Bright Data Local Search Skill

Bright Data Local Search

Run powerful web searches locally using Bright Data's SERP API. This skill sets up the unfancy-search pipeline — a local search engine with query expansion, multi-engine SERP retrieval, RRF reranking, deduplication, and domain clustering.

Important: This skill uses the LOCAL version only. Do not use the hosted endpoint.

Prerequisites

Bright Data account with SERP API access
Anthropic API key (for query expansion, optional)
Docker (recommended) or Node.js 18+ with pnpm

Setup

Step 1: Clone and Configure

git clone https://github.com/yaronbeen/unfancy-search.git
cd unfancy-search
cp .env.example .env

Step 2: Set Environment Variables

Edit .env with your credentials:

BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN=your_brightdata_token
BRIGHT_DATA_SERP_ZONE=serp_api1
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_anthropic_key   # Optional: enables AI query expansion

Get your Bright Data token from: https://brightdata.com (SERP API section)

Step 3: Start the Local Server

Docker (recommended):

docker compose up -d
# Server runs at http://localhost:3000

Node.js:

pnpm install
pnpm dev
# Server runs at http://localhost:3000

API Endpoints

All requests go to http://localhost:3000:

| Endpoint | Method | Description | |----------|--------|-------------| | /api/search | POST | Start a search job | | /api/search-status/{jobId} | GET | Poll for results | | /api/baseline | POST | Trigger baseline collection | | /api/baseline-status/{id} | GET | Poll baseline progress |

Running a Search

Step 1: Submit Search

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "your search term"}'

The response returns a jobId.

Step 2: Poll for Results

curl http://localhost:3000/api/search-status/{jobId}

Poll every 3 seconds until status is "done".

Search Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | query | string | required | Search query | | expand | boolean | false | Enable AI query expansion via Claude | | research | boolean | false | Research mode (12 sub-queries for max coverage) | | engines | string[] | all | SERP engines to use | | geo | string | — | Geographic region filter | | count | number | 10 | Max results (up to 10) | | includeDomains | string[] | — | Only include results from these domains | | excludeDomains | string[] | — | Exclude results from these domains |

Search Modes

Basic (expand: false): Single query, fastest, no AI cost
Expanded (expand: true): Claude Haiku generates 3 sub-queries for broader coverage
Research (research: true): 12 sub-queries for maximum coverage

Usage Examples

Basic Search from an Agent

# Start search
JOB_ID=$(curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "best practices for API rate limiting"}' | jq -r '.jobId')

# Poll until done
while true; do
  RESULT=$(curl -s http://localhost:3000/api/search-status/$JOB_ID)
  STATUS=$(echo $RESULT | jq -r '.status')
  if [ "$STATUS" = "done" ]; then
    echo $RESULT | jq '.results'
    break
  fi
  sleep 3
done

Research Mode with Domain Filtering

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "kubernetes scaling strategies",
    "research": true,
    "excludeDomains": ["pinterest.com", "quora.com"]
  }'

Adding Search to an Existing Agent

To give your Claude Code agent search capabilities:

Ensure the local server is running (docker compose up -d in the unfancy-search directory)
Your agent can use curl or fetch to query http://localhost:3000/api/search
Parse the ranked results to ground responses with real web data

Response Format

Results include:

Ranked URLs with RRF scores
Domain clustering (grouped by source)
Cost transparency (per-search expense breakdown)
Raw and unique result counts
Search duration

Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution | |-------|----------| | Server won't start | Verify Docker is running or Node.js 18+ installed | | No results returned | Check BRIGHT_DATA_API_TOKEN is valid and SERP API zone is active | | Query expansion not working | Verify ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set and valid | | Slow responses | Disable expand mode for faster single-query searches | | Port 3000 in use | Stop other services or modify the port in docker-compose.yml |

Agent Skills: Bright Data Local Search

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files