MCP100 verdict
Not currently recommended. Community implementation with resolved identity, strong maintenance/adoption evidence, a differentiated privacy-search task, and no reviewed material security veto; qualifies for Shortlist despite not being first-party SearXNG.
MCP100 Assessment
Editorial verdict
Reviewed October 19, 2026
Task Fit
Mapped
Web search and research
Trust
Status warning
Shortlist evidence is sufficient for identity, setup and task value; authenticated runtime tool-schema measurement and exhaustive security certification remain out of scope.
Maintenance
Date unavailable
No dated repository or package update is currently stored.
Popularity
Signals available
Visible usage signals are shown for discovery only, not as proof of safety.
Evidence scope
1.3k MCP repository stars
42.3k package downloads / 30 days
Repository identity: ihor-sokoliuk/mcp-searxng
Package identity: mcp-searxng · version 2.7.0
Stars observed October 20, 2026 · Downloads observed October 20, 2026
Current repository is the MCP implementation itself.
Exact MCP-specific npm package identity verified against the current first-party implementation.
Publisher activity observed October 20, 2026
Current source snapshot
Source relationship: Community implementation
Reviewed October 19, 2026
Evidence-backed setup
Choose your MCP client. A client connects to the MCP server; the language model is selected inside that client. Only stored, source-backed configurations are shown.
Transport not recorded
Complete client-specific setup, verification and removal are not documented in this reviewed source.
Publisher-documented setup is not the same as MCP100 execution testing. “MCP100 logic checked” means the stored configuration shape was reviewed, not that third-party MCP software was run.
Evidence checked 2026-10-20
Type-appropriate, source-backed setup for this mcp server profile.
Loading optional publisher installation details…
{"command":"npx","args":["-y","mcp-searxng"],"env":{"SEARXNG_URL":"<YOUR_SEARXNG_URL>"}}Capability
A mature community MCP server that exposes SearXNG search plus URL reading to AI clients, with local and self-hosted transports. Search results and fetched pages are untrusted external content and can contain prompt injection. Trust the configured SearXNG instance, constrain URL-reading/network access, and secure any non-local HTTP transport.
Not measured yet
Estimated token footprint of the MCP tool schemas exposed to the agent.
mcp-searxng
Reviewed access
Reviewed sources
Related reviewed MCPs
Search Hugging Face Hub resources and use explicitly enabled Jobs, sandboxes, and community Space tools.
Choose this instead if
Choose Hugging Face MCP instead if searching models, datasets, Spaces, papers, and Hugging Face documentation.
Search Hugging Face Hub resources and use explicitly enabled Jobs, sandboxes, and community Space tools.
Connect compatible AI clients to Perplexity's documented MCP capabilities.
Choose this instead if
Choose Perplexity MCP instead if current web search and cited question answering with Perplexity APIs.
Recommended first-party Perplexity MCP for real-time search, question answering, reasoning, and deep research through a small four-tool surface.
Search, scrape, crawl, and extract web content through Firecrawl.
Choose this instead if
Choose Firecrawl MCP instead if scraping and extracting public web pages.
Search, scrape, crawl, and extract web content through Firecrawl.
Ihor Sokoliuk / Community is listed as Community implementation in MCP100’s current evidence.
Current implementation resources:
From the publisher README
Original client setup and configuration retained from the publisher documentation.
Publisher-documented clients
These names appear in the publisher's installation documentation. MCP100-verified configurations are shown separately above when available.
You need an existing SearXNG instance with JSON search enabled. This project connects an MCP client to SearXNG; it does not install SearXNG. Use an instance you operate or trust. Start with the self-hosted or public-instance guide if needed.
Choose how to connect:
| Your setup | Start here |
|---|---|
| Client starts the server locally | Install Node.js 22 or later, then use the NPX example below or your client recipe. |
| Client starts a Docker container | Use the Docker/STDIO recipe in Installation. |
| You have an independently running HTTP service | Use your client's HTTP recipe with the full /mcp URL. |
| You need to operate an HTTP service | Follow the HTTP server guide. |
For clients using mcpServers JSON (such as Claude Desktop), add:
{
"mcpServers": {
"searxng": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "mcp-searxng"],
"env": { "SEARXNG_URL": "https://search.example.com" }
}
}
}
Replace the example URL with your SearXNG base URL. Other clients use different
configuration shapes: choose your client recipe.
Leave MCP_HTTP_PORT unset for local STDIO. Docker also needs environment
forwarding into the container.
Reload the client, inspect its MCP tool inventory, then ask it to search for
SearXNG documentation. A simple tool call is
searxng_web_search with {"query":"SearXNG"}. Discovery alone does not
test SearXNG connectivity. If the call fails, start with
troubleshooting.
For NPX and npm installs, Node.js 22 or later is required. The Docker image includes its Node.js runtime.
npm install -g mcp-searxng
{
"mcpServers": {
"searxng": {
"command": "mcp-searxng",
"env": {
"SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
}
}
}
}
Pre-built image:
docker pull isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest
Image signatures can be verified with Cosign — see SECURITY.md for instructions.
{
"mcpServers": {
"searxng": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "-i", "--rm",
"-e", "SEARXNG_URL",
"isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest"
],
"env": {
"SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
}
}
}
}
To pass additional env vars, add -e VAR_NAME to args and the variable to env.
