DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server for Cursor: Setup & Config

What you can do with DuckDuckGo Search in Cursor

Choose it for DuckDuckGo discovery plus controlled page extraction in one MCP server.

• Search for results targeted to a particular country or language.
• Apply administrator-controlled SafeSearch filtering.

Before you start: DuckDuckGo Search in Cursor

• uvx available to the MCP client
• An MCP-compatible client

The README documents this default stdio launch. SSE and streamable HTTP are alternatives. Install the browser extra to enable curl-based fallback when search endpoints block httpx.

DuckDuckGo Search Cursor configuration

1. Choose Cursor configuration scope

   For DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server, open Project: .cursor/mcp.json User: ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Merge into mcpServers at project or user scope.

2. Add DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server to Cursor

   Use the duckduckgo-mcp-server entry below in mcpServers. Keep DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server's documented stdio connection fields and your other Cursor entries.

3. Check DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server in Cursor

   DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server: Enable in Cursor’s MCP settings; inspect tools.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "duckduckgo-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "duckduckgo-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DDG_SAFE_SEARCH": "<optional STRICT, MODERATE, or OFF filtering level>",
        "DDG_REGION": "<optional default region and language code>"
      }
    }
  }
}

DuckDuckGo Search tools available to Cursor

DuckDuckGo Search's stored tool list documents 2 tools; compare it with Cursor's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

search

Find search under DuckDuckGo Search in Cursor's MCP settings; inspect its arguments when the agent requests a call.

fetch_content

Find fetch_content under DuckDuckGo Search in Cursor's MCP settings; inspect its arguments when the agent requests a call.

Extract readable webpage text with offset, length, and HTTP-backend options.

DuckDuckGo Search: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting DuckDuckGo Search in Cursor

• Cursor must find uvx duckduckgo-mcp-server (from uv, for Python tools) for DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server. Enable the project/user entry in MCP settings and inspect its tools.
• Review DDG_REGION, DDG_SAFE_SEARCH for DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server before sharing project .cursor/mcp.json; project scope travels with the repository.
• DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server uses stdio here: Cursor must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
• Known limitation: Browser fallback requires an additional dependency.
• Known limitation: Search and fetch operations have separate rate limits.
• Known limitation: Some sites block the default HTTP backend.
• General Cursor troubleshooting lives in the /clients/cursor guide.

Frequently asked questions