- name
- websearch-ddgs
- description
- Use a local DDGS MCP server (SSE) via mcporter to access fast web search tools (text/news/images/videos/books) without API keys. Use when user requests general web search, especially in automated/cron runs, images search, news search, videos search, books search.
- metadata
- {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔍","requires":{"bins":["mcporter", "python3"]},"install":[{"id":"brew","kind":"brew","formula":"steipete/tap/mcporter","bins":["mcporter"],"label":"Install mcporter (brew)"}]}}
DDGS web search
Setup: install ddgs, run MCP server (SSE), optionally keep it as a daemon
It is recommended to enable built-in mcporter skill.
Install the Python package
python3 -m pip install -U ddgsRun the DDGS MCP server (SSE)
Foreground (good for debugging):
ddgs api --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000Detached/background mode (convenient on a dev machine):
ddgs api -d --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000Stop the detached server:
ddgs api -sOptional: systemd user service (always available)
Create ~/.config/systemd/user/ddgs.service:
[Unit]
Description=DDGS MCP SSE server
After=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=%h/.local/bin/ddgs api --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=2
[Install]
WantedBy=default.targetThen:
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now ddgs
systemctl --user status ddgs --no-pagerAdd the MCP server to mcporter
Add a named server pointing at the DDGS SSE endpoint:
mcporter config add ddgs http://127.0.0.1:8000/sse --allow-httpVerify it shows up:
mcporter config list ddgsThen you can call tools as ddgs.<tool> (examples below).
Key idea:
- DDGS runs an MCP SSE endpoint at
http://127.0.0.1:8000/sse - mcporter connects to that endpoint and exposes tools like
ddgs.search_text_search_text_post
Defaults (use unless user says otherwise)
backend="duckduckgo"(most reliable)max_results=10(“SERP page 1”)region="us-en",safesearch="moderate"
Workflow
0) Preconditions / sanity
1) Confirm DDGS server is up: - curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8000/health 2) Confirm mcporter can see the server: - mcporter config list ddgs
If the server is down, either:
- start/restore it (if you have permission), or
- use fallback (
web_search).
1) Execution examples
Use mcporter to call DDGS tools and parse JSON.
Text search:
mcporter call ddgs.search_text_search_text_post \
query="<query>" max_results=10 backend="duckduckgo" region="us-en" safesearch="moderate" --jsonNews search:
mcporter call ddgs.search_news_search_news_post \
query="<query>" max_results=10 backend="bing" timelimit="w" --jsonImages:
mcporter call ddgs.search_images_search_images_post \
query="<query>" max_results=10 backend="duckduckgo" region="us-en" safesearch="moderate" --jsonVideos:
mcporter call ddgs.search_videos_search_videos_post \
query="<query>" max_results=10 backend="duckduckgo" region="us-en" safesearch="moderate" --jsonBooks:
mcporter call ddgs.search_books_search_books_post \
query="<query>" max_results=10 backend="annasarchive" --jsonAvailable tools (via mcporter)
ddgs.search_text_search_text_postddgs.search_images_search_images_postddgs.search_news_search_news_postddgs.search_videos_search_videos_postddgs.search_books_search_books_post
Tool parameters
Common parameters (most endpoints):
query— the search string.max_results— cap results; default 10 (fast, “page 1”).backend— engine selector. Preferduckduckgofor reliability;bingas second choice; avoidgoogleon servers (403/captcha risk)region— locale for results (e.g.us-en,uk-uk).safesearch— content filtering (off|moderate|strict); defaultmoderate.
News-specific:
timelimit— recency filter (commonlyd,w,m,y).
Books-specific:
- recommended
backendisannasarchive.
Tip: when you need reproducibility, explicitly pass backend, region, safesearch, max_results even if they match defaults.
Troubleshooting
mcportersays server not found → you’re using a different config file; if you use a non-default config, pass--configpath from your system (default is~/.openclaw/workspace/config/mcporter.json).
backend="google"often returns HTTP 403 in server environments → use another backend, e.g.duckduckgo/bing.- Full API docs available locally at
http://localhost:8000/docs.