# DuckDuckGo

> Instant answers, definitions, and topic summaries via DuckDuckGo. No API key required.

Source: <https://everruns.com/docs/integrations/duckduckgo/>

Everruns integrates with [DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/) to provide instant answers via the [DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API](https://api.duckduckgo.com/api). Agents can look up facts, definitions, topic summaries (from Wikipedia and other sources), and related topics, all without an API key.

## What You Get

* **Instant Answers**: Direct answers for calculations, IP lookups, conversions, and more
* **Topic Abstracts**: Wikipedia-style summaries for well-known topics
* **Definitions**: Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary and other sources
* **Related Topics**: Links to related topics for deeper exploration
* **No API Key Required**: The DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API is completely free

## Quick Start

### 1. No Setup Needed

Unlike other integrations, DuckDuckGo requires no API key or configuration. The DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API is free and public.

### 2. Enable the Capability

Add the `duckduckgo` capability to your agent or harness configuration.

### 3. Use in Sessions

Agents with the DuckDuckGo capability can use this tool:

| Tool                        | Description                                                                                                                 |
| --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `duckduckgo_instant_answer` | Look up instant answers, abstracts, definitions, and related topics. Instant-answer lookup only, not a full web/SERP search |

### Parameters

| Parameter | Type    | Required | Description                                   |
| --------- | ------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `query`   | string  | Yes      | Search query                                  |
| `no_html` | boolean | No       | Strip HTML from result text (default: `true`) |

### Response Fields

The tool returns a JSON object with available fields:

| Field            | Description                                                                                                                                    |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `query`          | The original query                                                                                                                             |
| `type`           | Response type: `article`, `disambiguation`, `category`, `name`, `exclusive`, or `nothing`                                                      |
| `heading`        | Topic heading                                                                                                                                  |
| `abstract`       | `{ text, source, url }`, topic summary                                                                                                         |
| `answer`         | `{ text, type }`, direct answer (calculations, etc.)                                                                                           |
| `definition`     | `{ text, source, url }`, dictionary definition                                                                                                 |
| `related_topics` | Array of `{ text, url }`, related topics (max 10)                                                                                              |
| `results`        | Array of `{ text, url }`, official/direct results                                                                                              |
| `note`           | Present only when no instant answer was found, a caveat that this is not a definitive web-search result and matching web pages may still exist |

Only non-empty fields are included in the response.

Note

This tool queries the DuckDuckGo **Instant Answer** API, not full web search. A `nothing` result (or a `note` field) means DuckDuckGo has no curated instant answer for the query, it does **not** mean no web pages match. Prefer a web-search or web-fetch tool (or Brave Search) for general web discovery; when none is available, this tool can still serve as a lightweight search for quick facts, definitions, and related topics.

## When to Use DuckDuckGo vs Brave Search

| Use Case                     | DuckDuckGo       | Brave Search     |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- |
| Quick facts and definitions  | ✅ Best choice    | Works but slower |
| Wikipedia-style summaries    | ✅ Best choice    | Not available    |
| Calculations and conversions | ✅ Direct answers | Not available    |
| Full web search results      | ❌ Not available  | ✅ Best choice    |
| Current news and articles    | ❌ Limited        | ✅ Best choice    |
| API key required             | No               | Yes              |

Both capabilities can be enabled simultaneously, the agent will choose the right tool based on the task.

## Security

* **No secrets**: No API key or credentials to manage
* **Read-only**: The API only returns information, no write operations
* **Privacy**: DuckDuckGo does not track searches

## Status

Experimental, available without a feature flag. This capability may change in future releases.

## Links

* [DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/)
* [DuckDuckGo Instant Answer API](https://api.duckduckgo.com/api)