SearXNG MCP Server for VS Code: Setup & Config

What you can do with SearXNG in VS Code

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

• Add filtered web research to an assistant using an existing SearXNG deployment.
• Discover available search engines before selecting query filters.

Before you start: SearXNG in VS Code

• 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 VS Code configuration

1. Choose VS Code configuration scope

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

2. Add SearXNG MCP Server to VS Code

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

3. Check SearXNG MCP Server in VS Code

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

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

SearXNG tools available to VS Code

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

searxng_web_search

Look for searxng_web_search among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting SearXNG through the MCP controls.

Search SearXNG with pagination, filters, and text or JSON responses.

searxng_search_suggestions

Look for searxng_search_suggestions among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting SearXNG through the MCP controls.

searxng_instance_info

Look for searxng_instance_info among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting SearXNG through the MCP controls.

Inspect shared and available capabilities across configured reachable instances.

web_url_read

Look for web_url_read among VS Code's agent-mode tools after starting SearXNG through the MCP controls.

SearXNG: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting SearXNG in VS Code

• Make npx mcp-searxng (Node.js/npm) available in the workspace, container, or remote environment hosting SearXNG MCP Server. Start through VS Code's MCP controls; inspect output and trust prompts.
• For SearXNG MCP Server, keep SEARXNG_URL out of version control; VS Code documents input variables and secret handling.
• SearXNG MCP Server uses stdio here: VS Code 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 VS Code troubleshooting lives in the /clients/vscode guide.

Frequently asked questions