How to Install Searx Search Engine on Ubuntu, Debian, Arch Linux, Fedora, and RHEL
Searx is a privacy-respecting metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple search engines without tracking your data. Below is a step-by-step guide to installing Searx on Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Debian, Arch Linux, Fedora, and RHEL.
Step 1: Install Required Packages
First, install the necessary dependencies. Run the following command:
sudo -H apt-get install -y python3-dev python3-babel python3-venv uwsgi uwsgi-plugin-python3 git build-essential libxslt-dev zlib1g-dev libffi-dev libssl-dev shellcheck
This will also install the required uwsgi packages.
Step 2: Create a Dedicated User for Searx
For security reasons, create a new system user for Searx:
sudo -H useradd –shell /bin/bash –system –home-dir “/usr/local/searx” –comment ‘Privacy-respecting metasearch engine’ searx
sudo -H mkdir “/usr/local/searx”
sudo -H chown -R “searx:searx” “/usr/local/searx”
Step 3: Install Searx and Its Dependencies
Now, switch to the newly created user and clone the Searx repository:
sudo -H -u searx -i
git clone “https://github.com/searx/searx.git” “/usr/local/searx/searx-src”
Next, create a virtual environment for Searx:
python3 -m venv “/usr/local/searx/searx-pyenv”
echo “. /usr/local/searx/searx-pyenv/bin/activate” >> “/usr/local/searx/.profile”
Exit the user session and start a new one:
exit
sudo -H -u searx -i
command -v python && python –version
Ensure that Python is sourced correctly. You should see something like:
/usr/local/searx/searx-pyenv/bin/python
Python 3.8.1
Now, update pip and install necessary dependencies:
pip install -U pip
pip install -U setuptools
pip install -U wheel
pip install -U pyyaml
Navigate to the Searx source directory and install Searx:
cd “/usr/local/searx/searx-src”
pip install -e .
Step 4: Configure Searx
Create the settings file:
sudo -H mkdir -p “/etc/searx”
sudo -H cp “/usr/local/searx/searx-src/utils/templates/etc/searx/use_default_settings.yml” “/etc/searx/settings.yml”
Modify the configuration by replacing the secret key and setting the instance name:
sudo -H sed -i -e “s/ultrasecretkey/$(openssl rand -hex 16)/g” “/etc/searx/settings.yml”
sudo -H sed -i -e “s/{instance_name}/searx@$(uname -n)/g” “/etc/searx/settings.yml”
Step 5: Test the Installation
Enable debugging to check if Searx is working properly:
sudo -H sed -i -e “s/debug : False/debug : True/g” “/etc/searx/settings.yml”
Start the web application:
sudo -H -u searx -i
cd /usr/local/searx/searx-src
export SEARX_SETTINGS_PATH=”/etc/searx/settings.yml”
python searx/webapp.py
Now, open a web browser and visit http://localhost:8888. If Searx is running correctly, you will see the search page.
Once verified, disable debugging:
sudo -H sed -i -e “s/debug : True/debug : False/g” “/etc/searx/settings.yml”
Step 6: Running Searx as a Service
To keep Searx running as a background service, you need to configure it with uWSGI and set up a reverse proxy using Nginx or Apache. Would you like a guide on that? Let me know! 🚀
