Self-Host SearXNG: Privacy-First Search Engine 2026

TL;DR

SearXNG is a self-hosted metasearch engine that aggregates results from 70+ search engines (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, etc.) while keeping your searches private — no tracking, no profiling, no personalized filter bubbles. AGPL 3.0, ~17K GitHub stars. Deploy in 5 minutes with Docker. Point your browser to your own instance and search the web privately.

Key Takeaways

• SearXNG: AGPL 3.0, ~17K stars, Python, aggregates 70+ search engines
• Privacy: Your queries never reach Google with your IP — SearXNG proxies requests
• No filter bubble: Results aren't personalized to your browsing history
• Setup time: 5 minutes with Docker
• Use case: Personal privacy, family search server, avoiding Google/Bing profiling
• Cost: Server cost only (~$0 on a small VPS alongside other services)

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Why Self-Host a Search Engine?

Google and Bing track everything:

• Every search query is logged with your IP and linked to your Google account
• Search history builds a profile used for ad targeting
• Results are personalized — you see what Google thinks you want to see (filter bubble)
• Data is kept indefinitely and can be used in legal proceedings

DuckDuckGo is better but not ideal:

• Doesn't track you, but results come primarily from Bing
• You still trust a third-party service with your queries
• Bing gets the queries (through DDG's relationship)

SearXNG gets you:

• Your queries stay on your server — never sent to Google with your IP
• SearXNG acts as a proxy: makes anonymous requests to Google/Bing on your behalf
• Aggregated results from 70+ sources — better coverage than any single engine
• Results aren't personalized — you get the "real" search results

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Part 1: Docker Compose Setup

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  searxng:
    image: searxng/searxng:latest
    container_name: searxng
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./searxng:/etc/searxng:rw
    environment:
      - SEARXNG_BASE_URL=https://search.yourdomain.com/
      - UWSGI_THREADS=4       # Increase for higher traffic

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: redis-server --save "" --appendonly "no"
    cap_drop:
      - ALL
    cap_add:
      - SETGID
      - SETUID
      - DAC_OVERRIDE

# Create config directory and generate initial settings:
mkdir -p searxng

# Start to generate default config:
docker compose up -d

# SearXNG generates a settings.yml in ./searxng/ on first run
# Stop, configure, then restart:
docker compose down

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Part 2: Configuration (settings.yml)

After the first run, ./searxng/settings.yml is created. Key settings to customize:

# searxng/settings.yml

use_default_settings: true

general:
  debug: false
  instance_name: "My Search"
  privacypolicy_url: false
  contact_url: false
  enable_metrics: false      # Don't track usage

server:
  port: 8080
  bind_address: "0.0.0.0"
  secret_key: "your-secret-key-here"    # Change this!
  base_url: "https://search.yourdomain.com/"
  image_proxy: true           # Proxy images (prevents image tracking)
  http_protocol_version: "1.1"

redis:
  url: redis://redis:6379/0

ui:
  static_use_hash: true
  default_locale: ""          # Empty = auto-detect
  query_in_title: false
  infinite_scroll: false
  default_theme: simple
  theme_args:
    simple_style: dark        # Dark mode!

search:
  safe_search: 0              # 0=off, 1=moderate, 2=strict
  autocomplete: ""            # "google", "brave", "duckduckgo", "" (off)
  default_lang: "auto"
  ban_time_on_fail: 5         # Ban engine for 5 min if it fails
  max_ban_time_on_fail: 120

# Configure which search engines to use:
engines:
  - name: google
    engine: google
    shortcut: g
    disabled: false

  - name: bing
    engine: bing
    shortcut: b
    disabled: false

  - name: duckduckgo
    engine: duckduckgo
    shortcut: ddg
    disabled: false

  - name: brave
    engine: brave
    shortcut: brave
    disabled: false

  - name: wikipedia
    engine: wikipedia
    shortcut: wp

  - name: github
    engine: github
    shortcut: gh
    disabled: false

  - name: stackoverflow
    engine: stackoverflow
    shortcut: so
    disabled: false

