Skills ddgs-web-search

Use when needing to search the web in AI coding tools or OpenClaw. Uses DuckDuckGo API without API key.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/bird-frank/ddgs-search-api" ~/.claude/skills/clawdbot-skills-ddgs-web-search && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/bird-frank/ddgs-search-api/SKILL.md

source content

DuckDuckGo Web Search Skill

An Agent Skill for searching web content via DuckDuckGo.

Overview

This Skill provides a command-line tool for web search using the

ddgs

Python package. Suitable for:

Real-time web information needs in AI coding tools
Fetching search results in OpenClaw workflows

Core Features

Web Search: General web search
News Search: Dedicated news content search
Multiple Output Formats: Text or JSON format
Flexible Configuration: Region, time limits, and safe search level

Installation

This project uses

uv

as the Python package manager.

Option 1: Run with uv (Recommended)

# Run the script directly (uv will auto-install dependencies)
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "Python programming"

# Or navigate to the directory first
cd skills/ddgs-search
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "machine learning"

Option 2: Manual Dependency Installation

# Install dependencies using uv
uv pip install ddgs

# Or use pip
pip install ddgs

Quick Start

Basic Usage

# Run with uv (recommended)
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "Python programming"

# Limit the number of results
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "machine learning" --max-results 5

# Search news
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "tech news" --news

# JSON output (for programmatic parsing)
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "API documentation" --json

# Time limit (today)
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "breaking news" --timelimit d

Complete Parameter Reference

Parameter	Short	Description	Default
`query`	-	Search keywords	Required
`--max-results`	`-n`	Maximum number of results	10
`--region`	`-r`	Region code	`wt-wt`
`--safesearch`	`-s`	Safe search (on/moderate/off)	`moderate`
`--timelimit`	`-t`	Time limit (d/w/m/y)	-
`--backend`	`-b`	Search backend (auto/html/lite)	`auto`
`--news`	-	Search news	-
`--json`	`-j`	JSON format output	-
`--verbose`	`-v`	Show detailed information	-

Region Code Examples

```
wt-wt
```
- Worldwide (default)
```
us-en
```
- United States English
```
cn-zh
```
- China Chinese
```
jp-jp
```
- Japan
```
uk-en
```
- United Kingdom

Time Limits

```
d
```
- Past day
```
w
```
- Past week
```
m
```
- Past month
```
y
```
- Past year

Usage in OpenClaw

In OpenClaw workflows, you can invoke it via the

bash

tool:

# Example workflow step
- name: search_web
  tool: bash
  command: cd skills/ddgs-search && uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "{{ query }}" --json

Or using the Python tool:

# Assuming the current directory is the project root
import subprocess
import json

result = subprocess.run(
    ["uv", "run", "skills/ddgs-search/scripts/ddgs_search.py", "Python tips", "--json"],
    capture_output=True,
    text=True
)
data = json.loads(result.stdout)

Return Result Format

Web Search Results

[
  {
    "title": "Result Title",
    "href": "https://example.com/page",
    "body": "Page snippet/description..."
  }
]

News Search Results

[
  {
    "title": "News Headline",
    "href": "https://news.example.com/article",
    "body": "Article summary...",
    "date": "2024-01-15",
    "source": "News Source Name"
  }
]

Usage Examples

Example 1: Search Technical Documentation

uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "FastAPI documentation" -n 5

Example 2: Get Latest News

uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "artificial intelligence" --news -t d -n 3

Example 3: Chinese Search

uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "机器学习教程" -r cn-zh -n 8

Example 4: JSON Output Processing

uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "python tips" --json | jq '.[0].href'

FAQ

uv Not Installed

# macOS/Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

ImportError: No module named 'ddgs'

# Install using uv
uv pip install ddgs

# Or run in the script directory (uv will auto-handle)
cd skills/ddgs-search
uv run scripts/ddgs_search.py "query"

Empty Search Results

Check network connection
Try changing the
```
--backend
```
parameter (auto/html/lite)
Some regions may require a proxy

Rate Limiting

DuckDuckGo has implicit rate limiting. If frequent requests fail:

Reduce request frequency
Add delays between requests
Use a different backend

Dependencies

Python 3.9+
```
uv
```
(package manager)
```
ddgs
```
>= 8.0.0