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Installation

Requirements

  • Python 3.11+
  • A running SearXNG instance (self-hosted)

1. Install the package

pip install llm-context-search

uv add llm-context-search

git clone https://github.com/rorlikowski/llm-context-search.git
cd llm-context-search
uv sync

2. Start SearXNG

The engine uses SearXNG as its search provider. The repository includes a ready-to-use Docker Compose setup.

docker compose up -d

This starts SearXNG on http://localhost:8888.

Enable JSON format

Edit searxng/settings.yml and make sure JSON is in the formats list:

searxng/settings.yml
search:
  formats:
    - html
    - json

Restart after editing:

docker compose restart searxng

Verify

curl "http://localhost:8888/search?q=test&format=json" | python3 -m json.tool | head -20

You should see JSON search results.

3. Verify the install

llm-context --help
llm-context-mcp --help

Using an external SearXNG instance

If you have SearXNG running elsewhere, pass its URL via the --searxng-url flag or the SEARXNG_URL environment variable:

export SEARXNG_URL=https://searxng.example.com
llm-context build "my query"

Public instances

Do not use public SearXNG instances in production - they have rate limits and your queries will be logged. Self-host for privacy and reliability.