---
name: brightdata-local-search-862bcb51f837
description: Set up and run local web searches using Bright Data SERP API with the unfancy-search pipeline (query expansion, SERP retrieval, RRF reranking).
---

# Bright Data Local Search

Run powerful web searches locally using Bright Data's SERP API. This skill sets up the [unfancy-search](https://github.com/yaronbeen/unfancy-search) pipeline — a local search engine with query expansion, multi-engine SERP retrieval, RRF reranking, deduplication, and domain clustering.

**Important: This skill uses the LOCAL version only. Do not use the hosted endpoint.**

## Prerequisites

- [Bright Data](https://brightdata.com) account with SERP API access
- [Anthropic API key](https://console.anthropic.com) (for query expansion, optional)
- Docker (recommended) or Node.js 18+ with pnpm

## Setup

### Step 1: Clone and Configure

```bash
git clone https://github.com/yaronbeen/unfancy-search.git
cd unfancy-search
cp .env.example .env
```

### Step 2: Set Environment Variables

Edit `.env` with your credentials:

```env
BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN=your_brightdata_token
BRIGHT_DATA_SERP_ZONE=serp_api1
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key   # Optional: enables AI query expansion
```

Get your Bright Data token from: https://brightdata.com (SERP API section)

### Step 3: Start the Local Server

**Docker (recommended):**
```bash
docker compose up -d
# Server runs at http://localhost:3000
```

**Node.js:**
```bash
pnpm install
pnpm dev
# Server runs at http://localhost:3000
```

## API Endpoints

All requests go to `http://localhost:3000`:

| Endpoint | Method | Description |
|----------|--------|-------------|
| `/api/search` | POST | Start a search job |
| `/api/search-status/{jobId}` | GET | Poll for results |
| `/api/baseline` | POST | Trigger baseline collection |
| `/api/baseline-status/{id}` | GET | Poll baseline progress |

## Running a Search

### Step 1: Submit Search

```bash
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "your search term"}'
```

The response returns a `jobId`.

### Step 2: Poll for Results

```bash
curl http://localhost:3000/api/search-status/{jobId}
```

Poll every 3 seconds until `status` is `"done"`.

### Search Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `query` | string | required | Search query |
| `expand` | boolean | `false` | Enable AI query expansion via Claude |
| `research` | boolean | `false` | Research mode (12 sub-queries for max coverage) |
| `engines` | string[] | all | SERP engines to use |
| `geo` | string | — | Geographic region filter |
| `count` | number | 10 | Max results (up to 10) |
| `includeDomains` | string[] | — | Only include results from these domains |
| `excludeDomains` | string[] | — | Exclude results from these domains |

### Search Modes

- **Basic** (`expand: false`): Single query, fastest, no AI cost
- **Expanded** (`expand: true`): Claude Haiku generates 3 sub-queries for broader coverage
- **Research** (`research: true`): 12 sub-queries for maximum coverage

## Usage Examples

### Basic Search from an Agent

```bash
# Start search
JOB_ID=$(curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "best practices for API rate limiting"}' | jq -r '.jobId')

# Poll until done
while true; do
  RESULT=$(curl -s http://localhost:3000/api/search-status/$JOB_ID)
  STATUS=$(echo $RESULT | jq -r '.status')
  if [ "$STATUS" = "done" ]; then
    echo $RESULT | jq '.results'
    break
  fi
  sleep 3
done
```

### Research Mode with Domain Filtering

```bash
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "kubernetes scaling strategies",
    "research": true,
    "excludeDomains": ["pinterest.com", "quora.com"]
  }'
```

### Adding Search to an Existing Agent

To give your Claude Code agent search capabilities:

1. Ensure the local server is running (`docker compose up -d` in the unfancy-search directory)
2. Your agent can use `curl` or `fetch` to query `http://localhost:3000/api/search`
3. Parse the ranked results to ground responses with real web data

## Response Format

Results include:
- Ranked URLs with RRF scores
- Domain clustering (grouped by source)
- Cost transparency (per-search expense breakdown)
- Raw and unique result counts
- Search duration

## Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution |
|-------|----------|
| Server won't start | Verify Docker is running or Node.js 18+ installed |
| No results returned | Check `BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN` is valid and SERP API zone is active |
| Query expansion not working | Verify `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is set and valid |
| Slow responses | Disable `expand` mode for faster single-query searches |
| Port 3000 in use | Stop other services or modify the port in docker-compose.yml |


---
Source attribution: Sansar35
Original project: https://github.com/Sansar35/claude-agent/blob/d046d088ce5a79a083f0abc0fe1b7ded73bc5b1f/claude-config/skills/brightdata-local-search/SKILL.md
License: MIT
License information: https://opensource.org/license/mit
Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Dave AI.

## Upstream license notice

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 Claude Agent Team contributors

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.



# Dave AI resource metadata

Creator / publisher: Sansar35
Original project: https://github.com/Sansar35/claude-agent/blob/d046d088ce5a79a083f0abc0fe1b7ded73bc5b1f/claude-config/skills/brightdata-local-search/SKILL.md
Attribution basis: Source repository record

Fields of work: Marketing
Roles: Growth Marketer, Marketing Analyst, SEO Specialist
Specialties: API
Tools: Docker, Anthropic, Bright Data
Country applicability: Country not specified
Classification basis: Source catalog labels
Instruction SHA-256: 9705809086d4ee2a3d246eae503e26b8f63359a65d3e0a162a3368b1102b3042