SearXNG MCP Server for Cursor: Setup & Config

What you can do with SearXNG in Cursor

A self-managed SearXNG bridge that adds content reading, backend discovery, and replica handling.

• Discover available search engines before selecting query filters.
• Use interchangeable SearXNG replicas for failover.

Before you start: SearXNG in Cursor

• Node.js and npx
• An accessible SearXNG instance, preferably with JSON search enabled
• An MCP-compatible client

The README's quick start uses npx. Docker and global-package alternatives are documented. MCP_HTTP_PORT enables HTTP mode. SEARXNG_HTML_FALLBACK is an optional compatibility measure when JSON responses are unavailable.

SearXNG Cursor configuration

1. Choose Cursor configuration scope

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

2. Add SearXNG MCP Server to Cursor

   Use the mcp-searxng entry below in mcpServers. Keep SearXNG MCP Server's documented stdio connection fields and your other Cursor entries.

3. Check SearXNG MCP Server in Cursor

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-searxng": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "<SearXNG instance URL or semicolon-separated interchangeable replica URLs>"
      }
    }
  }
}

SearXNG tools available to Cursor

SearXNG's stored tool list documents 4 tools; compare it with Cursor's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

searxng_web_search

Find searxng_web_search under SearXNG in Cursor's MCP settings; inspect its arguments when the agent requests a call.

searxng_search_suggestions

Find searxng_search_suggestions under SearXNG in Cursor's MCP settings; inspect its arguments when the agent requests a call.

searxng_instance_info

Find searxng_instance_info under SearXNG in Cursor's MCP settings; inspect its arguments when the agent requests a call.

Inspect shared and available capabilities across configured reachable instances.

web_url_read

Find web_url_read under SearXNG in Cursor's MCP settings; inspect its arguments when the agent requests a call.

Read supported URL content with section, paragraph, heading, and character-range controls.

SearXNG: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting SearXNG in Cursor

• Cursor must find npx mcp-searxng (Node.js/npm) for SearXNG MCP Server. Enable the project/user entry in MCP settings and inspect its tools.
• Review SEARXNG_URL for SearXNG MCP Server before sharing project .cursor/mcp.json; project scope travels with the repository.
• SearXNG MCP Server uses stdio here: Cursor must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
• Known limitation: Requires an accessible SearXNG instance.
• Known limitation: HTML fallback is best-effort and loses relevance scores and engine metadata.
• Known limitation: The URL reader rejects PDFs and other binary downloads.
• General Cursor troubleshooting lives in the /clients/cursor guide.

Frequently asked questions