`, or `` content 3. Collapse whitespace, output clean UTF-8 4. Warn if extracted text < 500 chars (likely JS-heavy or bot-blocked) **Completion criterion:** Outputs page content. Non-zero exit on HTTP failure. Stderr carries warnings for low-confidence extraction. ## Common Workflow ```bash INSTANCE=https://my-searxng.example.com # 1. Search + auto-fetch top 3 result pages (uses defaults: safesearch off, # time_range year, json output, the 7 default engines) python scripts/search.py -q "python asyncio tutorial" -i "$INSTANCE" --fetch 3 # 2. Brief format with full snippets (no truncation by default) python scripts/search.py -q "rust memory safety" -i "$INSTANCE" --format brief --fetch 2 # 3. Pipe-friendly: search -> extract first URL TOP_URL=$(python scripts/search.py -q "rust book" -i "$INSTANCE" --format urls --fail-fast | head -1) # 4. Override engines and use POST for a long query python scripts/search.py -q "ai news" -i "$INSTANCE" --engines google,duckduckgo \ --method POST --fetch 5 --fetch-timeout 15 --format json # 5. Failover across two instances python scripts/search.py -q "quantum computing" -i "$INSTANCE,https://backup.example.com" ``` **JSON vs HTML fallback difference:** When an instance supports `format=json`, search results include rich metadata (engine name, score, category) and `fetched_source` is `"json"`. With HTML fallback, results are less structured and `fetched_source` is `"html"`. The auto-fetch feature works identically in both cases. ## Troubleshooting ### `--instance` is required (unless configured) Public-instance discovery has been removed. You must supply an instance, but you have three options (in priority order): 1. `-i https://your-instance` (CLI flag, comma-separated for failover) 2. `SEARXNG_INSTANCE` environment variable (e.g. `export SEARXNG_INSTANCE="https://a,https://b"`) 3. A config file: `./searxng.toml` or `~/.config/searxng-cli/searxng.toml` (`instance = "..."` or `instances = [...]`), or `./instances.txt` / `~/.config/searxng-cli/instances.txt` (one URL per line, `#` comments) Self-host SearXNG (Docker: `docker run -d -p 8080:8080 searxng/searxng`) or use an instance you trust. ### All instances return 429 / timeout Your instance is rate-limited. Wait a few minutes, pass multiple instances via `-i a,b`, or tune your instance's limiter settings. ### Validate your instance list with `--verify` Before relying on a multi-instance setup, run `python scripts/search.py --verify -i a,b,c` (optionally with `--format brief` for a human-readable table). It reports each instance's reachability, JSON-API support, and latency, then exits without searching. Combine with `SEARXNG_INSTANCE` or a config file to check your persisted list in one go. ### JSON format blocked (HTML fallback) Some instances disable `format=json`. Enable `search.formats: [html, json]` in your instance's `settings.yml`. The HTML fallback parser handles the rest automatically. ### Certificate errors on Windows Some instances use Let's Encrypt certificates. Run `pip install certifi` or upgrade Python's certifi bundle. ### fetch.py output is empty or gibberish Try `--encoding gbk` for Chinese sites, `--encoding shift_jis` for Japanese. If the page requires JavaScript, use a headless browser instead. If a page 3xx-redirects and you passed `--no-redirect`, an empty body is expected (that's the redirect response itself). ### Caching, proxy, domain filter, batch - **Cache:** `--cache-ttl 30` caches results for 30 min; repeat the same query and you'll see `[cache hit]` on stderr. `--cache-stats` shows entries/age/size/path; `--clear-cache` wipes them. The cache key covers query + engines + categories + language + time_range + safesearch + pageno + method — different params get separate entries. Cache lives at `$SEARXNG_CACHE_DIR` or `~/.cache/searxng-cli/cache.db` (SQLite, WAL mode). - **Proxy:** `--proxy http://corp-proxy:8080` sets `HTTP_PROXY`/`HTTPS_PROXY` for both search and fetch; `NO_PROXY` defaults to `localhost,127.0.0.1,::1` so local traffic stays direct. Existing proxy env vars are honored when `--proxy` is omitted. - **Domain filter:** `--include-domain` (allowlist) and `--exclude-domain` (blocklist) run after search. Matching is case-insensitive and ignores a leading `www.`. If a domain appears in both lists, exclude wins (the result is dropped). - **Batch:** `--queries-file FILE` runs one query per line (blank/`#` skipped) in sequence. JSON output is an array `[{"query":..., "results":...}, ...]`; a failed query becomes `{"query":..., "error":...}` but does not abort the batch. Exit 0 if any query succeeded, 1 only if all failed. - **Config defaults:** `searxng.toml` can pre-set most flags (see the Quick Start example). Explicit CLI flags always override config values; string-valued ints from TOML are normalized automatically. ### "ModuleNotFoundError: No module named '_config'" Each script self-injects its directory into `sys.path`, so this should no longer occur. If it does, ensure `_config.py` sits next to `search.py` / `fetch.py` in the same `scripts/` directory. ## Common Pitfalls 1. **JSON format blocked.