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Evidence-Focused Research Workflow

Use this client-neutral workflow when an agent must support an answer with traceable evidence. It composes the four mcp-searxng tools without requiring every tool on every task.

Choose the tool that advances the task

  • Use searxng_web_search when the source URL is unknown or you need to discover several perspectives.
  • Use searxng_search_suggestions only when a query is vague, incomplete, or uses uncertain terminology. Skip it when the query is already precise.
  • Use searxng_instance_info only when available categories, engines, locales, or instance defaults affect the search. It reports the configured instances' current capabilities; it does not expand them.
  • Use web_url_read after selecting a known URL whose page content is needed. A search-result snippet is discovery evidence, not a substitute for reading a source that supports a material claim.

Bounded workflow

1. Define the information need

Write the question, intended audience, required freshness, and what would count as sufficient evidence. Separate factual claims from opinions, forecasts, or decisions. Record material constraints such as language, jurisdiction, date range, and acceptable source types.

2. Inspect capabilities only when needed

Call searxng_instance_info when the plan depends on a category or engine, or when a search behaves differently than expected. In full mode:

  • includeEngines includes enabled engine names.
  • includeDisabled also includes disabled engines when includeEngines is true.
  • category narrows the capability response to one category.
  • refresh bypasses the process cache and fetches current /config data.

For multiple configured instances, prefer common capabilities for consistent behavior. Available-only capabilities may work on some instances and not others.

3. Refine an ambiguous query

If terminology is unclear, use searxng_search_suggestions with query and, when useful, language. Treat suggestions as query ideas, not evidence. Otherwise proceed directly to search.

Useful refinements include:

  • Terminology: add the exact product, standard, error, organization, or quoted phrase.
  • Language: use language for a known locale, or broaden to all.
  • Freshness: use time_range (day, week, month, or year) only when the question requires it.
  • Scope: use categories or engines only after confirming the instance supports the intended values.
  • Precision: add a jurisdiction, version, date, domain, or primary-source organization.

4. Search, then adjust deliberately

Call searxng_web_search with the required query. Full mode also supports:

  • pageno for later result pages.
  • time_range, language, and safesearch for scope.
  • min_score and num_results for result selection.
  • categories and engines for instance-supported routing.
  • response_format as text for normal agent use or json for structured processing.

If results are poor or empty, change one material constraint at a time:

  1. remove unnecessary words or try a recognized synonym;
  2. remove an overly restrictive time_range;
  3. broaden language to all;
  4. remove narrow categories or engines;
  5. broaden the question, then search a narrower sub-question separately.

Retries do not ensure useful results. Engine access, rate limits, and result quality remain instance-dependent.

5. Select sources before reading pages

Prefer sources that are relevant, attributable, current enough for the claim, and close to the underlying evidence. For material factual claims, favor primary sources such as official documentation, laws, standards, datasets, research papers, and first-party announcements. Use independent secondary sources to add context or challenge a primary source's interpretation.

Do not count syndicated copies, articles repeating one announcement, or several pages from the same organization as independent confirmation.

6. Read the evidence

Use web_url_read with url for each selected page. In full mode:

  • use startChar and maxLength to paginate long content;
  • use section for a known heading;
  • use paragraphRange for a narrow passage;
  • use readHeadings to inspect structure before choosing a section.

If a page is unavailable, binary, unsupported, or too incomplete to support the claim, choose another source. Do not infer that a search snippet proves what the unread page contains.

7. Cross-check material claims

Cross-check material claims against another genuinely independent source, or explain why only one authoritative source exists. Compare dates, versions, definitions, population or sample, and measurement method. When sources conflict, report the disagreement and determine whether freshness, scope, or method explains it; do not silently choose the convenient result.

8. Cite the evidence and state uncertainty

Cite the evidence next to the claim it supports, using the source's canonical URL when available. Distinguish direct source statements from your synthesis.

Evidence versus inference

  • Evidence: what a cited source directly establishes.
  • Inference: a conclusion drawn by combining evidence or filling a stated gap.
  • Unknown: information the available sources do not establish.

State uncertainty when evidence is incomplete, stale, contradictory, or based on an inference. Never invent a citation, quotation, date, or source detail.

Adjustable budgets

Use this as an adjustable starting point, then reduce or increase it according to risk and task complexity:

Work Small factual check Normal research High-impact claim
Search rounds 1 2-3 3-5
Search calls per round 1 1-2 2-3
Pages read 1-2 3-6 5-10
Concurrent calls 1-2 2-4 2-4

Parallel calls should cover independent queries or sources. Keep dependent steps sequential: discover a URL before reading it, and inspect capabilities before relying on an instance-specific category or engine.

Stopping conditions

Stop when all of the following are true:

  • the question is answered at the required level of detail;
  • every material factual claim has a citation or is explicitly labeled as inference or unknown;
  • important claims have appropriate independent confirmation;
  • remaining source disagreement and uncertainty are stated;
  • another search round is unlikely to change the conclusion materially.

Stop earlier when the agreed call or time budget is reached, access is blocked, or available evidence cannot answer the question. Report the limitation instead of continuing unbounded retries. No fixed budget or workflow can ensure complete, current, or correct search results.

Privacy and sensitive queries

Queries and fetched URLs are sent to the configured SearXNG service and, depending on its configuration, upstream engines and destination sites. Do not submit secrets, credentials, private identifiers, confidential text, or unnecessary personal data. A public instance adds an operator trust boundary; self-hosting improves control but does not by itself make upstream activity anonymous.

Use the self-hosted operator guide when you control the SearXNG deployment. Use the public-instance guide when you do not.

Lite Tools Mode

With SEARXNG_LITE_TOOLS=true, the tool schemas intentionally save context: search and suggestions accept only query, instance information accepts no optional controls, and URL reading accepts only url. The workflow still applies, but parameter-based refinement and selective page extraction require full mode. Do not send full-mode parameters and assume they were honored.