Duckduckgo_search

Search for words, documents, images, videos, news, maps and text translation using the DuckDuckGo.com search engine. Downloading files and images to a local hard drive.

Disclaimer

This library is not affiliated with DuckDuckGo and is for educational purposes only. It is not intended for commercial use or any purpose that violates DuckDuckGo's Terms of Service. By using this library, you acknowledge that you will not use it in a way that infringes on DuckDuckGo's terms. The official DuckDuckGo website can be found at https://duckduckgo.com.

Table of Contents

• Install
• CLI version
• Duckduckgo search operators
• Regions
• DDGS and AsyncDDGS classes
• Proxy
• Exceptions
• 1. chat() - AI chat
• 2. text() - text search
• 3. answers() - instant answers
• 4. images() - image search
• 5. videos() - video search
• 6. news() - news search
• 7. maps() - map search
• 8. translate() - translation
• 9. suggestions() - suggestions

Install

pip install -U duckduckgo_search

There is also a beta release that uses the httpx library:

pip install -U duckduckgo_search==5.3.1b1

[!NOTE] you can install lxml to use the text function with backend='html' or backend='lite' (size ≈ 12Mb)
pip install -U duckduckgo_search[lxml]

CLI version

ddgs --help

or

python -m duckduckgo_search --help

CLI examples:

# AI chat
ddgs chat
# text search
ddgs text -k "'how to tame a fox' site:wikihow.com"
# find and download pdf files via proxy (example: Tor browser)
ddgs text -k "pushkin filetype:pdf" -r wt-wt -m 50 -d -p socks5://127.0.0.1:9150
# find and save to csv
ddgs text -k "neuroscience exploring the brain filetype:pdf" -m 70 -o csv
# find and download images
ddgs images -k "beware of false prophets" -r wt-wt -type photo -m 500 -d
# get news for the last day and save to json
ddgs news -k "ukraine war" -m 50 -t d -o json

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Duckduckgo search operators

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Regions

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DDGS and AsyncDDGS classes

The DDGS and AsyncDDGS classes are used to retrieve search results from DuckDuckGo.com. To use the AsyncDDGS class, you can perform asynchronous operations using Python's asyncio library. To initialize an instance of the DDGS or AsyncDDGS classes, you can provide the following optional arguments:

class DDGS:
    """DuckDuckgo_search class to get search results from duckduckgo.com

    Args:
        headers (dict, optional): Dictionary of headers for the HTTP client. Defaults to None.
        proxy (str, optional): proxy for the HTTP client, supports http/https/socks5 protocols.
            example: "http://user:pass@example.com:3128". Defaults to None.
        timeout (int, optional): Timeout value for the HTTP client. Defaults to 10.
    """

Here is an example of initializing the DDGS class.

from duckduckgo_search import DDGS

results = DDGS().text("python programming", max_results=5)
print(results)

Here is an example of initializing the AsyncDDGS class:

import asyncio

from duckduckgo_search import AsyncDDGS

async def aget_results(word):
    results = await AsyncDDGS(proxy=None).atext(word, max_results=100)
    return results

async def main():
    words = ["sun", "earth", "moon"]
    tasks = [aget_results(w) for w in words]
    results = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
    print(results)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

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Proxy

Package supports http/https/socks proxies. Example: http://user:pass@example.com:3128. Use a rotating proxy. Otherwise, use a new proxy with each DDGS or AsyncDDGS initialization.

1. The easiest way. Launch the Tor Browser

ddgs = DDGS(proxy="socks5://127.0.0.1:9150", timeout=20)
results = ddgs.text("something you need", max_results=50)

2. Use any proxy server (example with iproyal rotating residential proxies)

ddgs = DDGS(proxy="socks5://user:password@geo.iproyal.com:32325", timeout=20)
results = ddgs.text("something you need", max_results=50)

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Exceptions

Exceptions:

• DuckDuckGoSearchException: Base exception for duckduckgo_search errors.
• RatelimitException: Inherits from DuckDuckGoSearchException, raised for exceeding API request rate limits.
• TimeoutException: Inherits from DuckDuckGoSearchException, raised for API request timeouts.

