refactor: rewrite duckduckgo-search skill for accuracy and usability
Follow-up to PR #267 merge: - Fix CLI syntax: -k is keywords, -m is max results (was reversed) - Add clear trigger condition: use only when web_search tool unavailable - Remove misleading curl fallback (DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API is not a web search endpoint) - Fix package name: ddgs (renamed from duckduckgo-search) - Add workflow section for search → web_extract pipeline - Add pitfalls and limitations sections - Fix author attribution to actual contributor - Rewrite shell script as simple ddgs wrapper with availability check
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---
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name: duckduckgo-search
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description: Get web search results from DuckDuckGo. Use as fallback when Firecrawl unavailable. No API key needed.
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version: 1.0.0
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author: Hermes Agent
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description: Free web search via DuckDuckGo when Firecrawl is unavailable. No API key needed. Use ddgs CLI or Python library to find URLs, then web_extract for content.
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version: 1.1.0
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author: gamedevCloudy
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license: MIT
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metadata:
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hermes:
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tags: [Search, DuckDuckGo, Web Search, API, Free]
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related_skills: [arxiv, ocr-and-documents]
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tags: [search, duckduckgo, web-search, free, fallback]
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related_skills: [arxiv]
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---
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# DuckDuckGo Search
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# DuckDuckGo Search (Firecrawl Fallback)
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Fast, free web search. No API key required. Use when Firecrawl is unavailable.
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Free web search using DuckDuckGo. **No API key required.**
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## Quick Reference
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## When to Use This
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| Action | Command |
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|--------|---------|
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| Web search | `ddgs text "python async" -k 5` |
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| Images | `ddgs images "cat"` |
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| News | `ddgs news "AI"` |
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| Videos | `ddgs videos "tutorial"` |
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| **Curl fallback** | `curl "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=QUERY&format=json"` |
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Use this skill ONLY when the `web_search` tool is not available (i.e., `FIRECRAWL_API_KEY` is not set). If `web_search` works, prefer it — it returns richer results with built-in content extraction.
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## Prerequisites
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Signs you need this fallback:
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- `web_search` tool is not listed in your available tools
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- `web_search` returns an error about missing FIRECRAWL_API_KEY
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### Option 1: Python Library (Recommended)
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## Setup
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```bash
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# Install the ddgs package (one-time)
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pip install ddgs
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ddgs --help
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```
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### Option 2: Curl Only (No Dependencies)
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## Web Search (Primary Use Case)
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### Via Terminal (ddgs CLI)
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```bash
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# Verify curl is available
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curl --version
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```
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No installation needed — curl is standard on all platforms.
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## Web Search
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### Library (ddgs)
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```bash
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# Basic search
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ddgs text "python async programming" -k 5
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# Basic search — returns titles, URLs, and snippets
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ddgs text -k "python async programming" -m 5
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# With region filter
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ddgs text "best restaurants Tokyo" -k 3 -r jp-jp
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ddgs text -k "best restaurants" -m 5 -r us-en
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# Safe search
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ddgs text "medical advice" -k 5 -s off
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# Recent results only (d=day, w=week, m=month, y=year)
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ddgs text -k "latest AI news" -m 5 -t w
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# JSON output for parsing
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ddgs text -k "fastapi tutorial" -m 5 -o json
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```
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### Parameters
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### Via Python (in execute_code)
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```python
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from hermes_tools import terminal
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# Search and get results
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result = terminal("ddgs text -k 'python web framework comparison' -m 5")
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print(result["output"])
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```
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### CLI Flags
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| Flag | Description | Example |
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|------|-------------|---------|
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| `-k` | Max results | `-k 5` |
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| `-k` | Keywords (query) — **required** | `-k "search terms"` |
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| `-m` | Max results | `-m 5` |
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| `-r` | Region | `-r us-en` |
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| `-t` | Time limit | `-t w` (week) |
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| `-s` | Safe search | `-s off` |
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### Curl Fallback
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```bash
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# Basic search
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curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=python+async&format=json&limit=5"
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# Parse results
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curl -s "..." | jq -r '.RelatedTopics[] | "\(.Text) - \(.FirstURL)"'
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```
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| `-o` | Output format | `-o json` |
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## Other Search Types
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```bash
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# Images
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ddgs images "landscape" -k 10
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# Image search
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ddgs images -k "landscape photography" -m 10
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# News
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ddgs news "artificial intelligence" -k 5
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# News search
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ddgs news -k "artificial intelligence" -m 5
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# Videos
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ddgs videos "python tutorial" -k 5
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# Video search
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ddgs videos -k "python tutorial" -m 5
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```
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## Integration
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## Workflow: Search → Extract
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After finding URLs, retrieve full content with `web_extract`:
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DuckDuckGo finds URLs. To get full page content, follow up with `web_extract`:
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1. **Search** with ddgs to find relevant URLs
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2. **Extract** content using the `web_extract` tool (if available) or curl
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```bash
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# Find with DDG, then extract
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ddgs text "fastapi tutorial" -k 3
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# Copy URL from output
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web_extract(urls=["https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/tutorial/"])
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# Step 1: Find URLs
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ddgs text -k "fastapi tutorial" -m 3
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# Step 2: Extract full content from a result URL
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# (use web_extract tool if available, otherwise curl)
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curl -s "https://example.com/article" | head -200
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```
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This is the standard pattern:
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1. **DuckDuckGo** → finds URLs
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2. **web_extract** → retrieves full content
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## Limitations
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## Use Cases
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- **Rate limiting**: DuckDuckGo may throttle after many rapid requests. Add `sleep 1` between searches if needed.
