Adds searxng support for tool calling

docker-compose.example.yml

@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ services:
       ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:-}
       XAI_API_KEY: ${XAI_API_KEY:-}
       EXA_API_KEY: ${EXA_API_KEY:-}
+      CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE: ${CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE:-exa}
+      SEARXNG_BASE_URL: ${SEARXNG_BASE_URL:-}
     volumes:
       - sybil_data:/data
     expose:

docs/api/rest.md

@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ Behavior notes:
 - Server updates chat-level model metadata on each call: `lastUsedProvider`/`lastUsedModel`; first successful/failed call also initializes `initiatedProvider`/`initiatedModel` if unset.
 - For `openai` and `xai`, backend enables tool use during chat completion with an internal system instruction.
 - Available tool calls for chat: `web_search` and `fetch_url`.
-- `web_search` uses Exa and returns ranked results with per-result summaries/snippets.
+- `web_search` returns ranked results with per-result summaries/snippets. Its backend engine is selected by `CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE` (`exa` default, or `searxng` with `SEARXNG_BASE_URL` set). SearXNG mode requires the instance to allow `format=json`.
 - `fetch_url` fetches a URL and returns plaintext page content (HTML converted to text server-side).
 - When a tool call is executed, backend stores a chat `Message` with `role: "tool"` and tool metadata (`metadata.kind = "tool_call"`), then stores the assistant output.
 - `anthropic` currently runs without server-managed tool calls.
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ Behavior notes:
 
 Search run notes:
 - Backend executes Exa search and Exa answer.
+- Search mode is independent from chat `web_search` tool configuration and remains Exa-only.
 - Persists answer text/citations + ranked results.
 - If both search and answer fail, endpoint returns an error.
 

docs/api/streaming-chat.md

@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ Event order:
 - `openai`: backend may execute internal tool calls (`web_search`, `fetch_url`) before producing final text.
 - `xai`: same tool-enabled behavior as OpenAI.
 - `anthropic`: streamed via event stream; emits `delta` from `content_block_delta` with `text_delta`.
+- `web_search` uses `CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE` (`exa` default, or `searxng` with `SEARXNG_BASE_URL` set). SearXNG mode requires the instance to allow `format=json`. This only affects chat-mode tool calls, not search-mode endpoints.
 
 Tool-enabled streaming notes (`openai`/`xai`):
 - Stream still emits standard `meta`, `delta`, `done|error` events.

server/README.md

@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ If `ADMIN_TOKEN` is not set, the server runs in open mode (dev).
 - `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`
 - `XAI_API_KEY`
 - `EXA_API_KEY`
+- `CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE` (`exa` by default, or `searxng` for chat tool calls only)
+- `SEARXNG_BASE_URL` (required when `CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE=searxng`; instance must allow `format=json`)
 
 ## API
 - `GET /health`

server/src/env.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,24 @@
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { config as loadDotenv } from "dotenv";
 import { z } from "zod";
-import "dotenv/config";
+
+loadDotenv({ quiet: true });
+loadDotenv({ path: path.resolve(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "../../.env"), quiet: true });
+
+const OptionalUrlSchema = z.preprocess(
+  (value) => (typeof value === "string" && value.trim() === "" ? undefined : value),
+  z.string().trim().url().optional()
+);
+
+const ChatWebSearchEngineSchema = z.preprocess(
+  (value) => {
+    if (typeof value !== "string") return value;
+    const trimmed = value.trim();
+    return trimmed ? trimmed.toLowerCase() : undefined;
+  },
+  z.enum(["exa", "searxng"]).default("exa")
+);
 
 const EnvSchema = z.object({
   PORT: z.coerce.number().int().positive().default(8787),
@@ -13,6 +32,18 @@ const EnvSchema = z.object({
   ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: z.string().optional(),
   XAI_API_KEY: z.string().optional(),
   EXA_API_KEY: z.string().optional(),
+
+  // Chat-mode web_search tool configuration. Search mode remains Exa-only for now.
+  CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE: ChatWebSearchEngineSchema,
+  SEARXNG_BASE_URL: OptionalUrlSchema,
+}).superRefine((value, ctx) => {
+  if (value.CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE === "searxng" && !value.SEARXNG_BASE_URL) {
+    ctx.addIssue({
+      code: "custom",
+      path: ["SEARXNG_BASE_URL"],
+      message: "SEARXNG_BASE_URL is required when CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE=searxng",
+    });
+  }
 });
 