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1. chat() - AI chat

def chat(self, keywords: str, model: str = "gpt-3.5") -> str:
    """Initiates a chat session with DuckDuckGo AI.

    Args:
        keywords (str): The initial message or question to send to the AI.
        model (str): The model to use: "gpt-3.5", "claude-3-haiku", "llama-3-70b", "mixtral-8x7b".
            Defaults to "gpt-3.5".

    Returns:
        str: The response from the AI.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().chat("summarize Daniel Defoe's The Consolidator", model='claude-3-haiku')

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().achat('describe the characteristic habits and behaviors of humans as a species')

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2. text() - text search by duckduckgo.com

def text(
    keywords: str,
    region: str = "wt-wt",
    safesearch: str = "moderate",
    timelimit: Optional[str] = None,
    backend: str = "api",
    max_results: Optional[int] = None,
) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo text search generator. Query params: https://duckduckgo.com/params.

    Args:
        keywords: keywords for query.
        region: wt-wt, us-en, uk-en, ru-ru, etc. Defaults to "wt-wt".
        safesearch: on, moderate, off. Defaults to "moderate".
        timelimit: d, w, m, y. Defaults to None.
        backend: api, html, lite. Defaults to api.
            api - collect data from https://duckduckgo.com,
            html - collect data from https://html.duckduckgo.com,
            lite - collect data from https://lite.duckduckgo.com.
        max_results: max number of results. If None, returns results only from the first response. Defaults to None.

    Returns:
        List of dictionaries with search results.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().text('live free or die', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', timelimit='y', max_results=10)
# Searching for pdf files
results = DDGS().text('russia filetype:pdf', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', timelimit='y', max_results=10)

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().atext('sun', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', timelimit='y', max_results=10)

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3. answers() - instant answers by duckduckgo.com

def answers(keywords: str) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo instant answers. Query params: https://duckduckgo.com/params.

    Args:
        keywords: keywords for query,

    Returns:
        List of dictionaries with instant answers results.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().answers("sun")

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().aanswers("sun")

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4. images() - image search by duckduckgo.com

def images(
    keywords: str,
    region: str = "wt-wt",
    safesearch: str = "moderate",
    timelimit: Optional[str] = None,
    size: Optional[str] = None,
    color: Optional[str] = None,
    type_image: Optional[str] = None,
    layout: Optional[str] = None,
    license_image: Optional[str] = None,
    max_results: Optional[int] = None,
) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo images search. Query params: https://duckduckgo.com/params.

    Args:
        keywords: keywords for query.
        region: wt-wt, us-en, uk-en, ru-ru, etc. Defaults to "wt-wt".
        safesearch: on, moderate, off. Defaults to "moderate".
        timelimit: Day, Week, Month, Year. Defaults to None.
        size: Small, Medium, Large, Wallpaper. Defaults to None.
        color: color, Monochrome, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue,
            Purple, Pink, Brown, Black, Gray, Teal, White. Defaults to None.
        type_image: photo, clipart, gif, transparent, line.
            Defaults to None.
        layout: Square, Tall, Wide. Defaults to None.
        license_image: any (All Creative Commons), Public (PublicDomain),
            Share (Free to Share and Use), ShareCommercially (Free to Share and Use Commercially),
            Modify (Free to Modify, Share, and Use), ModifyCommercially (Free to Modify, Share, and
            Use Commercially). Defaults to None.
        max_results: max number of results. If None, returns results only from the first response. Defaults to None.

    Returns:
        List of dictionaries with images search results.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().images(
    keywords="butterfly",
    region="wt-wt",
    safesearch="off",
    size=None,
    color="Monochrome",
    type_image=None,
    layout=None,
    license_image=None,
    max_results=100,
)

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().aimages('sun', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', max_results=20)

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5. videos() - video search by duckduckgo.com

def videos(
    keywords: str,
    region: str = "wt-wt",
    safesearch: str = "moderate",
    timelimit: Optional[str] = None,
    resolution: Optional[str] = None,
    duration: Optional[str] = None,
    license_videos: Optional[str] = None,
    max_results: Optional[int] = None,
) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo videos search. Query params: https://duckduckgo.com/params.

