSON API.

> **Not a SearXNG plugin:** This project cannot be installed as a native SearXNG plugin. Point it at any existing SearXNG instance, or interchangeable replica list, by setting `SEARXNG_URL`.

```
AI Assistant (e.g. Claude)
        │  MCP protocol
        ▼
  mcp-searxng  (this project — Node.js process)
        │  HTTP JSON API  (SEARXNG_URL)
        ▼
  SearXNG instance(s)
```

For SearXNG deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting, see
[Operating Self-Hosted SearXNG with mcp-searxng](docs/self-hosted-searxng.md).

## Tools

- **searxng_web_search**
  - Execute web searches with pagination
  - Inputs:
    - `query` (string): The search query. This string is passed to external search services.
    - `pageno` (number, optional): Search page number, starts at 1 (default 1)
    - `time_range` (string, optional): Filter results by time range - one of: "day", "week", "month", "year" (default: none)
    - `language` (string, optional): Language code for results (e.g., "en", "fr", "de") or "all" (default: "all")
    - `safesearch` (string enum, optional): Safe search filter level, one of `"0"` (None), `"1"` (Moderate), or `"2"` (Strict). Legacy numeric values `0`, `1`, and `2` are still accepted for backward compatibility. (default: instance setting)
    - `min_score` (number, optional): Minimum relevance score from 0.0 to 1.0. Results below this score are filtered out.
    - `num_results` (number, optional): Maximum number of results to return, from 1 to 20. `SEARXNG_MAX_RESULTS` applies as an operator ceiling.
    - `categories` (string, optional): Comma-separated SearXNG categories (e.g. `"news"`, `"it,science"`). Live `/config` capabilities are aggregated across reachable instances; prefer `searxng_instance_info` `categories.common` for consistent multi-instance results. Known values are trimmed and normalized case-insensitively; unknown values are forwarded trimmed so SearXNG can ignore or honor them. If `/config` is unavailable, values are forwarded as-is with a warning. If omitted, each instance uses its server-side default.
    - `engines` (string, optional): Comma-separated SearXNG engine names (e.g. `"google,bing,ddg"`, `"semantic scholar"`). Live `/config` capabilities are aggregated across reachable instances; prefer `searxng_instance_info` `engines.common.enabled` for consistent multi-instance results. Known values are trimmed and normalized case-insensitively, including engines disabled by default; unknown values are forwarded trimmed so SearXNG can ignore or honor them. If `/config` is unavailable, values are forwarded as-is with a warning. If omitted, each instance uses its server-side default.
    - `response_format` (string, optional): Response format, either `"text"` for formatted agent-readable output or `"json"` for raw SearXNG JSON with filtered/sliced `results`. If omitted, `SEARXNG_DEFAULT_RESPONSE_FORMAT` applies; if unset or invalid, `text` is used. An explicit `response_format` always takes precedence.
    - `result_detail` (string, optional): `"full"` (the default) preserves SearXNG metadata, warnings, provenance, answers, infoboxes, corrections, and suggestions. `"compact"` returns only title, URL, and the description/content snippet for every result; compact JSON uses exactly the `title`, `url`, and `content` keys. Use full when those research signals matter.
    - Clients that explicitly send or auto-inject `response_format=text` continue to override the operator default. If omitted calls still return text after configuring JSON, inspect the arguments emitted by the MCP client.

  Migration: compact text has exactly three lines per result and no cache annotation or preamble. Update line parsers that expect relevance scores or search metadata to request `result_detail="full"` (or accept compact's three-line records).

  Compact deliberately suppresses warnings, provenance, and every other search signal. Full text may add valid optional lines in fixed order: score, engines, category, published date, thumbnail, image source; invalid optional metadata is omitted. Text fields are normalized to single lines. `SEARXNG_MAX_RESULT_CHARS` truncates result content in compact and full text/JSON responses, including full JSON for existing users who already set the variable; compact text normalizes line separators before applying the cap, while JSON caps the original string value.

  With `SEARXNG_LITE_TOOLS=true`, the Lite schema stays query-only, but explicitly supplied optional overrides such as `response_format` and `result_detail` are still validated and honored.

- **searxng_search_suggestions**
  - Get autocomplete suggestions for refining search queries
  - Inputs:
    - `query` (string): Partial or complete query to autocomplete.
    - `language` (string, optional): Language code for suggestions (e.g., "en", "fr", "de") or "all" (default: "all")

- **searxng_instance_info**
  - Discover categories aggregated from reachable configured SearXNG instances, optionally include engine names, and inspect defaults, locales, and plugins from the primary reachable instance. Categories—and engines when requested—report `common` values present on every reachable instance and `available` values present on at least one reachable instance.
  - Inputs:
    - `includeEngines` (boolean, optional): Include enabled engine names in the response. (default: false)
    - `includeDisabled` (boolean, optional): Include disabled engine names when `includeEngines` is true. (default: false)
    - `category` (string, optional): Filter categories and engines to a single category name.
    - `refresh` (boolean, optional): Bypass the process cache and fetch fresh `/config` data. (default: false)

