How to add DuckDuckGo Search to Cursor
Popular no-API-key MCP server for DuckDuckGo web search plus page fetching and parsing. Paste the config into ~/.cursor/mcp.json and restart Cursor.
Last updated June 15, 2026 · 1.2k★ · stdio · no auth
Cursor 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 Cursor → Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server (or edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json directly).
- 2Paste the DuckDuckGo Search config below into the "mcpServers" object.
- 3Fill in placeholder secrets, then save.
- 4Cursor reloads MCP servers automatically — check Settings → MCP for a green status dot.
- 5Ask Cursor to use one of DuckDuckGo Search's tools to confirm it's connected.
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 Cursor
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 + Cursor FAQ
Where is the Cursor config file?
Cursor reads MCP servers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Paste the DuckDuckGo Search config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.
Is DuckDuckGo Search safe to use with Cursor?
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.