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- **No content extraction**: ddgs only returns titles, URLs, and snippets — not full page content. Use `web_extract` or curl for that.
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- **Results quality**: Generally good but less configurable than Firecrawl's search.
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- **Availability**: DuckDuckGo may block requests from some cloud IPs. If searches return empty, try different keywords or add a short delay.
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| Scenario | Tool | Reason |
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|----------|------|--------|
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| "Find tutorials on X" | `ddgs text` + `web_extract` | Need full content |
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| Firecrawl unavailable | `ddgs text` | Free fallback |
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| Quick image search | `ddgs images` | Find images |
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| Latest news | `ddgs news` | News results |
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## Pitfalls
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## Error Handling
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```bash
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# Check if library installed
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ddgs --help 2>/dev/null || echo "Using curl fallback"
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# Rate limiting - add delay
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sleep 1
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# No results - try different query
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ddgs text "different keywords" -k 5
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```
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## Notes
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- **No API key required** — completely free
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- **Rate limit**: ~1 request/second recommended
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- **Always follow up** with `web_extract` for full content
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- Curl fallback has limited results (DDG API restrictions)
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- **Don't confuse `-k` and `-m`**: `-k` is for keywords (the query), `-m` is for max results count.
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- **Package name**: The package is `ddgs` (was previously `duckduckgo-search`). Install with `pip install ddgs`.
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- **Empty results**: If ddgs returns nothing, it may be rate-limited. Wait a few seconds and retry.
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#!/bin/bash
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# DuckDuckGo Search Helper Script
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# Fallback for when ddgs library is unavailable
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# Usage: ./duckduckgo.sh [text|images|news|videos] <query> [limit]
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# Wrapper around ddgs CLI with sensible defaults
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# Usage: ./duckduckgo.sh <query> [max_results]
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set -e
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MODE="${1:-text}"
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QUERY="$2"
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LIMIT="${3:-5}"
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QUERY="$1"
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MAX_RESULTS="${2:-5}"
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if [ -z "$QUERY" ]; then
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echo "Usage: $0 [text|images|news|videos] <query> [limit]"
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echo "Usage: $0 <query> [max_results]"
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echo ""
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echo "Examples:"
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echo " $0 text 'python async' 5"
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echo " $0 images 'cat' 10"
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echo " $0 'python async programming' 5"
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echo " $0 'latest AI news' 10"
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echo ""
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echo "Requires: pip install ddgs"
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exit 1
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fi
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# URL encode query
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ENCODED_QUERY=$(echo "$QUERY" | sed 's/ /+/g' | sed 's/&/%26/g' | sed 's/=/%3D/g')
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# Check if ddgs is available
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if ! command -v ddgs &> /dev/null; then
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echo "Error: ddgs not found. Install with: pip install ddgs"
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exit 1
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fi
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case "$MODE" in
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text|images|news|videos)
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curl -s "https://api.duckduckgo.com/?q=${ENCODED_QUERY}&format=json&limit=${LIMIT}"
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;;
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*)
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echo "Unknown mode: $MODE"
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echo "Valid modes: text, images, news, videos"
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exit 1
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;;
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esac
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ddgs text -k "$QUERY" -m "$MAX_RESULTS"
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