DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server for VS Code: Setup & Config

What you can do with DuckDuckGo Search in VS Code

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

• Find sources for an assistant-led research task.
• Search for results targeted to a particular country or language.

Before you start: DuckDuckGo Search in VS Code

• 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 VS Code configuration

1. Choose VS Code configuration scope

   For DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server, open Workspace: .vscode/mcp.json. Merge into servers; preserve existing inputs.

2. Add DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server to VS Code

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

3. Check DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server in VS Code

   DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server: Start in VS Code’s MCP controls; inspect output and trust prompts.

{
  "servers": {
    "duckduckgo-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "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 VS Code

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

search

Look for search among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting DuckDuckGo Search through the MCP controls.

Query DuckDuckGo for titles, links, and snippets, with result-count and regional controls.

fetch_content

Look for fetch_content among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting DuckDuckGo Search through the MCP controls.

DuckDuckGo Search: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting DuckDuckGo Search in VS Code

• Make uvx duckduckgo-mcp-server (from uv, for Python tools) available in the workspace, container, or remote environment hosting DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server. Start through VS Code's MCP controls; inspect output and trust prompts.
• For DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server, keep DDG_REGION, DDG_SAFE_SEARCH out of version control; VS Code documents input variables and secret handling.
• DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server uses stdio here: VS Code 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 VS Code troubleshooting lives in the /clients/vscode guide.

Frequently asked questions