DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server

The DuckDuckGo Search MCP Server is a lightweight, TypeScript‑based service that exposes the public DuckDuckGo search API to AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol. By packaging a familiar web‑search capability into an MCP, developers can give Claude or other assistants instant access to up‑to‑date information without embedding external API calls directly into their prompts. This solves the common problem of keeping assistants current with real‑world data while maintaining a clean, modular architecture.

At its core the server offers a single, well‑defined tool called . When invoked, it accepts a concise query string (up to 400 characters) and optional parameters for result count and safe‑search level. The tool returns results formatted as Markdown, allowing the assistant to present them directly in a chat or document. Because the server handles request throttling and error handling internally, developers can focus on higher‑level logic rather than network resilience.

Key features include:

• Rate limiting: one request per second and a monthly cap of 15,000 calls keeps usage predictable and protects against abuse.
• Safety controls: the option lets callers choose between strict, moderate, or off levels, ensuring compliance with content policies.
• Simple integration: the MCP exposes a single tool name and clearly defined parameters, making it trivial to add to existing Claude Desktop configurations or any other MCP‑compliant client.

Typical use cases involve knowledge‑intensive applications such as research assistants, customer support bots, or data‑driven recommendation engines. For example, a travel planning assistant can query “best family-friendly beaches in Greece” and immediately receive a Markdown list of top results, which it can then summarize or embed into a travel itinerary. Because the server is stateless and protocol‑driven, it scales effortlessly behind any MCP gateway or orchestrator.

What sets this server apart is its minimal footprint and adherence to core MCP principles. By delegating the heavy lifting of HTTP requests, JSON parsing, and rate control to a dedicated service, developers avoid duplicating logic across multiple assistants. The clear separation between the tool definition and its implementation also simplifies testing, monitoring, and future upgrades—whether switching to a different search engine or adding pagination support.