Catalog · Utilities

SearXNG

SearXNG is a metasearch engine that sends your query to many search services and merges the results. Your instance does not profile users, and upstream engines see the server rather than your browser. You can run it privately for yourself or for a group. It is a fork of the earlier searx project.

Code Fireworks render of the SearXNG repository, as of Nov 2026
As of Nov 2026Code Fireworks ↗

Why it fits

Self-hosting an instance for private use is free under AGPL.

Getting started

6 steps · clarity 4/5

Prerequisites (from the official docs):

  • A server or PC with Docker or Podman
  • A port for the web interface (the example maps 8888 to the container's 8080)

Steps:

  1. Create a directory for SearXNG and its configuration.
  2. Download the two Compose template files from the official container guide.
  3. Copy the example .env into place.
  4. Edit .env (secret key and base URL).
  5. Start the stack with docker compose up -d.
  6. Open the web interface; optionally set it as your browser search engine.

Official container guide: https://docs.searxng.org/admin/installation-docker.html

All installation methods: https://docs.searxng.org/admin/installation.html

Notes

Upstream search providers are third parties; privacy characteristics depend on instance configuration.

Sources

  1. searxng.org
  2. github.com/searxng/searxng/blob/master/LICENSE
  3. docs.searxng.org/admin/installation.html
  4. docs.searxng.org/admin/installation-docker.html
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