> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://praison.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# DuckDuckGo Search Tool
> Guide for using the DuckDuckGo Search tool with PraisonAI agents.
The DuckDuckGo Search tool lets an agent search the web with no API key required.
```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
subgraph "DuckDuckGo Search"
User[User] --> Agent[Agent]
Agent --> Tool[duckduckgo]
Tool --> API[DuckDuckGo]
API --> Result[Results]
end
classDef input fill:#8B0000,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
classDef process fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
classDef output fill:#10B981,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
class User,Agent input
class Tool,API process
class Result output
```
## Overview
The DuckDuckGo Search tool is a tool that allows you to search the web using the DuckDuckGo search engine.
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
pip install praisonaiagents
export OPENAI_API_KEY="${OPENAI_API_KEY:?Set OPENAI_API_KEY in your shell}"
```
```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonaiagents import Agent, AgentTeam
from praisonaiagents import duckduckgo
data_agent = Agent(instructions="Search and Read Research Papers on DNA Mutation", tools=[duckduckgo])
editor_agent = Agent(instructions="Write a scientifically researched outcome and findings about DNA Mutation")
agents = AgentTeam(agents=[data_agent, editor_agent])
agents.start()
```
## How It Works
```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
sequenceDiagram
participant User
participant Agent
participant DuckDuckGo as duckduckgo
participant API as DuckDuckGo
User->>Agent: "Search for X"
Agent->>DuckDuckGo: duckduckgo(query)
DuckDuckGo->>API: HTTPS request
API-->>DuckDuckGo: results
DuckDuckGo-->>Agent: parsed result
Agent-->>User: final answer
```
## Getting Started
1. Install dependencies (see **Overview** above)
2. Set required API keys in your environment
3. Run the agent example in **Overview**
Use the same tool with an agent — see the **Overview** example, or pass env vars from the sections above.
## Best Practices
The built-in `duckduckgo` tool ships with `praisonaiagents` and needs no provider key — only `OPENAI_API_KEY` for the agent's LLM.
The underlying `internet_search(query, max_results=5)` defaults to 5 results. Lower it for faster, cheaper agent loops when you only need the top hits.
The tool retries up to 3 times with backoff on transient failures. For persistent empty results, fall back to another search tool in the agent's toolset.
## Related Tools
AI-powered search
Brave Search API
Google search API