--- name: web-search-ff6748a3af5a description: Web search using DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API (no API key required). Use when you need to search the web for information, definitions, calculations, conversions, or quick facts. Also use when user mentions "search", "look up", "find information", "what is", "how to", or "google something". The skill provides instant answers, definitions, abstracts, and related topics without requiring external API credentials. --- # Web Search Free web search using DuckDuckGo's Instant Answer API. No API key required. ## Quick Start ```bash # Basic search cd /home/hxx/clawd/tools && ./web-search.sh "your query" # Examples ./web-search.sh "what is artificial intelligence" ./web-search.sh "python programming" ./web-search.sh "define recursion" ./web-search.sh "2+2" ``` ## Command-Line Options ### Core Options - `-h, --help` - Display help message with usage examples - `--format ` - Output format: `text`, `markdown`, `plain` (default: `text`) - `text`: Colored terminal output (default) - `markdown`: Clean markdown format (no ANSI colors) - `plain`: Plain text without colors - `--no-color` - Disable colored output (same as `--format plain`) - `--max-related ` - Control number of related topics to show (default: 5) - `--quiet` - Minimal output mode (just results, no headers/footer) ### Output to File Use shell redirection to save results to file: ```bash # Save to file ./web-search.sh "query" > output.txt # With markdown format ./web-search.sh --format markdown "query" > results.md # With no colors for logs ./web-search.sh --no-color "query" > search.log ``` ## What It Returns The tool provides several result types: - **Answers** - Direct answers for calculations, conversions, weather, etc. - **Abstracts** - Wikipedia-style summaries with source and URL - **Definitions** - Word/term definitions - **Related Topics** - Additional relevant results (configurable, 5 default) ## Best Practices 1. **Be specific** - More specific queries get better instant answers 2. **Try variations** - If no results, rephrase your query 3. **Use for facts** - Definitions, calculations, quick lookups work best 4. **Check URL** - Always provides DuckDuckGo link for full search 5. **Use appropriate format**: - Terminal output: `--format text` (colored, default) - Documentation: `--format markdown` > file.md` - Logs/piping: `--format plain` or `--no-color` ## Limitations - No full web search results (only instant answers) - Some queries return limited results depending on DuckDuckGo's data - Character encoding issues in some abstracts (known limitation) - Requires internet access to query DuckDuckGo API - Not all query types return instant answers (e.g., complex math like `sqrt(144)`) - Definitions may not always be available for all terms - Recent news may not appear (DuckDuckGo focuses on evergreen content) ## Usage Examples ### Basic Search ```bash # Simple query ./web-search.sh "open source AI models" # Wikipedia-style query ./web-search.sh "what is recursion" ``` ### Markdown Format ```bash # Clean markdown output ./web-search.sh --format markdown "python programming" # Save to markdown file ./web-search.sh --format markdown "AI research" > research.md ``` ### Plain/No Color ```bash # For logs or piping ./web-search.sh --format plain "search query" # Disable colors explicitly ./web-search.sh --no-color "search query" ``` ### Control Related Topics ```bash # Show fewer related topics ./web-search.sh --max-related 3 "machine learning" # Show more related topics ./web-search.sh --max-related 10 "open source" ``` ### Quiet Mode ```bash # Minimal output (just results) ./web-search.sh --quiet "what is 42 + 7" ``` ### Combined Options ```bash # Markdown, no color, saved to file ./web-search.sh --format markdown --no-color "topic" > results.md # Quiet with custom related count ./web-search.sh --quiet --max-related 2 "definition" ``` ## Tested Scenarios Tested and verified to work: - ✅ Calculations: `2+2`, `10% of 500` - ✅ Conversions: `100 miles to km` - ✅ Wikipedia queries: `what is artificial intelligence` - ✅ Programming: `what is python`, `how to install docker` - ✅ People: `who is Elon Musk` - ✅ Scientific facts: `speed of light` - ✅ Weather: `weather in Tokyo` - ✅ Edge cases: empty queries, special characters, no results - ✅ Output formats: text, markdown, plain - ✅ Flags: --help, --format, --no-color, --max-related, --quiet See [test-outputs.md](test-outputs.md) for detailed test results. ## Troubleshooting ### "No direct results found" Try rephasing your query or using the provided DuckDuckGo URL for full search. ### Network errors Check internet connection. Tool requires network access. ### Character encoding issues Some abstracts display garbled characters. This is a known issue with basic parsing (install `jq` for better results). ### "jq not found" warning The tool works without `jq` using basic text extraction, but installing `jq` improves JSON parsing: ```bash # Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt-get install jq # macOS brew install jq # Via package managers npm install -g jq ``` ## Output Format ### Text Format (default) - **Blue** - Headers and search info - **Green** - Result markers and content - **Yellow** - Sources, URLs, and warnings - **Red** - Errors Use `--format plain` or `--no-color` to disable colors. ### Markdown Format Clean markdown with: - `##` headers for sections - `**bold**` for emphasis - `-` bullet lists - `*italics*` for metadata - `[links]()` for URLs ### Plain Format No ANSI codes or markdown formatting - suitable for logs and piping. ## Requirements - `curl` or `wget` (for HTTP requests) - Optional: `jq` (for better JSON parsing) --- Source attribution: kbarbel640-del Original project: https://github.com/kbarbel640-del/skills/blob/e7e336ac628c3e3bd771aff1aaa469c93778f94a/skills/hahahxx/web-search-instant/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 clawdbot 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: kbarbel640-del Original project: https://github.com/kbarbel640-del/skills/blob/e7e336ac628c3e3bd771aff1aaa469c93778f94a/skills/hahahxx/web-search-instant/SKILL.md Attribution basis: Source repository record Fields of work: Marketing Roles: Content Marketer, Marketing Analyst, SEO Specialist Specialties: API Tools: Duckduckgo Country applicability: Country not specified Classification basis: Source catalog labels Instruction SHA-256: 3340aef78d7609d1f6c4bcc318313abd62937be3f789ad1a71f5ac6f9fea2c7d