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Ask Search

Name: Ask Search
Author: sexychina

by sexychina · GitHub ↗ · v1.0.0 · MIT-0

cross-platform ✓ Security Clean

343

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Install in OpenClaw

/install ask-search

Description

Web search via self-hosted SearxNG. Aggregates Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave. Returns title/url/snippet. Zero API key required.

README (SKILL.md)

ask-search

Web search powered by SearxNG. Aggregates multiple search engines, zero API key, full privacy.

Usage

ask-search "your query"                    # top 10 results
ask-search "query" --num 5                 # limit results
ask-search "AI news" --categories news     # news only
ask-search "query" --lang zh-CN            # Chinese results
ask-search "query" --urls-only             # URL list (pipe to web_fetch)
ask-search "query" --json                  # raw JSON

Agent Workflow

Run ask-search "topic" to get candidates
Check snippet — if enough, answer directly
If snippet truncated, use web_fetch on the URL for full content

Parameters

Flag	Short	Description
`--num N`	`-n`	Max results (default 10)
`--engines`	`-e`	google,bing,duckduckgo,brave
`--lang`	`-l`	zh-CN, en, ja, ko
`--categories`	`-c`	general,news,images,science
`--json`	`-j`	Raw JSON output
`--urls-only`	`-u`	URLs only

Setup

Requires SearxNG running locally. Set SEARXNG_URL if not on default port 8080.

Usage Guidance

This skill appears to do what it says: it expects you to run a local SearxNG instance (default http://localhost:8080) and provides a CLI and optional MCP server integration. Before installing: (1) review and run install.sh as a non-root user or pass a user-writable install path instead of blindly using /usr/local/bin, (2) ensure you trust the repository source you cloned from, and (3) be aware that any 'deep-dive' fetching (web_fetch/curl/Playwright or SOCKS proxy instructions) will make outbound requests to the target websites or route traffic through your proxy — those network actions can expose queries or require you to trust remote endpoints. If you don't want to run a local SearxNG, do not set SEARXNG_URL to a remote service you don't control.

Capability Analysis

Type: OpenClaw Skill Name: ask-search Version: 1.0.0 The ask-search skill is a legitimate tool designed to provide AI agents with web search capabilities via a self-hosted SearxNG instance. The codebase consists of a Python core script (scripts/core.py), an MCP server for integration with tools like Claude Code (mcp/server.py), and a standard installation script (install.sh). It uses subprocess.run with curl to perform network requests, but properly sanitizes query parameters using urllib.parse.urlencode to prevent injection. No evidence of data exfiltration, persistence mechanisms, or malicious prompt injection was found.

Capability Assessment

✓ Purpose & Capability

Name/description claim a local SearxNG search wrapper; included files (core.py, mcp/server.py, install.sh) implement that exact functionality and only depend on curl/python and an optional SEARXNG_URL. Nothing unrelated (cloud creds, extraneous services, or system-level access) is requested.

✓ Instruction Scope

SKILL.md and README instruct the agent to run the CLI to get snippets and optionally call an external web_fetch for deep-dive content. Guidance on proxies, Playwright, and systemd is advisory for fetching blocked sites and is within scope for improving fetch reliability, not hidden data collection.

✓ Install Mechanism

No remote arbitrary downloads or extract steps in the provided install.sh — it writes a small wrapper to the chosen bin dir and tests connectivity. README suggests git-cloning from GitHub (standard). No suspicious external URLs, shorteners, or binary drops are present in the installer.

✓ Credentials

The skill requires no secrets or credentials. It optionally reads SEARXNG_URL (documented) which is proportionate to the purpose. There are no requests for unrelated env vars or config paths.

✓ Persistence & Privilege

Skill is not always-enabled and does not attempt to change other skills or system-wide agent configs. The installer places a wrapper in a bin directory (normal) but does not persist credentials or enable autonomous escalation.

How to Use

Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
Run the install command in chat: /install ask-search
After installation, invoke the skill by name or use /ask-search
Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output

Version History

v1.0.0

Initial release of ask-search: simple, private web search via SearxNG. - Aggregates results from Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Brave with no API key required. - Offers multiple filters (engine, language, category, number of results). - Provides several output formats: concise list, URLs only, or raw JSON. - Designed for agent workflows: fetch snippets quickly, escalate to web_fetch for full content if needed. - Simple local setup with customizable SearxNG URL.

Metadata

Slug ask-search

Version 1.0.0

License MIT-0

All-time Installs 5

Active Installs 3

Total Versions 1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ask Search?

Web search via self-hosted SearxNG. Aggregates Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave. Returns title/url/snippet. Zero API key required. It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 343 downloads so far.

How do I install Ask Search?

Run "/install ask-search" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.

Is Ask Search free?

Yes, Ask Search is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.

Which platforms does Ask Search support?

Ask Search is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).

Who created Ask Search?

It is built and maintained by sexychina (@sexychina); the current version is v1.0.0.

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