- **web_url_read**
  - Read URL content as markdown with content-type-aware handling and advanced extraction options
  - Supported readable content:
    - HTML (`text/html`, `application/xhtml+xml`) is converted to markdown
    - JSON (`application/json`, `*+json`) is pretty-printed in a fenced block
    - Plain text, YAML, TOML, XML, and other safe explicit `text/*` responses are returned as readable fenced text
    - PDF (`application/pdf`) text is extracted in a resource-bounded worker for documents up to 500 pages
    - Missing or generic content types are read under the existing size cap; non-binary bodies continue through the HTML-to-markdown path for compatibility
  - PDF input and extracted text are each capped at the lower of `URL_READ_MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH_BYTES` and 16 MiB. OCR is not supported, and scanned/image-only or password-protected PDFs return a short explanation.
  - A response declared as PDF must begin with the `%PDF-` signature; a mismatch usually indicates an interstitial or error page served with the wrong content type.
  - PDF parsing has a separate 30-second worker budget after the response body is downloaded. On the direct path, the network fetch and parse take at most the configured fetch budget plus 30 seconds; configured browser-solver preflight and acquisition time is additional.
  - At most two PDF extractions run concurrently per MCP process. There is no queue; additional concurrent reads return a busy message and may be retried.
  - Other binary, media, archive, and octet-stream downloads are intentionally rejected with a short hint instead of returning raw bytes
  - When `FLARESOLVERR_URL` or `BYPARR_URL` is configured, an uncached URL is validated and checked by the HEAD size preflight before `mcp-searxng` attempts browser-session acquisition. With both set, FlareSolverr is attempted first and Byparr is attempted only after a busy slot, network/timeout failure, HTTP 408/429/5xx, or malformed/oversized response. Persistent provider 4xx, cancellation, solution-host validation failure, and solved non-2xx target status stop the chain. If every configured provider is busy or unavailable, one uncached direct fetch runs. Each attempted provider receives the original target URL; challenge success is not guaranteed.
  - At default limits, dual-provider mode has an additive maximum of 150 seconds across the initial HEAD preflight, both solver attempts (including response grace), and the final direct fetch.
  - Inputs:
    - `url` (string): The URL to fetch and process
    - `startChar` (number, optional): Starting character position for content extraction (default: 0)
    - `maxLength` (number, optional): Maximum number of characters to return
    - `section` (string, optional): Extract content under a specific heading (searches for heading text)
    - `paragraphRange` (string, optional): Return specific paragraph ranges (e.g., '1-5', '3', '10-')
    - `readHeadings` (boolean, optional): Return only a list of headings instead of full content

## Installation

Requires Node.js 20 or later.

<details>
<summary>NPM (global install)</summary>

```bash
npm install -g mcp-searxng
```

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "command": "mcp-searxng",
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

</details>

<details>
<summary>Docker</summary>

**Pre-built image:**

```bash
docker pull isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest
```

Image signatures can be verified with Cosign — see [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) for instructions.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "SEARXNG_URL",
        "isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

To pass additional env vars, add `-e VAR_NAME` to `args` and the variable to `env`.
For browser-solver integration, pass `FLARESOLVERR_URL`, `BYPARR_URL`, or both
and make the configured services reachable from this container. Dual mode has
a fixed FlareSolverr-first order and no automatic reverse failover. See
[URL Reader Controls](CONFIGURATION.md#url-reader-controls) for the complete
behavior and Docker Compose example.

**Build locally:**

```bash
docker build -t mcp-searxng:latest -f Dockerfile .
```

Use the same config above, replacing `isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest` with `mcp-searxng:latest`.

</details>

<details>
<summary>Docker Compose</summary>

`docker-compose.yml`:

```yaml
services:
  mcp-searxng:
    image: isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest
    stdin_open: true
    environment:
      - SEARXNG_URL=${SEARXNG_URL:?Set SEARXNG_URL in the environment}
      # Add optional variables as needed — see CONFIGURATION.md
```

The tracked Compose file is intentionally STDIO-only and publishes no network ports; MCP clients launch it with an absolute Compose-file path and `docker compose run --rm -T`, not `docker compose up`. The `-T` flag prevents pseudo-TTY allocation so MCP JSON-RPC stays on raw standard input and output. Compose fails before launch unless the MCP client supplies `SEARXNG_URL`.

MCP client config:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "compose",
        "-f", "/absolute/path/to/docker-compose.yml",
        "run", "--rm", "-T", "mcp-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

If you previously used the tracked file as an HTTP service on port 8080, put the HTTP settings in an untracked `docker-compose.override.yml`:

```yaml
services:
  mcp-searxng:
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8080:8080"
    environment:
      - MCP_HTTP_PORT=8080
      - MCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0
```

Here `0.0.0.0` is the container-side bind address; the host-side port remains loopback-only. This override has no authentication and is only a temporary single-host migration path. Before adding co-located containers or exposing the service beyond the local machine, follow the hardened [deployment guidance](SECURITY.md#deployment-recommendations).

