SearXNG MCP

What is SearXNG MCP?

SearXNG MCP is a Docker‑based MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that wraps SearXNG, a privacy‑focused metasearch engine. It gives LLM clients access to aggregated search results from over 130 engines via tools such as searxng_search and searxng_get_info.

How to use SearXNG MCP?

Run both SearXNG and the MCP server together using the provided Docker Compose file. Configure your MCP client with an HTTP transport pointing to http://localhost:32123/mcp. The server exposes two tools: searxng_search for querying and searxng_get_info for dynamically discovering enabled categories and engines.

Key features of SearXNG MCP

• Uses the searxng_search tool with category filtering (general, images, videos, news, map, IT, science, files, social media).
• Queries over 130 engines, including Google, Brave, Wikipedia, GitHub, Reddit, and more.
• Supports advanced search parameters: categories, engines, language, pageno, time_range, and safesearch.
• Provides a searxng_get_info tool for programmatic discovery of available categories and engines.
• Runs via Docker Compose with simple environment variable configuration.

Use cases of SearXNG MCP

• Retrieve web, image, video, news, or map results for a given query.
• Narrow searches to specific domains (e.g., IT or science) or engines.
• Filter results by time range (day, month, year) and language.
• Control safe search strictness (0=None, 1=Moderate, 2=Strict).
• Let the LLM dynamically learn which search categories and engines are enabled.

FAQ from SearXNG MCP

What is SearXNG?

SearXNG is a privacy‑focused metasearch engine that aggregates results from over 130 search engines without tracking users.

How do I configure the MCP transport?

Set the environment variables MCP_TRANSPORT=http, MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0, and MCP_PORT=32123. The client then connects via HTTP at the URL http://localhost:32123/mcp.

What tools does the server expose?

It exposes two tools: searxng_search for performing searches and searxng_get_info for retrieving the list of currently enabled categories and engines.

What parameters are available in searxng_search?

The tool supports categories (comma‑separated), engines, language, pageno, time_range (day, month, year), and safesearch (0–2).

Does the server require its own SearXNG instance?

Yes. The MCP server depends on a running SearXNG instance, which it connects to via the SEARXNG_URL environment variable.