SearXNG MCP Server

Privacy-focused web search for Model Context Protocol using SearXNG metasearch engine.

By FussyMonkey.dev

Features

• 🔒 Privacy-focused - No tracking, self-hosted search
• 🌐 Meta-search - Aggregates 70+ search engines
• 🚀 Fast & lightweight - Minimal dependencies
• 🎯 Flexible filtering - Categories, languages, time ranges
• 🔑 No API keys - Works with your own SearXNG instance
• ⚡ MCP native - Built for Model Context Protocol

Quick Start

1. Install SearXNG

Using Docker (recommended):

docker run -d -p 8888:8080 searxng/searxng

Or see SearXNG installation docs for other methods.

2. Install the MCP Server

npm install -g @fussymonkey-dev/searxng-mcp-server

3. Configure Your MCP Client

Add to your MCP settings (e.g., Claude Desktop, Cline, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "command": "searxng-mcp-server",
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "http://localhost:8888"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration

Environment variables:

| Variable | Description | Default | |----------|-------------|---------| | SEARXNG_URL | SearXNG instance URL | http://localhost:8888 | | SEARXNG_MAX_RESULTS | Max results per search (1-50) | 10 | | SEARXNG_TIMEOUT | Request timeout (ms) | 30000 | | SEARXNG_CATEGORIES | Default categories (comma-separated) | general | | SEARXNG_SAFESEARCH | Safe search level (0-2) | 0 |

Usage

The server provides one tool:

search_web

Search the web using SearXNG.

Parameters:

• query (required) - Search query
• max_results (optional) - Number of results (1-50)
• categories (optional) - Array of categories: general, news, images, videos, files, music, science, social_media
• language (optional) - Language code (e.g., en, es, fr)
• time_range (optional) - Filter by time: day, week, month, year

Example:

Search for "machine learning tutorials" with news from the past week

Docker Compose Setup

See examples/docker-compose.yml for a complete setup with SearXNG and the MCP server.

Development

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/fussymonkey-dev/searxng-mcp-server
cd searxng-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Set up environment
cp .env.example .env

# Run locally
npm start

# Run tests
npm test

Troubleshooting

Connection errors?

• Verify SearXNG is running: curl http://localhost:8888
• Check SEARXNG_URL environment variable
• Run health check: npm run health-check

Timeout errors?

• Increase SEARXNG_TIMEOUT
• Check SearXNG instance performance
• Reduce max_results

Empty results?

• Try different search categories
• Check SearXNG engine configuration
• Verify engines are enabled in SearXNG settings

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch
3. Keep code clean, DRY, and KISS
4. Submit a PR

License

MIT - See LICENSE

Credits

Created by FussyMonkey.dev

Built with:

• SearXNG - Privacy-respecting metasearch engine
• Model Context Protocol SDK - MCP TypeScript SDK

Questions or issues? Open an issue on GitHub