q
string, required
The query text. This is the only mandatory parameter.
Reference
Every parameter, and what it does.
All parameters go on /search as a query string. Unknown parameters are ignored rather than rejected, so a newer client can talk to an older instance.
format
json (default), html, rss, csv
Response shape. json matches the SearXNG 1.0 schema, so an existing SearXNG client only needs a new hostname.
categories
comma separated, default general
Which source groups to query: general, images, videos, news, science, it, map, music, files, social media. Comma or plus separated.
engines
comma separated
Pin specific engines instead of a whole category. An engine that is not in the registry is reported in unresponsive_engines rather than silently dropped.
language
two-letter code, default en
Preferred result language where the upstream source supports it.
pageno
integer, default 1
Result page. Sources that do not paginate return the same first page rather than an error.
time_range
day, week, month, year
Restrict news and results by recency. Ignored by sources without a time filter.
safesearch
0, 1, 2, default 0
Adult-content filter level, applied per source where the source supports it.
Authentication
Send your key as a header. Query-string keys are refused on purpose, because URLs end up in logs and referrer headers.
X-API-Key: hvk_... preferred
Authorization: Bearer hvk_... also acceptedResponse fields
| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| query | string | Echo of the query, after normalisation |
| number_of_results | integer | Merged count across every source that answered |
| results | array | Ranked, de-duplicated hits |
| answers | array | Direct answers for entity queries |
| corrections | array | Spelling suggestions offered by a source |
| infoboxes | array | Entity panels with source and thumbnail |
| suggestions | array | Related queries |
| unresponsive_engines | array | Sources that failed, each with the reason |
Limits
Query length
200 characters. Anything longer is truncated rather than rejected, so a pasted paragraph still returns something.
Page size
Up to 100 results returned per response, regardless of how many sources matched.
Upstream timeouts
Each source is given a short budget. A slow source is recorded in unresponsive_engines instead of holding the whole response.
Image proxy
Proxied thumbnails are limited to public HTTP(S) addresses. Private and link-local ranges are refused.