SearXNG Search

Use SearXNG for privacy-oriented metasearch when the user provides a SearXNG instance, asks to use a self-hosted search service, or explicitly wants SearXNG instead of a general web search tool. This is a web_search provider: it discovers URLs and snippets from a query, but it does not fetch full page content.

In ArkSpace, SearXNG is exposed through this skill and its bundled helper script.

Source References

• Official documentation: https://docs.searxng.org/
• Search API: https://docs.searxng.org/dev/search_api.html
• Reference skill: https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/blob/main/optional-skills/research/searxng-search/SKILL.md
• Provider reference: https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/searxng-search

Instance Selection

1. Prefer the user's explicit instance URL.
2. If not provided, use SEARXNG_URL.
3. If not set, use SEARXNG_BASE_URL.
4. If not set, use ArkSpace provider config, defaulting to ~/.config/ark-space/providers.json.
5. If none exists, help the user configure SearXNG through provider-manager.
6. When multiple search skills exist, let Orchestrator choose the role first, then select this provider from registry/search-providers.yaml.
7. If the user provides an exact URL to read, route to a web_fetch provider instead of this skill.

Before Use

Resolve the installed ArkSpace package root before running commands. Replace <installed-arkspace-path> with the directory two levels above this loaded SKILL.md, such as /Users/<user>/.claude/plugins/cache/ark-space/ark-space/0.1.2. Use the installed package path, not a repository-relative command or relative skill script path.

Check configuration before searching when privacy, reproducibility, or reliability matters:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/scripts/arkspace.py provider check searxng

Persist a self-hosted URL once:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/scripts/arkspace.py provider configure searxng --base-url "https://searx.example.org"

Inspect the resolved configuration:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/scripts/arkspace.py provider resolve searxng --capability web_search

If the check fails because no instance is configured:

• If the user already gave a SearXNG URL, run python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/scripts/arkspace.py provider configure searxng --base-url "<url>" for them.
• If the user has not provided a URL, ask for the self-hosted SearXNG base URL.
• For one-off searches, use --base-url.

Configuration belongs in the host environment or ArkSpace user config, not in committed skill files. Use --base-url for one-off overrides, SEARXNG_URL / SEARXNG_BASE_URL for host-managed config, and python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/scripts/arkspace.py provider configure searxng --base-url <url> for durable user-level config. Set ARKSPACE_PROVIDER_CONFIG or pass --config-path to use a custom provider config file.

API Pattern

SearXNG supports GET /, GET /search, POST /, and POST /search. For agent use, prefer:

curl -G "$SEARXNG_URL/search" \
  --data-urlencode "q=site:github.com searxng" \
  --data-urlencode "format=json"

Common parameters:

If format=json returns 403, 406, or HTML, the instance probably has JSON disabled; try another instance or use HTML only when a readable page is acceptable.

Helper Script

Use the bundled helper for repeatable searches:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/skills/searxng-search/scripts/searxng_search.py "query text"

Check configured availability:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/scripts/arkspace.py provider check searxng

Self-hosted instance:

SEARXNG_URL="https://searx.example.org" \
python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/skills/searxng-search/scripts/searxng_search.py "query text" --limit 5

Persisted self-hosted instance:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/scripts/arkspace.py provider configure searxng --base-url "https://searx.example.org"
python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/skills/searxng-search/scripts/searxng_search.py "query text" --limit 5

SEARXNG_BASE_URL is also accepted for hosts that use that convention.

Explicit instance and filters:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/skills/searxng-search/scripts/searxng_search.py "query text" \
  --base-url "https://searx.example.org" \
  --categories general \
  --language en \
  --time-range month \
  --safesearch 1

Output modes:

python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/skills/searxng-search/scripts/searxng_search.py "query text" --output markdown
python3 <installed-arkspace-path>/skills/searxng-search/scripts/searxng_search.py "query text" --output json

If a non-general category returns zero results, the helper retries once with categories=general unless --no-category-fallback is set.

Result Handling

• Cite result URLs when using SearXNG output in an answer.
• Treat results as discovery snippets: SearXNG returns titles, URLs, snippets, engines, and optional media/date fields, not full article content.
• Prefer opening primary sources from the result list before making factual claims.
• Mention the instance used when result quality or reproducibility matters.
• For current, legal, medical, financial, or other high-stakes facts, verify with primary sources after discovery.

Troubleshooting