For browser-solver integration, pass FLARESOLVERR_URL, BYPARR_URL, or both
and make the configured services reachable from this container. Dual mode has
a fixed FlareSolverr-first order and no automatic reverse failover. Safe rendered
HTML and explicit Byparr PDF content are read directly; ambiguous content uses
guarded replay, with bounded failover for eligible read failures. See
URL Reader Controls for the complete
behavior and Docker Compose example.
Build locally:
docker build -t mcp-searxng:latest -f Dockerfile .
Use the same config above, replacing isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest with mcp-searxng:latest.
docker-compose.yml:
services:
mcp-searxng:
image: isokoliuk/mcp-searxng:latest
stdin_open: true
environment:
- SEARXNG_URL=${SEARXNG_URL:?Set SEARXNG_URL in the environment}
# Add optional variables as needed — see CONFIGURATION.md
The tracked Compose file is intentionally STDIO-only and publishes no network ports; MCP clients launch it with an absolute Compose-file path and docker compose run --rm -T, not docker compose up. The -T flag prevents pseudo-TTY allocation so MCP JSON-RPC stays on raw standard input and output. Compose fails before launch unless the MCP client supplies SEARXNG_URL.
MCP client config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"searxng": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"compose",
"-f", "/absolute/path/to/docker-compose.yml",
"run", "--rm", "-T", "mcp-searxng"
],
"env": {
"SEARXNG_URL": "YOUR_SEARXNG_INSTANCE_URL"
}
}
}
}
If you previously used the tracked file as an HTTP service on port 8080, put the HTTP settings in an untracked docker-compose.override.yml:
services:
mcp-searxng:
ports:
- "127.0.0.1:8080:8080"
environment:
- MCP_HTTP_PORT=8080
- MCP_HTTP_HOST=0.0.0.0
Here 0.0.0.0 is the container-side bind address; the host-side port remains loopback-only. This override has no authentication and is only a temporary single-host migration path. Before adding co-located containers or exposing the service beyond the local machine, follow the hardened deployment guidance.
Run HTTP independently, then connect the client. See the HTTP server guide for local checks, static bearer authentication, OAuth requirements and deployment verification.
Original product, capability, tool, and usage documentation from the MCP publisher. Installation sections appear under Install & Agents.
Privacy-respecting web search for AI assistants — use an operator-controlled or trusted SearXNG instance with Claude, Cursor, and more.
An MCP server that integrates the SearXNG API, giving AI assistants web search capabilities.
✨ Featured in the GitHub MCP Registry.
See the tool guide for capabilities and limits, configuration reference for settings, and historical deployment measurements for bounded resource-planning evidence.
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.
MCP client → mcp-searxng → SearXNG → search engines
The client either starts its own STDIO process or connects to an HTTP service.
SEARXNG_URL identifies the SearXNG service, not the MCP endpoint. URL reading
fetches the selected website directly. A semicolon-separated replica list is
supported for interchangeable SearXNG deployments; see
replica configuration.
STDIO is the default. Legacy Streamable HTTP sessions are stateful by default:
clients should send DELETE /mcp when finished, then reinitialize if a later
request receives HTTP 404 for the terminated session. Modern HTTP requests and
the MCP_HTTP_STATELESS=true legacy mode are sessionless; see
HTTP transport configuration.
| Tool | Use it to |
|---|---|
searxng_web_search | Find sources and refine results |
searxng_search_suggestions | Complete or refine a query |
searxng_instance_info | Inspect categories, engines and defaults |
web_url_read | Read a known URL as text/Markdown |
The tool guide contains examples and the full parameter reference. The optional research workflow explains how to inspect sources and cite evidence.
For the default local setup, SEARXNG_URL is the required setting. Optional
modes such as hardened HTTP and OAuth have companion requirements. Use the
configuration reference for environment variables,
defaults, caching, timeouts, proxies, TLS, and limits.
An HTTP deployment can use OAuth with an external authorization provider. See authentication choices. Static bearer authentication and SearXNG Basic Auth protect different connections.
| Symptom | Next check |
|---|---|
| Server absent or disconnected | Client/process startup |
| HTTP auth, session or proxy error | HTTP connection |
| Tools appear but search fails | SearXNG connection |
| Empty, poor or stale results | Filters, upstream metadata and cache |
| URL/PDF failure or timeout | URL reading |
JSON output may be disabled, or an access-control layer may have denied the request. Follow the direct checks before changing settings. A working browser page does not prove the JSON API works.
SEARXNG_HTML_FALLBACK=true can retry 403/404/non-JSON search responses as HTML.
Parsing is best-effort and metadata is limited; compact output omits fallback
markers. Read the public-instance guidance
before enabling it on a service you do not control.
For a bug report, collect a minimal reproduction and relevant errors.
Configure search for useful coverage with tested upstream settings, specialist engine routes and MCP output controls. The deployment recipe includes a private Compose stack and optional browser providers, with dated results and known failures.
Find a guide by task. These links open current main-branch documentation. Unreleased behavior is labeled; consult the matching Git tag when investigating an older version.
See CONTRIBUTING.md.
MIT — see LICENSE for details.