How to add DuckDuckGo Search to Claude Desktop
Popular no-API-key MCP server for DuckDuckGo web search plus page fetching and parsing. Paste the config into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.
Last updated June 15, 2026 · 1.2k★ · stdio · no auth
Claude Desktop config for DuckDuckGo Search
uvx duckduckgo-mcp-server{
"mcpServers": {
"duckduckgo-search": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"duckduckgo-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.
Setup steps
- 1Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (this opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json).
- 2Paste the DuckDuckGo Search config below under the top-level "mcpServers" key.
- 3Fill in any placeholder secrets (API keys, paths) in the snippet.
- 4Save the file, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
- 5Open a chat and confirm DuckDuckGo Search's tools appear under the 🔌 tools menu.
Before you start
- Python 3 and the uv package manager (provides the uvx launcher); pip install is also supported
- No API key or account required
What DuckDuckGo Search can do in Claude Desktop
searchSearch DuckDuckGo and return cleaned results (title, URL, snippet); params include query, max_results, and region.
fetch_contentFetch and parse a webpage into readable text with pagination via start_index/max_length and optional fetch backend.
Security
No API key is needed, but DuckDuckGo may rate-limit or block heavy automated querying, so use it at modest volume. Fetched page content is arbitrary untrusted web text and should not be treated as trusted instructions.
DuckDuckGo Search + Claude Desktop FAQ
Where is the Claude Desktop config file?
Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the DuckDuckGo Search config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.
Is DuckDuckGo Search safe to use with Claude Desktop?
No API key is needed, but DuckDuckGo may rate-limit or block heavy automated querying, so use it at modest volume. Fetched page content is arbitrary untrusted web text and should not be treated as trusted instructions.
Do I need an API key or DuckDuckGo account?
No. It works against DuckDuckGo with no credentials, which is its main appeal for free web search.
Is it rate limited?
Yes. The server self-limits to about 30 searches per minute and 20 content fetches per minute to stay within DuckDuckGo's tolerances.
How do I run it?
The common way is `uvx duckduckgo-mcp-server` over stdio. SSE and streamable-HTTP transports are available via command-line flags for other clients.