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 throughjqfor 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.