Deploy SearXNG

Deploy self-hosted SearXNG meta search engine with Docker Compose and Nginx.

When Use

• Set up private, self-hosted search engine
• Aggregate results from multiple search providers without tracking
• Run search instance for team or organization
• Replace reliance on single search provider

Inputs

• Required: Server or machine with Docker installed
• Optional: Domain name for public access
• Optional: SSL certificate or Let's Encrypt setup
• Optional: Custom engine preferences

Steps

Step 1: Create Project Structure

mkdir -p searxng/{config,nginx}
cd searxng

Step 2: Write Docker Compose File

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  searxng:
    image: searxng/searxng:latest
    container_name: searxng
    volumes:
      - ./config:/etc/searxng:rw
    environment:
      - SEARXNG_BASE_URL=https://search.example.com/
    cap_drop:
      - ALL
    cap_add:
      - CHOWN
      - SETGID
      - SETUID
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - searxng

  nginx:
    image: nginx:1.27-alpine
    container_name: searxng-nginx
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
    depends_on:
      - searxng
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - searxng

networks:
  searxng:
    driver: bridge

Step 3: Configure SearXNG Settings

config/settings.yml:

use_default_settings: true

general:
  instance_name: "My SearXNG"
  privacypolicy_url: false
  contact_url: false

search:
  safe_search: 0
  autocomplete: "google"
  default_lang: "en"

server:
  secret_key: "generate-a-random-secret-key-here"
  limiter: true
  image_proxy: true
  port: 8080
  bind_address: "0.0.0.0"

ui:
  static_use_hash: true
  default_theme: simple
  infinite_scroll: true

engines:
  - name: google
    engine: google
    shortcut: g
    disabled: false

  - name: duckduckgo
    engine: duckduckgo
    shortcut: ddg
    disabled: false

  - name: wikipedia
    engine: wikipedia
    shortcut: wp
    disabled: false

  - name: github
    engine: github
    shortcut: gh
    disabled: false

  - name: stackoverflow
    engine: stackoverflow
    shortcut: so
    disabled: false

  - name: arxiv
    engine: arxiv
    shortcut: arx
    disabled: false

Generate secret key:

openssl rand -hex 32

Step 4: Configure Nginx Frontend

nginx/nginx.conf:

events {
    worker_connections 1024;
}

http {
    server {
        listen 80;

        location / {
            proxy_pass http://searxng:8080;
            proxy_set_header Host $host;
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
            proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
            proxy_set_header Connection "";
            proxy_buffering off;
        }

        location /static/ {
            proxy_pass http://searxng:8080/static/;
            expires 1y;
            add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
        }
    }
}

Step 5: Configure Rate Limiting

config/limiter.toml:

[botdetection.ip_limit]
link_token = true

[botdetection.ip_lists]
block_ip = []
pass_ip = ["127.0.0.1/8", "::1/128"]
pass_searxng_org = false

Step 6: Deploy and Verify

# Start stack
docker compose up -d

# Check logs
docker compose logs -f searxng

# Verify running
curl -s http://localhost:8080 | head -5

# Test search
curl -s "http://localhost:8080/search?q=test&format=json" | head -20

Got: SearXNG responds on port 8080 through Nginx. Search queries return aggregated results.

If fail: Check docker compose logs searxng for config errors. Verify settings.yml YAML syntax.

Step 7: Add SSL (Production)

For public deployments, add SSL termination. Update docker-compose.yml:

services:
  nginx:
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/nginx-ssl.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
      - certbot-certs:/etc/letsencrypt:ro
      - certbot-webroot:/var/www/certbot:ro

  certbot:
    image: certbot/certbot
    volumes:
      - certbot-certs:/etc/letsencrypt
      - certbot-webroot:/var/www/certbot

volumes:
  certbot-certs:
  certbot-webroot:

See configure-nginx skill for full SSL Nginx configuration.

Step 8: Updates and Maintenance

# Pull latest image
docker compose pull searxng

# Restart with new image
docker compose up -d

# Backup configuration
cp -r config/ config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)/

Checks

• SearXNG starts without errors in logs
• Search queries return results from configured engines
• Image proxy works (images load through SearXNG)
• Rate limiter blocks excessive requests
• Configuration persists across container restarts
• Nginx proxies requests correctly

Pitfalls

• Missing secret_key: SearXNG refuses to start without secret_key in settings.yml.
• Config permissions: SearXNG writes to config directory. Volume must be :rw not :ro.
• Engine blocks: Some engines block requests from server IPs. Rotate engines or use image proxy.
• YAML indentation: settings.yml sensitive to indentation. Validate with YAML linter before deploying.
• Base URL mismatch: SEARXNG_BASE_URL must match actual URL users access, including protocol and trailing slash.
• DNS resolution in Docker: Engines using Google/Bing may need host network or proper DNS. Default Docker DNS usually works.

See Also

• setup-compose-stack - general Docker Compose patterns used here
• configure-nginx - Nginx configuration for SSL and security headers
• configure-reverse-proxy - advanced proxy patterns for Nginx frontend