Web Search
Ask LucidPal to search the web and get real-time results without leaving the app.
Overview
LucidPal can query the web on your behalf and include results in its response. Three search providers are supported — one works out of the box with no configuration required.
| Provider | Setup required | Privacy |
|---|---|---|
| DuckDuckGo | None — works immediately | No API key, HTML scrape |
| Brave Search | Brave API key | Requires free/paid API key |
| SearXNG | Self-hosted instance URL | Full self-hosted privacy |
Enabling Web Search
Simple mode (default): Open Settings → Data Sources and flip the Web Search toggle. DuckDuckGo is used automatically — no further configuration required.
Advanced mode: Open Settings → Data Sources → Web Search to access the full configuration screen where you can:
- Choose a provider.
- If using Brave Search, paste your API key.
- If using SearXNG, enter your instance URL (must be
https://).
To switch to Advanced mode, tap the mode selector at the top of Settings.
Using Web Search in Chat
Once enabled, ask naturally:
- "What's the weather in Montreal today?"
- "Search for the latest news on iOS 19"
- "Look up the price of AAPL stock"
LucidPal fetches up to 5 results, summarizes them, and cites sources inline.
The AI uses a two-pass approach: the first pass detects a search intent and fetches results; the second pass synthesizes the answer. The synthesis pass cannot trigger another web search — only one search round-trip occurs per message.
Provider Details
All providers use a 10-second request timeout. If the provider does not respond in time, the search fails and the AI reports the error inline.
DuckDuckGo
Zero-config. LucidPal scrapes DuckDuckGo's HTML search results using a mobile Safari user-agent. No account or API key needed.
Brave Search
Requires a Brave Search API key (free tier available). Enter the key in Settings → Web Search → Brave API Key.
SearXNG (Self-Hosted)
Point LucidPal at your own SearXNG instance. The instance must:
- Use
https:// - Have JSON format enabled (
search.formats: [json]insettings.yml)
If you see "SearXNG JSON format is disabled", add json to the search.formats list in your SearXNG settings.yml and restart the container.
Privacy
Web search queries are sent to the chosen provider — DuckDuckGo, Brave, or your own SearXNG server. No queries are sent to Anthropic or any LucidPal backend. The on-device model synthesizes the results locally.