DuckDuckGo Web Search
Overview
A DuckDuckGo-based search skill for text, news, and image searches. Use this as a fallback when the built-in WebSearch is unavailable (e.g., outside the US), or when you need news-specific searches, image URL results, JSON output for programmatic processing, fine-grained time range control, or region-specific results.
When to Use
Use this skill when:
- Built-in WebSearch is unavailable (outside US regions)
- News-specific search is needed
- Image URL search is needed
- Search results need to be saved as JSON or processed programmatically
- Fine-grained time range filtering is needed (day/week/month/year)
- Region-specific results are needed (China, Japan, etc.)
Prefer built-in WebSearch when:
- Simple text search in the US region
- Quick fact-checking
Core Workflow
Step 1: Determine Search Type
Determine from the user's request:
- Text search (default): Standard web search
- News search: Request contains "news", "latest", "headlines"
- Image search: Request contains "image", "photo", "picture"
Step 2: Execute Script
python3 ~/.claude/skills/web-search/scripts/search.py -q "search terms" -t text -n 5
Step 3: Format Results
Format the JSON output into a user-readable presentation.
Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
-q |
Yes | - | Search keywords |
-t |
No | text | Search type: text, news, images |
-n |
No | 5 | Maximum results |
-r |
No | wt-wt | Region code |
-s |
No | moderate | Safe search: on, moderate, off |
-p |
No | None | Time range: d (day), w (week), m (month), y (year) |
Region Codes
| Region | Code |
|---|---|
| Global | wt-wt |
| China | cn-zh |
| United States | us-en |
| Japan | jp-jp |
| United Kingdom | uk-en |
| South Korea | kr-kr |
Usage Examples
Text Search
python3 ~/.claude/skills/web-search/scripts/search.py -q "Claude Code Anthropic" -t text -n 5
Chinese News Search (Past Week)
python3 ~/.claude/skills/web-search/scripts/search.py -q "AI artificial intelligence" -t news -n 10 -r cn-zh -p w
Image Search
python3 ~/.claude/skills/web-search/scripts/search.py -q "modern web design" -t images -n 5
Save Results to File
python3 ~/.claude/skills/web-search/scripts/search.py -q "React 19" -t text -n 20 > results.json
Search Operators
Use within the query string:
site:example.com-- Search within a specific sitefiletype:pdf-- Specific file type"exact phrase"-- Exact phrase match-exclude-- Exclude a specific term
Error Handling
| Error | Solution |
|---|---|
| Rate Limit | Wait and retry, or reduce the number of results |
| Timeout | Check network connection and retry |
| Package not installed | The script will attempt auto-install. If it fails, manually run pip install -U ddgs |