SearXNG MCP Server

What is SearXNG MCP Server?

SearXNG MCP Server is an MCP server that integrates the SearXNG API, enabling AI assistants to perform private, self-hosted web searches through any SearXNG instance. It connects assistants like Claude and Cursor to web search, URL content reading, and instance capability discovery without requiring external API keys.

How to use SearXNG MCP Server?

Configure your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop) with the server command (npx -y mcp-searxng or Docker) and set the SEARXNG_URL environment variable to your SearXNG instance URL. Once connected, your assistant can invoke tools like searxng_web_search, searxng_search_suggestions, searxng_instance_info, and web_url_read.

Key features of SearXNG MCP Server

• Web search with pagination, time, language, safe search, and relevance filters
• Instance failover and optional parallel fan-out across multiple replicas
• Structured search output (formatted text or raw JSON)
• URL content reading with markdown conversion and advanced extraction
• Search suggestions and instance capability discovery
• Intelligent caching with configurable TTL for URL content

Use cases of SearXNG MCP Server

• Provide private, self-hosted web search to AI assistants like Claude and Cursor
• Retrieve and read web page content without exposing data to third-party services
• Search news, articles, or technical documentation with relevant filters
• Discover a SearXNG instance’s categories, engines, defaults, and plugins programmatically
• Get search suggestions to refine queries interactively

FAQ from SearXNG MCP Server

What does SearXNG MCP Server do compared to other search MCP servers?

It is free, privacy-preserving, fully self-hosted, and supports web search, URL reading, pagination, failover, and more without requiring an API key.

Do I need a SearXNG instance to use it?

Yes, you must point the server at an existing SearXNG instance via the SEARXNG_URL environment variable. This server is not a native SearXNG plugin.

Can I