How to Use OpenClaw SearXNG Search

SearXNG Search is the self-hosted, key-free OpenClaw web_search option. Instead of relying on a commercial search API, you run or point to a SearXNG instance that aggregates results from engines such as Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others. It is useful for privacy-sensitive, air-gapped, or cost-controlled deployments.

30-second answer

Run a SearXNG instance, configure OpenClaw with openclaw configure --section web, and select searxng. Or set SEARXNG_BASE_URL and let auto-detection find it when no higher-priority provider is configured. The plugin config needs a baseUrl and can optionally set categories and language.

Local setup

The docs show a simple Docker command: docker run -d -p 8888:8080 searxng/searxng. For production, use SearXNG’s own documentation and harden it properly. OpenClaw is consuming the SearXNG JSON API; your instance still needs to be operated like any other service.

Transport rules

OpenClaw validates the base URL. https works for public or private SearXNG hosts. http is accepted only for trusted private-network or loopback hosts. Public SearXNG hosts must use https. This prevents a convenience integration from becoming sloppy network plumbing.

Config details

Set tools.web.search.provider to searxng and configure plugins.entries.searxng.config.webSearch.baseUrl. Optional fields include categories such as general or news and language such as en, de, or fr. The baseUrl can also be provided as a SecretRef object.

Operational notes

SearXNG is checked last in auto-detection after API-backed providers, DuckDuckGo, and Ollama Web Search. It uses the JSON API, not HTML scraping. Make sure JSON format is enabled in SearXNG settings. Because you own the instance, you also own uptime, upstream engine reliability, and rate limits.

Playbook angle

The Playbook pattern is to choose SearXNG when control matters more than convenience. It is not zero-ops, but it gives you a search layer you can reason about.

Runbook checklist

Before you automate this, run one small acceptance test with harmless input. Confirm the tool is available to the right agent, the credential is loaded from config or environment, the output shape matches the workflow, and the failure message is understandable to a tired operator. If the feature touches money, public channels, logged-in browsers, host commands, or customer data, put a review step before the side effect. If it only reads data, still record the source and timestamp so future sessions do not treat stale context as fresh truth. Keep the first version narrow, then expand once the logs show the agent is choosing the right tool for the right reason. When the docs are incomplete, prefer a conservative sentence over a clever invented shortcut that future agents cannot reliably verify. Add one monitoring habit as well: after the first real run, check the transcript or logs for missing prerequisites, broad prompts, stale assumptions, and accidental side effects. Tighten the instruction while the failure is fresh. The best OpenClaw workflows improve in small, documented passes instead of one giant rewrite after something breaks in public. For SEO pages, that same discipline matters: do not promise hidden capabilities, paid-provider limits, or setup shortcuts unless the current docs say so. Trust compounds when the guide is accurate even in the boring operational edge cases that matter during real maintenance windows.

Operator note

How to Use OpenClaw SearXNG Search works best when it is written into a small runbook instead of treated as a magic switch. Record who owns the workflow, which config keys are allowed, which credentials are required, what the agent may do without approval, and what counts as a failure. OpenClaw gives agents broad tools, but the reliable version is boring: one source of truth, one verification step, and one rollback path when a provider or channel behaves differently than expected.