SearXNG MCP Server (Rust)

A high-performance Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables LLMs to leverage SearXNG—a privacy-respecting metasearch engine. By aggregating results from multiple engines while masking your digital fingerprint, this server provides superior search quality without compromising privacy.

Built with Rust for maximum efficiency and future scalability, the project is designed with a minimal footprint, utilizing Distroless containers to keep the production image extremely small and secure.

Key Features

• Search Tool: Perform privacy-respecting searches across multiple engines via SearXNG.
• Dual-Transport Support:
  • StdIO: Standard pipe communication, ideal for local LLMs and tools like LM Studio.
  • HTTP (SSE): Streamable HTTP transport for remote access and easier debugging with the MCP Inspector.
• Docker Ready: Includes Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml for quick deployment alongside a SearXNG instance.
• Lightweight & Secure: Optimized Docker image (~55MB) using Google's Distroless base for a minimal attack surface.
• Privacy First: Leverages SearXNG's multi-engine aggregation without tracking.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose (recommended)
• Or Rust (if running natively)

Quick Start with Docker

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repo-url>
   cd searxng-mcp-server-rust
   

2. Run with Docker Compose:

   StdIO Mode (Default):

   docker compose up -d
   

   HTTP Mode:

   MCP_TRANSPORT=http docker compose up -d
   

   This will start both the SearXNG instance and the MCP server.

Configuration

The server is configured via environment variables:

Usage

Transport Modes

StdIO Mode (Default)

Ideal for connecting to local AI clients (e.g., LM Studio, Claude Desktop).

export MCP_TRANSPORT=stdio
cargo run

HTTP Mode

Useful for debugging or remote deployments.

export MCP_TRANSPORT=http
cargo run

Tools Provided

searxng_search

Performs a search and returns the top results.

• Arguments:
  • query (string, required): The search query.
  • category (string, optional): Search category (e.g., general, news, science).

Debugging

You can use the MCP Inspector to test the server:

StdIO:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector cargo run

HTTP:

1. Start the server in http mode.
2. Run the inspector:

   npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector http://localhost:3000/sse