duckduckgo-search

Search for words, documents, images, news, maps and text translation using the DuckDuckGo.com search engine.


Keywords
python, duckduckgo, duckduckgo-api, duckduckgo-images, duckduckgo-maps, duckduckgo-news, duckduckgo-search, duckduckgo-translate, duckduckgo-videos, imagedownload, imagedownloader, imagesearch, search
License
MIT
Install
pip install duckduckgo-search==5.2.0

Documentation

Python >= 3.8 Downloads Downloads

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.

⚠️ Warning: it is better to use AsyncDDGS in asynchronous code
‼️ v5.0 brings breaking changes: all functions are now not generators, but return a list of dictionaries.

Table of Contents

Install

pip install -U duckduckgo_search

[Optional] To use the text function with backend='html' or backend='lite':

pip install -U duckduckgo_search[lxml]

CLI version

ddgs --help

or

python -m duckduckgo_search --help

CLI examples:

# text search
ddgs text -k "axon regeneration"
# find and download pdf files via proxy (example: Tor browser)
ddgs text -k "neuroscience filetype:pdf" -r wt-wt -m 50 -d -p socks5://localhost:9150
# find and download images
ddgs images -k "gaz 14 chaika" -r ru-ru -type photo -m 500 -d
# get latest news
ddgs news -k "hubble telescope" -m 50

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Duckduckgo search operators

Keywords example Result
cats dogs Results about cats or dogs
"cats and dogs" Results for exact term "cats and dogs". If no results are found, related results are shown.
cats -dogs Fewer dogs in results
cats +dogs More dogs in results
cats filetype:pdf PDFs about cats. Supported file types: pdf, doc(x), xls(x), ppt(x), html
dogs site:example.com Pages about dogs from example.com
cats -site:example.com Pages about cats, excluding example.com
intitle:dogs Page title includes the word "dogs"
inurl:cats Page url includes the word "cats"

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Regions

expand
xa-ar for Arabia
xa-en for Arabia (en)
ar-es for Argentina
au-en for Australia
at-de for Austria
be-fr for Belgium (fr)
be-nl for Belgium (nl)
br-pt for Brazil
bg-bg for Bulgaria
ca-en for Canada
ca-fr for Canada (fr)
ct-ca for Catalan
cl-es for Chile
cn-zh for China
co-es for Colombia
hr-hr for Croatia
cz-cs for Czech Republic
dk-da for Denmark
ee-et for Estonia
fi-fi for Finland
fr-fr for France
de-de for Germany
gr-el for Greece
hk-tzh for Hong Kong
hu-hu for Hungary
in-en for India
id-id for Indonesia
id-en for Indonesia (en)
ie-en for Ireland
il-he for Israel
it-it for Italy
jp-jp for Japan
kr-kr for Korea
lv-lv for Latvia
lt-lt for Lithuania
xl-es for Latin America
my-ms for Malaysia
my-en for Malaysia (en)
mx-es for Mexico
nl-nl for Netherlands
nz-en for New Zealand
no-no for Norway
pe-es for Peru
ph-en for Philippines
ph-tl for Philippines (tl)
pl-pl for Poland
pt-pt for Portugal
ro-ro for Romania
ru-ru for Russia
sg-en for Singapore
sk-sk for Slovak Republic
sl-sl for Slovenia
za-en for South Africa
es-es for Spain
se-sv for Sweden
ch-de for Switzerland (de)
ch-fr for Switzerland (fr)
ch-it for Switzerland (it)
tw-tzh for Taiwan
th-th for Thailand
tr-tr for Turkey
ua-uk for Ukraine
uk-en for United Kingdom
us-en for United States
ue-es for United States (es)
ve-es for Venezuela
vn-vi for Vietnam
wt-wt for No region

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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.
        proxies (Union[dict, str], optional): Proxies for the HTTP client (can be dict or str). 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
import logging

from duckduckgo_search import AsyncDDGS

async def aget_results(word):
    results = await AsyncDDGS(proxies=None).text(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__":
    logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)
    asyncio.run(main())

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Proxies

Proxy can be specified as a dictionary or just a string

proxies = {"http": "socks5://localhost:9150", "https": "socks5://localhost:9150"}
proxies = "socks5://localhost:9150"

1. The easiest way. Launch the Tor Browser

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

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

ddgs = DDGS(proxies="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. 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.

    Raises:
        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.
    """

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().text('sun', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', timelimit='y', max_results=10)

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2. 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.
    
    Raises:
        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.
    """

Example

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

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

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3. 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.
    
    Raises:
        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.
    """

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().images('sun', region='wt-wt', safesearch='off', max_results=20)

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4. 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.
    
    Raises:
        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.
    """

Example

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

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

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5. 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.
    
    Raises:
        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.
    """

Example

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

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

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6. 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.
    
    Raises:
        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.
    """

Example

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

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

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7. 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.
    
    Raises:
        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.
    """

Example

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

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

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8. 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.
    
    Raises:
        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.
    """

Example

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

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

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