TermSearch

Personal search engine. One command install, zero config, privacy-first.

No Docker, no Python, no API keys required. AI is optional. Everything runs from a single npm install.

Install & Run

npm install -g termsearch
termsearch

Opens http://localhost:3000. That's it.

What You Get

Search — DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, Startpage, Qwant, Ecosia, GitHub, Yandex, Marginalia, Ahmia out of the box. Add Brave, Mojeek, or your own SearXNG for more coverage. Engine picker lets you mix and match per-search, and the new web scrapers can be toggled in Settings.

AI Summaries — Connect any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, Chutes.ai, OpenRoute.ai, Anthropic, OpenAI). 2-phase agentic flow: AI picks sources, reads pages, synthesizes an answer. Session memory carries context across queries.

Social Profiler — Paste a GitHub/Bluesky/Reddit/Twitter URL or @handle, get a profile card with stats, top repos, similar accounts.

Torrent Search — The Pirate Bay, 1337x, YTS, Nyaa, EZTV, and Torrent Galaxy with magnet links, seeders, file sizes.

Social & News — Bluesky posts + GDELT articles inline.

Progressive Enhancement

| Level | Config | What works | |-------|--------|------------| | 0 | None | DuckDuckGo + Wikipedia + Startpage + Qwant + Ecosia + GitHub + Yandex + Marginalia + Ahmia | | 1 | API keys (Settings) | + Brave, Mojeek | | 2 | AI endpoint (Settings) | + AI summaries, query refinement, session memory | | 3 | SearXNG URL | + 40 engines via your SearXNG instance |

CLI

termsearch                     start + open browser
termsearch start               background daemon
termsearch start --fg          foreground (live logs)
termsearch stop / restart      manage daemon
termsearch status              version, PID, URL, update check
termsearch doctor              full health check + npm update check
termsearch logs [-n 100]       server log tail
termsearch open                open browser
termsearch autostart enable    boot start (Termux:Boot / systemd / launchd)
termsearch help                full reference

Options: --port=3000 --host=127.0.0.1 --data-dir=~/.termsearch/

AI Presets

Configure in Settings > AI from the browser. Presets auto-fill endpoint and model:

| Preset | Endpoint | Key | Default Model | |--------|----------|-----|---------------| | Ollama | localhost:11434/v1 | no | qwen3.5:4b | | LM Studio | localhost:1234/v1 | no | — | | llama.cpp | localhost:8080/v1 | no | — | | Chutes.ai TEE | llm.chutes.ai/v1 | yes | DeepSeek-V3.2-TEE | | OpenRoute.ai | openroute.ai/api/v1 | yes | deepseek/deepseek-chat | | Anthropic | api.anthropic.com/v1 | yes | claude-3-5-haiku-latest | | OpenAI | api.openai.com/v1 | yes | gpt-4o-mini | | Custom | any OpenAI-compatible | optional | — |

Load Models button auto-discovers available models from the endpoint.

Search Engines

Zero-config (no API key): DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, Startpage, Qwant, Ecosia, GitHub, Yandex, Ahmia, Marginalia

Toggles in Settings: Startpage, Qwant, Ecosia, Yandex, Ahmia, Marginalia

API key (toggle in Settings): Brave Search, Mojeek

Self-hosted: SearXNG (proxy to 40+ engines)

Selectable per-search: Engine picker icon in the header lets you toggle individual engines, use presets (All / Web / Uncensored / GitHub / Torrent / Social / Research), or pick from groups (Web Core, Uncensored, Code & Dev, Media, Research, Federated, Torrent).

Frontend

Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS — ~350KB total, no build step, no framework, no WASM.

• Dark/light theme toggle
• Mobile-first responsive layout with bottom bar
• PWA manifest + OpenSearch integration
• AI panel with progress bar, steps, source pills, session memory, retry
• Engine picker as compact icon with dropdown

Architecture

~/.termsearch/
  config.json          settings (saved via browser UI)
  cache/               L1 RAM + L2 disk cache
  termsearch.pid       daemon PID
  termsearch.log       server log

src/
  server.js            Express app (~70 lines)
  config/              manager + defaults + env overrides
  search/
    engine.js          fan-out, merge, rank, health tracking
    providers/         ddg, wikipedia, startpage, qwant, ecosia, brave, mojeek, searxng, github, yandex, ahmia, marginalia
    ranking.js         source diversity ranking
    cache.js           tiered L1+L2 cache
  ai/
    orchestrator.js    2-phase agentic summary
    summary.js         prompt builder + parser
    query.js           query refinement
    providers/         openai-compat universal client
  fetch/               document fetcher + SSRF guard
  profiler/            social profile scanner (10 platforms)
  social/              Bluesky + GDELT + scrapers
  torrent/             TPB + 1337x + YTS + Nyaa + EZTV + TGx + magnet extraction
  autostart/           Termux:Boot / systemd / launchd
  api/                 routes + middleware

frontend/dist/         vanilla SPA

API

GET  /api/health                    status + providers
GET  /api/search?q=...              search (JSON)
GET  /api/search-stream?q=...       progressive search (SSE)
POST /api/ai-summary                AI summary (SSE streaming)
POST /api/ai-query                  AI query refinement
POST /api/fetch                     fetch readable content
GET  /api/profiler?q=...            social profile scan
GET  /api/social-search?q=...       Bluesky + GDELT
POST /api/torrent-search            torrent scrape
POST /api/magnet                    magnet extraction
POST /api/scan                      site crawl
GET  /api/config                    config (keys masked)
POST /api/config                    update config
POST /api/config/test-ai            test AI connection
POST /api/config/models             list provider models
GET  /api/config/test-provider/:id  test search provider
GET  /api/autostart                 autostart status
POST /api/autostart                 toggle autostart
GET  /api/openapi.json              OpenAPI spec

Env Vars (optional)

TERMSEARCH_PORT=3000
TERMSEARCH_HOST=127.0.0.1
TERMSEARCH_DATA_DIR=~/.termsearch/
TERMSEARCH_AI_API_BASE=http://localhost:11434/v1
TERMSEARCH_AI_API_KEY=
TERMSEARCH_AI_MODEL=qwen3.5:4b
TERMSEARCH_BRAVE_API_KEY=
TERMSEARCH_MOJEEK_API_KEY=
TERMSEARCH_MARGINALIA_API_KEY=public
TERMSEARCH_SEARXNG_URL=

Termux

pkg install nodejs
npm install -g termsearch
termsearch
termsearch autostart enable   # optional: start on boot

License

MIT — Copyright (c) 2026 Davide A. Guglielmi