    Args:
        keywords: keywords for query.
        region: wt-wt, us-en, uk-en, ru-ru, etc. Defaults to "wt-wt".
        safesearch: on, moderate, off. Defaults to "moderate".
        timelimit: d, w, m. Defaults to None.
        resolution: high, standart. Defaults to None.
        duration: short, medium, long. Defaults to None.
        license_videos: creativeCommon, youtube. Defaults to None.
        max_results: max number of results. If None, returns results only from the first response. Defaults to None.

    Returns:
        List of dictionaries with videos search results.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().videos(
    keywords="cars",
    region="wt-wt",
    safesearch="off",
    timelimit="w",
    resolution="high",
    duration="medium",
    max_results=100,
)

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().avideos('sun', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', timelimit='y', max_results=10)

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6. news() - news search by duckduckgo.com

def news(
    keywords: str,
    region: str = "wt-wt",
    safesearch: str = "moderate",
    timelimit: Optional[str] = None,
    max_results: Optional[int] = None,
) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo news search. Query params: https://duckduckgo.com/params.

    Args:
        keywords: keywords for query.
        region: wt-wt, us-en, uk-en, ru-ru, etc. Defaults to "wt-wt".
        safesearch: on, moderate, off. Defaults to "moderate".
        timelimit: d, w, m. Defaults to None.
        max_results: max number of results. If None, returns results only from the first response. Defaults to None.

    Returns:
        List of dictionaries with news search results.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().news(keywords="sun", region="wt-wt", safesearch="off", timelimit="m", max_results=20)

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().anews('sun', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', timelimit='d', max_results=10)

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7. maps() - map search by duckduckgo.com

def maps(
    keywords,
    place: Optional[str] = None,
    street: Optional[str] = None,
    city: Optional[str] = None,
    county: Optional[str] = None,
    state: Optional[str] = None,
    country: Optional[str] = None,
    postalcode: Optional[str] = None,
    latitude: Optional[str] = None,
    longitude: Optional[str] = None,
    radius: int = 0,
    max_results: Optional[int] = None,
) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo maps search. Query params: https://duckduckgo.com/params.

    Args:
        keywords: keywords for query
        place: if set, the other parameters are not used. Defaults to None.
        street: house number/street. Defaults to None.
        city: city of search. Defaults to None.
        county: county of search. Defaults to None.
        state: state of search. Defaults to None.
        country: country of search. Defaults to None.
        postalcode: postalcode of search. Defaults to None.
        latitude: geographic coordinate (north-south position). Defaults to None.
        longitude: geographic coordinate (east-west position); if latitude and
            longitude are set, the other parameters are not used. Defaults to None.
        radius: expand the search square by the distance in kilometers. Defaults to 0.
        max_results: max number of results. If None, returns results only from the first response. Defaults to None.

    Returns:
        List of dictionaries with maps search results.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().maps("school", place="Uganda", max_results=50)

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().amaps('shop', place="Baltimor", max_results=10)

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8. translate() - translation by duckduckgo.com

def translate(
    self,
    keywords: str,
    from_: Optional[str] = None,
    to: str = "en",
) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo translate.

    Args:
        keywords: string or list of strings to translate.
        from_: translate from (defaults automatically). Defaults to None.
        to: what language to translate. Defaults to "en".

    Returns:
        List od dictionaries with translated keywords.
    """

Example

keywords = 'school'
# also valid
keywords = ['school', 'cat']
results = DDGS().translate(keywords, to="de")

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().atranslate('sun', to="de")

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9. suggestions() - suggestions by duckduckgo.com

def suggestions(
    keywords,
    region: str = "wt-wt",
) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
    """DuckDuckGo suggestions. Query params: https://duckduckgo.com/params.

    Args:
        keywords: keywords for query.
        region: wt-wt, us-en, uk-en, ru-ru, etc. Defaults to "wt-wt".

    Returns:
        List of dictionaries with suggestions results.
    """

Example

results = DDGS().suggestions("fly")

# async
results = await AsyncDDGS().asuggestions('sun')

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