SearXNG MCP Server

What is SearXNG MCP Server?

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants to perform web searches using SearXNG, a privacy-respecting metasearch engine. It works out‑of‑the‑box by automatically selecting a random public instance from SearX.space, and also supports private instances with basic authentication.

How to use SearXNG MCP Server?

Install from source with Node.js v16+ and npm v7+, then run node build/index.js. Configure via environment variables (SEARXNG_URL, SEARXNG_USERNAME, SEARXNG_PASSWORD, USE_RANDOM_INSTANCE) in a .env file or in the MCP server configuration for Claude Desktop or VSCode. Invoke the searxngsearch tool with a query parameter and optional parameters (language, time_range, categories, engines, safesearch, pageno, max_results).

Key features of SearXNG MCP Server

• Zero-configuration setup using random public instances.
• Support for private SearXNG instances with basic authentication.
• Customizable search parameters (language, time range, categories, engines, safesearch).
• Markdown‑formatted search results.
• Sensible default values for all parameters.
• Integration with Claude Desktop, VSCode, and Smolagents.

Use cases of SearXNG MCP Server

• AI assistants performing privacy‑focused web searches.
• Integrating web search into agentic workflows (e.g., with Smolagents).
• Using a self‑hosted SearXNG instance for controlled search environments.
• Obtaining search results in markdown for easy consumption by language models.

FAQ from SearXNG MCP Server

What is the difference between this server and searxNcrawl?

This project is deprecated and its successor is searxNcrawl at https://github.com/DasDigitaleMomentum/searxNcrawl. The successor currently does not include round‑robin instance selection.

What are the runtime dependencies?

Node.js v16 or higher and npm v7 or higher are required. Access to a SearXNG instance (self‑hosted or public) is also needed.

Where does the search data come from?

By default, a random public SearXNG instance from SearX.space is used. You can also provide a custom instance URL via the SEARXNG_URL environment variable.

Are there any known limitations?

Public instances might be unavailable for this purpose and return "Request failed with status code 429". The successor searxNcrawl does not include round‑robin instance selection.

How is authentication handled?

Private instances can be accessed with basic authentication by setting SEARXNG_USERNAME and SEARXNG_PASSWORD environment variables.