mcp-searxngThis server connects your AI assistant to a SearXNG search instance, allowing it to perform private web searches and read webpage contents. Just add your instance URL to the configuration so the AI ca

Can't enable JSON? (HTML fallback)

If you must use a public instance you don't control and it rejects format=json (the 403 above), set the opt‑in flag instead of editing the server: before enabling it, review the public operator's policy and the public‑instance usage guide. A search that gets a 403/404 or a non‑JSON response is then retried automatically without format=json and parsed from the regular HTML results page. On success you get normal results (title, URL, snippet) marked sourceFormat: "html" in JSON mode, and text mode adds the line "Note: Results parsed from SearXNG HTML fallback; metadata is limited." Relevance scores and engine names are not available from HTML. On failure, parsing is best‑effort and varies by the instance's theme/version, so some results may be missed or sparse. If the HTML page itself also fails — still blocked, rate‑limited (429), auth (401), or 5xx — the fallback attempt's error is surfaced, so the search never silently returns empty results. The fallback only triggers on 403/404/non‑JSON, never on auth or network errors. Enabling JSON on an instance you control remains the recommended setup — the fallback is a compatibility aid, not a replacement.

Asked by Boris Yankov · Aug 23, 2025

How It Works?

mcp-searxng is a standalone MCP server — a separate Node.js process that your AI assistant connects to for web search. It queries one SearXNG instance, or a semicolon‑separated list of interchangeable SearXNG replicas, via the HTTP JSON API. This project cannot be installed as a native SearXNG plugin. Point it at any existing SearXNG instance, or interchangeable replica list, by setting SEARXNG_URL. For SearXNG deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting, see Operating Self‑Hosted SearXNG with mcp-searxng.

Asked by Ekaterina Orlova · Jul 19, 2025

Why mcp-searxng?

As of 2026-07-29, the capability comparison below reflects the official Brave MCP, Exa MCP, and Firecrawl MCP projects. “Pagination” means an exposed page or offset control. “Self-hosted” means the search service can run under your control. “Free / No API key” means this MCP server does not require a paid search-vendor API key; you still operate or select the underlying SearXNG instance. | | Brave MCP | Exa MCP | Firecrawl MCP | mcp-searxng | |--|:---------:|:-------:|:-------------:|:---------------:| | Web Search | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Read URL | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | | Pagination | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | | Self-hosted | ✗ | ✗ | Partial | ✓ | | Free / No API key | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | Privacy depends on the SearXNG deployment. An operator‑controlled instance can avoid trusting a third‑party search operator, while a public instance receives the query and may log it. SearXNG and this MCP integration do not by themselves provide anonymity.

Asked by Renata Silva · Jun 10, 2025