Why N2 Free Search?

| | Brave Search API | Google Custom Search | N2 Free Search | |---|---|---|---| | Cost | $5 / 1,000 queries | $5 / 1,000 queries | Free forever | | API Key | Required | Required | Not needed | | Credit Card | Required | Required | Not needed | | Search Engines | Brave only | Google only | 70+ engines | | Self-hosted | No | No | Yes | | Privacy | Third-party | Third-party | 100% yours |

N2 Free Search gives your AI agent free, unlimited access to 70+ search engines through SearXNG, the privacy-respecting open-source metasearch engine.

Quick Start

Add this to your MCP config file and restart your AI client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n2-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "n2-free-search"]
    }
  }
}

Done. Works immediately with public SearXNG instances — zero configuration needed.

Self-Hosted Mode (Recommended)

For faster, private, unlimited searches, run your own SearXNG instance with Docker.

Step 1: Create a project folder

mkdir n2-search && cd n2-search

Step 2: Create docker-compose.yml

services:
  searxng:
    image: searxng/searxng:latest
    container_name: n2-search
    ports:
      - "8888:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./searxng:/etc/searxng
    restart: always

Step 3: Create searxng/settings.yml

mkdir -p searxng

# searxng/settings.yml
use_default_settings: true
search:
  formats:
    - html
    - json
server:
  secret_key: "change-me-to-something-random"
  limiter: false
  image_proxy: true

Step 4: Start SearXNG

docker compose up -d

Step 5: Verify it works

curl "http://localhost:8888/search?q=test&format=json"

If you see JSON output with search results, you're good.

Step 6: Update your MCP config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "n2-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "n2-free-search"],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "http://localhost:8888"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart your AI client. You now have free, private, unlimited search.

Available Tools

n2_web_search

Search the web across 70+ engines simultaneously.

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | query | string | (required) | Search query | | count | number | 10 | Number of results (1-50) | | language | string | "auto" | Language code ("en", "ko", "ja", etc.) | | safesearch | number | 0 | 0=off, 1=moderate, 2=strict |

n2_news_search

Search for recent news articles from multiple sources.

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | query | string | (required) | News search query | | count | number | 10 | Number of results (1-50) | | freshness | string | (none) | "day", "week", "month", or "year" | | language | string | "auto" | Language code |

n2_image_search

Search for images across multiple platforms.

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | query | string | (required) | Image search query | | count | number | 10 | Number of results (1-50) | | language | string | "auto" | Language code |

n2_video_search

Search for videos (YouTube, Vimeo, etc).

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | query | string | (required) | Video search query | | count | number | 10 | Number of results (1-50) | | language | string | "auto" | Language code |

n2_suggest

Get search autocomplete suggestions.

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | query | string | (required) | Partial search query |

How It Works

Your AI Agent
    |  (MCP protocol)
N2 Free Search Server
    |  (HTTP)
SearXNG Instance (local or public)
    |  (aggregation)
Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave, Wikipedia, and 70+ more

Dual Mode

| Mode | When | How | |------|------|-----| | Public | No SEARXNG_URL set | Auto-selects fastest available public instance | | Local | SEARXNG_URL is set | Uses your self-hosted SearXNG |

Public mode works instantly with no setup. Local mode is faster, private, and has no rate limits.

Configuration

Environment Variables

| Variable | Default | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | SEARXNG_URL | (auto) | URL of your SearXNG instance |

Examples

# Public mode (zero config)
npx n2-free-search

# Local mode
SEARXNG_URL=http://localhost:8888 npx n2-free-search

# Remote mode (SearXNG on another machine)
SEARXNG_URL=http://192.168.1.100:8888 npx n2-free-search

Supported Platforms

Works with any MCP-compatible AI client:

• Claude (Anthropic)
• Cursor
• Cline / Roo Code
• Any MCP client

Public vs Self-Hosted

| | Public Mode | Self-Hosted | |---|---|---| | Speed | 2-5 seconds | 0.5-1 second | | Rate Limit | Varies by instance | Unlimited | | Privacy | Shared instances | Fully private | | Reliability | Depends on instance | You control it | | Setup | None | Docker (5 minutes) | | Cost | Free | Free |

Part of the N2 AI Body Series

N2 Free Search is the first tool in the N2 AI Body series — a collection of free, open-source MCP tools that give AI agents real-world capabilities:

| Tool | Role | Status | |------|------|--------| | N2-Search | Search the web | Released | | N2-Browser | Control a browser | Coming soon | | N2-Memory | Persistent memory | Planned | | N2-Voice | Text-to-speech | Planned |

"If humans can do it, AI should be able to too."

License

MIT - Nton2