** Many instances disable `format=json`. Enable it in your instance settings for rich metadata; otherwise the HTML fallback parser is used. 2. **Rate limiting.** `search.py` retries each instance up to 3 times with exponential backoff and jitter, then fails over to the next instance. Supply multiple instances via `-i a,b` for resilience. 3. **fetch.py extraction quality varies.** The heuristic text extractor works well on articles and documentation but poorly on SPAs, login walls, and JavaScript-heavy pages. For JS-heavy pages, use a headless browser. 4. **Encoding issues on Windows.** The scripts output UTF-8. On cmd.exe, run `chcp 65001` first. PowerShell handles UTF-8 natively. For non-UTF-8 pages, use `fetch.py --encoding gbk`. 5. **POST vs GET.** Some instances handle POST differently or block it entirely. If POST search fails, try the default GET method. 6. **Overriding defaults.** Remember the new defaults (safesearch off, time_range year, the 7-engine list). Pass the corresponding flag to change any of them per query. 7. **Cache vs. freshness.** `--cache-ttl` returns cached results without hitting the network — fast, but stale. For time-sensitive queries (news, prices), use `--cache-ttl 0` or `--clear-cache`; the cache key includes `time_range`/`pageno` but not wall-clock time, so a `day`-range query cached at 09:00 is served as-is until the TTL expires. 8. **Domain filter semantics.** `--include-domain`/`--exclude-domain` run *after* search and only prune the already-returned results — they do not make the instance fetch more. An overly strict allowlist can yield zero results. Exclude wins over include when a domain is in both lists. 9. **Dedup changes output.** Dedup is on by default — duplicate URLs (ignoring `utm_*`/`gclid`/fragment, normalizing scheme/host case and param order) are collapsed. Use `--no-dedup` if you need the raw per-engine result set (e.g., comparing engine coverage). 10. **Sort changes `--max-results` behavior.** With the default `--sort-by score`, `--max-results N` keeps the *highest-scoring* N results, not the first N in instance order. Use `--sort-by none` to preserve the original order before limiting. ## Verification Checklist - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --format json` returns results - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --method POST` works (optional) - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i a,b` fails over across instances - [ ] `python scripts/fetch.py -u "https://example.com"` returns readable text - [ ] `python scripts/fetch.py -u "https://example.com" -e markdown` produces valid markdown - [ ] `python scripts/fetch.py -u "http://" --no-redirect` does not follow the redirect - [ ] All scripts have `--help` and `--version` - [ ] Scripts run from any working directory (sys.path self-injection) - [ ] Scripts exit 0 on success, non-zero on failure - [ ] `python scripts/search.py --verify -i ` reports instance health (reachable / JSON support / latency), exit 0 - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i ` shows `Dedup:` on stderr when duplicates exist; `--no-dedup` suppresses it - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --sort-by date` returns newest-first; `--sort-by none` preserves instance order - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --format csv` outputs a CSV with header `title,url,engine,score,published_date,content` - [ ] `python scripts/search.py --config ./my-config.toml -q "test"` loads the specified config and applies its defaults - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --verbose` shows debug-level diagnostics on stderr - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --quiet` suppresses progress messages; only warnings/errors on stderr - [ ] `python scripts/fetch.py -u --verbose` shows debug-level diagnostics on stderr - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --cache-ttl 30` then re-run → `[cache hit]` on stderr - [ ] `python scripts/search.py --cache-stats` prints entries/size/path; `--clear-cache` reports count deleted - [ ] `python scripts/search.py --queries-file queries.txt -i --format json` emits a JSON array - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --include-domain example.com --exclude-domain spam.com` filters as expected - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --proxy http://proxy:8080` routes through the proxy - [ ] `python scripts/search.py -q "test" -i --auth-bearer-file ` authenticates without CLI token leakage - [ ] A failing search with `--format json` emits `{"error":..., "exit_code":1}` to stdout - [ ] `python scripts/fetch.py -u --proxy http://proxy:8080` routes through the proxy - [ ] `python scripts/fetch.py -u --auth-bearer-file ` authenticates - [ ] Stderr carries warnings; stdout carries data