  - name: npm
    engine: npm
    shortcut: npm
    disabled: false

  - name: pypi
    engine: pypi
    shortcut: pypi
    disabled: false

  # Disable engines you don't want:
  - name: yahoo
    disabled: true

  - name: yandex
    disabled: true

Generate a Proper Secret Key

openssl rand -hex 32
# Add the output as your secret_key value

# Restart with new config:
docker compose up -d

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Part 3: HTTPS with Caddy

search.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
}

Or with Nginx:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name search.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/search.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/search.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

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Part 4: Set as Default Browser Search Engine

Chrome / Chromium / Brave

1. Go to https://search.yourdomain.com and wait a few seconds
2. Settings → Search engine → Manage search engines
3. Your SearXNG instance should appear as "Other search engines"
4. Click Make default next to it

Or add manually:

• Search engine name: My SearXNG
• Keyword: s
• URL: https://search.yourdomain.com/search?q=%s

Firefox

1. Visit https://search.yourdomain.com
2. Click the search bar → click the SearXNG icon that appears at the bottom
3. "Add SearXNG" → Set as default

Or via add-on: Firefox Multi-Account Containers with SearXNG.

Safari

Add as a custom search engine via Settings → Search → Add Search Engine.

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Part 5: Using Search Bang Shortcuts

SearXNG supports bang shortcuts like DDG for searching specific sites:

!g python async await      → Searches Google directly
!yt funny cats             → Searches YouTube
!gh flask                  → Searches GitHub
!so error message          → Searches Stack Overflow
!npm express               → Searches npm
!wp machine learning       → Searches Wikipedia
!a keyboard                → Searches Amazon
!w google vs bing          → Searches WolframAlpha

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Part 6: Rate Limiting and Access Control

If you're running a private instance, restrict access:

Basic Auth via Nginx

location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
    auth_basic "Private Search";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
}

# Create user:
echo -n "user:" >> /etc/nginx/.htpasswd
openssl passwd -apr1 'password' >> /etc/nginx/.htpasswd

IP Allowlist (only your home network)

location / {
    allow 1.2.3.4/32;    # Your home IP
    allow 192.168.0.0/24; # Local network
    deny all;
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
}

Limit to Intranet (No Public Access)

# docker-compose.yml — only bind to localhost:
ports:
  - "127.0.0.1:8080:8080"   # Not accessible from outside

Then access via VPN or SSH tunnel from outside your network.

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Privacy Features

Image Proxying

Enable in settings.yml (image_proxy: true) — images are fetched by SearXNG's server, not your browser. Prevents Google/other CDNs from knowing you viewed a search result's images.

No Logging

By default, SearXNG logs nothing about searches. Verify in your server logs:

docker compose logs searxng | grep -i "query\|search"
# Should show no query content in logs

Tor Integration (Advanced)

For maximum privacy, route SearXNG's outbound requests through Tor:

# Add to docker-compose.yml:
  tor:
    image: dperson/torproxy
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "9050:9050"

# In searxng/settings.yml:
outgoing:
  proxies:
    all://:
      - socks5h://tor:9050   # Route all engine queries through Tor

Note: Tor makes searches significantly slower and some engines (Google) block Tor exit nodes.

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Maintenance

# Update SearXNG:
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

# Check if engines are working:
# Visit https://search.yourdomain.com/stats
# Shows which engines are failing or slow

# Clear Redis cache:
docker exec redis redis-cli FLUSHALL

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SearXNG vs Alternatives

Search	Type	Privacy	Index
SearXNG (self-hosted)	Metasearch	✅ Complete	Aggregated
DuckDuckGo	Managed	✅ Good	Bing-based
Brave Search	Managed	✅ Good	Independent
Startpage	Managed	✅ Good	Google proxy
Whoogle	Self-hosted	✅	Google only
Kagi	Managed/paid	✅	Independent

Whoogle (simpler alternative): Only proxies Google results, simpler setup, no multi-engine aggregation.

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Compare all open source privacy tools at OSSAlt.com/categories/privacy.