DuckDuckGo MCP Server (ericthered926): Setup for Claude, Cursor and Other Apps
Lets Claude, Cursor and other assistants search the web and recent news through DuckDuckGo, with no API key.
This is a community fork of an earlier DuckDuckGo server, not made by DuckDuckGo. It runs on your computer and gives the assistant two tools: web search and news search. No account or API key is needed.
Results are short by default, three results with trimmed snippets, so they fit small models. You can raise the limits with settings. It only searches and returns results.
Good for
- Anyone who wants free web search in their assistant without an account
- Users of small local models who need short, trimmed search results
- People who want news search filtered by region or time
- Developers who want a simple search tool for Open WebUI or Claude Desktop
Works in
12 should work
Tap an app to see how to set it up and any known problems.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Supports local MCP servers.
Client does not support this transport.
Client does not support this transport.
Install duckduckgo-mcp-server
Claude Code
- 1
Copy this prompt.
Add the duckduckgo-mcp-server server to Claude Code. Run this command: claude mcp add duckduckgo -- npx -y @ericthered926/duckduckgo-mcp-server Then check that it loaded and tell me if I need to sign in or restart.
- 2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.
Requires Node.js.
Built from the package data we hold. Not yet tested by us.
Tools
Searches the web with DuckDuckGo
Runs a DuckDuckGo search and returns a few results with trimmed snippets. You can choose how many results, the region, SafeSearch level and a time range such as past week.
Try: “Search for TypeScript best practices from the past month.”
Network ·
duckduckgo_web_searchFinds recent news articles
Searches DuckDuckGo news and returns articles with source and date, with limits for result count, SafeSearch and time range.
Try: “Find news about artificial intelligence from this week.”
Network ·
duckduckgo_news_search
Read from the source code
Permissions
low risk · 2 things to watch
Low risk
The tools only search the web, so the main risk is that your search terms are sent to DuckDuckGo. Keep private details out of the queries you ask the assistant to run.
What it can do
- Read your data
- Create and change things
- Delete things
- Read-only modeHow to turn it on
Watch out for
Your search terms go to DuckDuckGo
Each query leaves your computer for DuckDuckGo. Do not put private names or secrets in a search. github.com
Built on a search scraping library
The server uses the duck-duck-scrape library rather than an official DuckDuckGo API, so results or access may change or be rate limited. github.com
Security advisories
No published security advisories as of Nov 1, 2026.
Technical details
| Turning on read-only | Both tools only search, so there is nothing to switch off. |
|---|---|
| Talks to | DuckDuckGo (search queries) |
| Sign-in and keys | No credentials are needed. |
Questions
Is this the official DuckDuckGo MCP server?
No. It is a community fork by ericthered926 of an earlier project by zhsama. DuckDuckGo does not publish it.
Does it need an API key?
No. It needs only Node.js, and you do not need a DuckDuckGo account.
Is it free?
Yes. The server is MIT licensed and DuckDuckGo search needs no key. It has a built-in rate limit, 1 request per second and 15,000 per month by default, that you can change.
Does it run locally?
Yes. It runs on your computer and sends only the search queries to DuckDuckGo.
Can it change or delete anything?
No. Both tools only search and return results.
Can I choose region or recent results only?
Yes. Both tools accept a time range, and web search also takes a region code such as us-en or de-de.
How do I make results longer?
Set DDG_MAX_RESULTS and DDG_MAX_SNIPPET_LENGTH, or DDG_ENABLE_FULL_CONTENT=true, in the server settings. The defaults are short on purpose, for small models.
Information
updated Nov 2, 2026
- Publisher
- Community
- Package
@ericthered926/duckduckgo-mcp-server- Registry
- npm
- Transport
- stdio
- Auth
- None
- Version
- 0.6.0
- License
- MIT
- Last commit
- Dec 18, 2025
- Open issues
- 0
Sources
Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from. Issues, quotes and findings above link to their own source.