</details>

<details>
<summary>HTTP Transport</summary>

By default the server uses STDIO, launched by your MCP client. To use HTTP instead, run `mcp-searxng` as a **standalone process** with `MCP_HTTP_PORT` set. In this mode it serves the MCP protocol over HTTP and does not speak STDIO, so your client connects to it by URL rather than spawning it.

**Start the server:**

```bash
MCP_HTTP_PORT=3000 SEARXNG_URL=http://localhost:8080 mcp-searxng
```

Or with Docker (bind to all interfaces so the port is reachable from the host):

```bash
docker run --rm -p 3000:3000 \
  --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway \
  -e MCP_HTTP_PORT=3000 -e MCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  -e SEARXNG_URL=http://host.docker.internal:8080 \
  isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest
```

The `--add-host` mapping lets the container reach a SearXNG instance on the host via `host.docker.internal`; it resolves automatically on Docker Desktop but needs this flag on native Linux. Point `SEARXNG_URL` at your actual instance if it runs elsewhere.

**Connect an HTTP-capable MCP client** to the `/mcp` endpoint by URL:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng-http": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3000/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

**Endpoints:** `POST/GET/DELETE /mcp` (stateful MCP protocol), `GET /health` (health check)

Stateful sessions remain the default. Set `MCP_HTTP_STATELESS=true` when a deployment cannot preserve in-memory sessions between requests. Every stateless POST creates a fresh MCP server and transport, ignores any incoming session ID, and returns negotiated JSON or an SSE stream within that same POST. Stateless mode is POST-only: `GET /mcp` and `DELETE /mcp` return HTTP 405 with `Allow: POST`, and no cross-request subscriptions, resumability, or server-to-client notifications are preserved.

Stateless requests are bounded by global and per-client-IP in-flight limits plus a request lifetime. See [CONFIGURATION.md](CONFIGURATION.md#http-transport) for defaults, overload and timeout responses, proxy-aware fairness, and the complete compatibility contract.

**Test it:**

```bash
curl http://localhost:3000/health
```

The server binds to `127.0.0.1` by default; set `MCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0` for remote or containerized deployments. Before exposing it on a network, enable hardened mode (`MCP_HTTP_HARDEN`) and see [CONFIGURATION.md](CONFIGURATION.md) for `MCP_HTTP_TRUST_PROXY` so rate limiting and logs use the correct client IP.

</details>

## Configuration

`SEARXNG_URL` is the only required variable — set it to your SearXNG instance URL (or a semicolon-separated list of interchangeable replicas). Everything else is optional.

Use `SEARXNG_DEFAULT_RESPONSE_FORMAT` to select `text` or `json` when search calls omit `response_format`; explicit per-call values still win.

See **[CONFIGURATION.md](CONFIGURATION.md)** for the full environment variable reference, including authentication, failover/fan-out, caching, timeouts, proxies, TLS, HTTP transport, and hardening.

## Troubleshooting

For self-hosted SearXNG configuration, direct verification, and troubleshooting,
see [Operating Self-Hosted SearXNG with mcp-searxng](docs/self-hosted-searxng.md).
If you do not control the instance, use the separate
[public SearXNG instance guide](docs/public-searxng-instances.md) instead.

If HTTPS requests fail behind a TLS-inspecting corporate proxy with certificate errors, see [TLS / Corporate CA](CONFIGURATION.md#tls--corporate-ca).

### 403 Forbidden from SearXNG

Your SearXNG instance likely has JSON format disabled. Edit `settings.yml` (usually `/etc/searxng/settings.yml`):

```yaml
search:
  formats:
    - html
    - json
```

Restart SearXNG (`docker restart searxng`) then verify:

```bash
curl 'http://localhost:8080/search?q=test&format=json'
```

You should receive a JSON response. If not, confirm the file is correctly mounted and YAML indentation is valid.

See also: [SearXNG settings docs](https://docs.searxng.org/admin/settings/settings.html) · [discussion](https://github.com/searxng/searxng/discussions/1789)

### Can't enable JSON? (HTML fallback)

If you must use a public instance you don't control and it rejects `format=json` (the 403 above), set the opt-in flag instead of editing the server:

Before enabling it, review the public operator's policy and the
[public-instance usage guide](docs/public-searxng-instances.md).

```json
{
  "SEARXNG_HTML_FALLBACK": "true"
}
```

A search that gets a `403`/`404` or a non-JSON response is then retried automatically **without** `format=json` and parsed from the regular HTML results page.

- **On success:** you get normal results (title, URL, snippet). They are marked `sourceFormat: "html"` in JSON mode, and text mode adds the line *"Note: Results parsed from SearXNG HTML fallback; metadata is limited."* Relevance scores and engine names are not available from HTML.
- **On failure:** parsing is best-effort and varies by the instance's theme/version, so some results may be missed or sparse. If the HTML page itself also fails — still blocked, rate-limited (`429`), auth (`401`), or `5xx` — the **fallback attempt's error is surfaced**, so the search never silently returns empty results. The fallback only triggers on `403`/`404`/non-JSON, never on auth or network errors.

Enabling JSON on an instance you control (above) remains the recommended setup — the fallback is a compatibility aid, not a replacement.

## Contributing

See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md)

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.