claudegoodies
Skill

duckduckgo-search

From NousResearch

Free web search via DuckDuckGo — text, news, images, videos. No API key needed. Prefer the `ddgs` CLI when installed; use the Python DDGS library only after verifying that `ddgs` is available in the current runtime.

Runs DuckDuckGo text, news, image, and video searches via the ddgs CLI or Python DDGS library, no API key needed.

Use it when

  • web_search tool unavailable or FIRECRAWL_API_KEY not set
  • need DuckDuckGo results specifically instead of another search backend
  • want CLI-based search from terminal without API keys
  • need to search then extract full page content from returned URLs

Skip it if

  • ddgs CLI or Python package not installed and can't be added to runtime
  • execute_code sandbox may lack ddgs even if terminal has it, requiring separate verification
  • only returns titles, URLs, and snippets, not full page content

Facts

Repository
NousResearch/hermes-agent
Status
Actively maintained
Last commit
Source file
optional-skills/research/duckduckgo-search/SKILL.md

Source preview

The instructions Claude Code reads when this skill runs.

# DuckDuckGo Search

Free web search using DuckDuckGo. **No API key required.**

Preferred when `web_search` is unavailable or unsuitable (for example when `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` is not set). Can also be used as a standalone search path when DuckDuckGo results are specifically desired.

## Detection Flow

Check what is actually available before choosing an approach:

```bash
# Check CLI availability
command -v ddgs >/dev/null && echo "DDGS_CLI=installed" || echo "DDGS_CLI=missing"
```

Decision tree:
1. If `ddgs` CLI is installed, prefer `terminal` + `ddgs`
2. If `ddgs` CLI is missing, do not assume `execute_code` can import `ddgs`
3. If the user wants DuckDuckGo specifically, install `ddgs` first in the relevant environment
4. Otherwise fall back to built-in web/browser tools

Important runtime note:
- Terminal and `execute_code` are separate runtimes
- A successful shell install does not guarantee `execute_code` can import `ddgs`
- Never assume third-party Python packages are preinstalled inside `execute_code`

## Installation

Install `ddgs` only when DuckDuckGo search is specifically needed and the runtime does not already provide it.

```bash
# Python package + CLI entrypoint
pip install ddgs

# Verify CLI
ddgs --help
```

If a workflow depends on Python imports, verify that same runtime can import `ddgs` before using `from ddgs import DDGS`.

## Method 1: CLI Search (Preferr
View full source on GitHub →

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