duckduckgo-search
Search for words, documents, images, news, maps and text translation using the DuckDuckGo.com search engine.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, but with caution: the package works well for one-off searches and prototyping. The description includes a deprecation notice recommending migration to a renamed package. Install only if you have an existing dependency or need to maintain legacy code. No known security vulnerabilities.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later.
- DuckDuckGo may rate-limit or block requests; proxy support is available but rotating proxies are recommended for sustained use.
- Low install friction with three lightweight runtime dependencies (click, primp, lxml).
License · maintenance · safety
MIT License (permissive) — MIT License permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
last release 2025-07-06 (404 days) · last repo commit 2026-05-23 · 2,892 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 5,500,588 downloads/mo, #2,086 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install duckduckgo_search
from duckduckgo_search import DDGS
results = DDGS().text("python programming", max_results=5)
print(results)- Whether the package continues to work reliably given the official deprecation notice and redirect to a renamed package.
- Current rate-limiting behavior and whether DuckDuckGo actively blocks or throttles this library's requests.
- Stability and maintenance timeline for this package versus its renamed successor.
What it is and what it does
duckduckgo_search is a Python wrapper that queries DuckDuckGo.com to retrieve search results without requiring an API key. It supports text search, image search, video search, and news retrieval across multiple regions and with configurable filters like safe search and time limits. The package includes both a Python API (DDGS class) and a command-line interface, making it usable in scripts or as a standalone tool.
The library depends on click for CLI functionality, primp for HTTP requests, and lxml for parsing HTML responses. It handles proxy configuration (HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5), custom headers, and timeouts. The package is classified as Production/Stable and actively maintained, though the description includes a deprecation notice.
Use it for
- Scrape web search results for research, data collection, or content aggregation without API authentication.
- Build a multi-region search tool that queries DuckDuckGo across different locales and languages.
- Download images or videos in bulk by searching and filtering through DuckDuckGo's index.
- Integrate news search into a monitoring or alerting application to track topics across time periods.
- Create a command-line search utility for quick lookups from the terminal with filtering options.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, but with caution: the package works well for one-off searches and prototyping.
The description includes a deprecation notice recommending migration to a renamed package. Install only if you have an existing dependency or need to maintain legacy code. No known security vulnerabilities.
Install
duckduckgo-search on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with three lightweight runtime dependencies (click, primp, lxml). Active maintenance with recent commits and 2892 repository stars.
Requires Python 3.9 or later. DuckDuckGo may rate-limit or block requests; proxy support is available but rotating proxies are recommended for sustained use.
License in practice
MIT License permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install duckduckgo_search
from duckduckgo_search import DDGS
results = DDGS().text("python programming", max_results=5)
print(results)Verify before relying
- Whether the package continues to work reliably given the official deprecation notice and redirect to a renamed package.
- Current rate-limiting behavior and whether DuckDuckGo actively blocks or throttles this library's requests.
- Stability and maintenance timeline for this package versus its renamed successor.
Package facts
| License | MIT License permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 3 packagesclickprimplxml |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 404 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 5,500,588 / month, #2,086 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: Indexing/SearchTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: duckduckgo_search-8.1.1-py3-none-any.whl
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- duckduckgo-searchRetrieves search results from DuckDuckGo for text, images, videos,…
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