ddg-search

Search DuckDuckGo from the command line. Results go to stdout; progress goes to stderr.

Quick reference

ddg-search "query"                          # default: JSON, 5 pages
ddg-search -f compact "query"               # minimal-token output (best for LLM context)
ddg-search -f jsonl "query"                 # one JSON object per line
ddg-search -n 10 "query"                    # stop after 10 results
ddg-search -p 2 -f json "query"             # 2 pages, JSON
ddg-search -r us-en -t w "recent topic"     # US-English, past week
ddg-search -p 0 "query"                     # unlimited pages (scrape all)

Options

| Flag | Long | Description | Default | |------|------|-------------|---------| | -f | --format | Output format: json, jsonl, csv, opensearch, markdown, compact | json | | -p | --pages | Max pages to scrape (0 = unlimited) | 5 | | -n | --max-results | Stop after this many results | all | | -r | --region | Region code (e.g. us-en, uk-en) | all regions | | -t | --time | Time filter: d (day), w (week), m (month), y (year) | none |

Choosing a format

• compact: Use for feeding results into an LLM. Minimal tokens, no JSON overhead.
• jsonl: Use when piping to line-oriented tools or streaming processors.
• json: Use when you need structured data with OpenSearch metadata, zero-click answers, and spelling corrections. Pipe through jq for field extraction (e.g. | jq '.items[].link').
• csv: Use for spreadsheets or tabular analysis.
• markdown: Use for human-readable output or embedding in documents.
• opensearch: Use when producing Atom XML feeds.

Extracting URLs from JSON output

ddg-search "query" | jq -r '.items[].link'

Notes

• DuckDuckGo may trigger bot detection. The tool stops early and returns whatever results were collected.
• Random delays (800–2900 ms) are inserted between page fetches automatically.
• Progress messages appear on stderr, so redirecting stdout captures only results.