 export type Env = z.infer<typeof EnvSchema>;

server/src/llm/chat-tools.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import { convert as htmlToText } from "html-to-text";
 import type OpenAI from "openai";
 import { z } from "zod";
+import { env } from "../env.js";
 import { exaClient } from "../search/exa.js";
+import { searchSearxng } from "../search/searxng.js";
 import type { ChatMessage } from "./types.js";
 
 const MAX_TOOL_ROUNDS = 4;
@@ -21,6 +23,8 @@ const WebSearchArgsSchema = z
   })
   .strict();
 
+type WebSearchArgs = z.infer<typeof WebSearchArgsSchema>;
+
 const FetchUrlArgsSchema = z
   .object({
     url: z.string().trim().url(),
@@ -267,8 +271,7 @@ function normalizeIncomingMessages(messages: ChatMessage[]) {
   return [{ role: "system", content: CHAT_TOOL_SYSTEM_PROMPT }, ...normalized];
 }
 
-async function runWebSearchTool(input: unknown): Promise<ToolRunOutcome> {
+async function runExaWebSearchTool(args: WebSearchArgs): Promise<ToolRunOutcome> {
-  const args = WebSearchArgsSchema.parse(input);
   const exa = exaClient();
   const response = await exa.search(args.query, {
     type: args.type ?? "auto",
@@ -292,6 +295,7 @@ async function runWebSearchTool(input: unknown): Promise<ToolRunOutcome> {
   const results = Array.isArray(response?.results) ? response.results : [];
   return {
     ok: true,
+    searchEngine: "exa",
     query: args.query,
     requestId: response?.requestId ?? null,
     results: results.map((result: any, index: number) => ({
@@ -309,6 +313,40 @@ async function runWebSearchTool(input: unknown): Promise<ToolRunOutcome> {
   };
 }
 
+async function runSearxngWebSearchTool(args: WebSearchArgs): Promise<ToolRunOutcome> {
+  const response = await searchSearxng(args.query, {
+    numResults: args.numResults ?? DEFAULT_WEB_RESULTS,
+    includeDomains: args.includeDomains,
+    excludeDomains: args.excludeDomains,
+  });
+
+  return {
+    ok: true,
+    searchEngine: "searxng",
+    query: args.query,
+    requestId: response.requestId,
+    results: response.results.map((result, index) => ({
+      rank: index + 1,
+      title: result.title,
+      url: result.url,
+      publishedDate: result.publishedDate,
+      author: null,
+      summary: result.summary,
+      text: result.text,
+      highlights: result.summary ? [clipText(result.summary, 280)] : [],
+      engines: result.engines,
+    })),
+  };
+}
+
+async function runWebSearchTool(input: unknown): Promise<ToolRunOutcome> {
+  const args = WebSearchArgsSchema.parse(input);
+  if (env.CHAT_WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE === "searxng") {
+    return runSearxngWebSearchTool(args);
+  }
+  return runExaWebSearchTool(args);
+}
+
 function assertSafeFetchUrl(urlRaw: string) {
   const parsed = new URL(urlRaw);
   if (parsed.protocol !== "http:" && parsed.protocol !== "https:") {

server/src/search/searxng.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+import { env } from "../env.js";
+
+const SEARXNG_TIMEOUT_MS = 12_000;
+const DEFAULT_SEARXNG_CATEGORIES = "general";
+
+export type SearxngSearchOptions = {
+  numResults: number;
+  includeDomains?: string[];
+  excludeDomains?: string[];
+};
+
+export type SearxngSearchResult = {
+  title: string | null;
+  url: string | null;
+  publishedDate: string | null;
+  summary: string | null;
+  text: string | null;
+  engines: string[];
+};
+
+export type SearxngSearchResponse = {
+  query: string;
+  requestId: null;
+  results: SearxngSearchResult[];
+};
+
+function clipText(input: string, maxCharacters: number) {
+  return input.length <= maxCharacters ? input : `${input.slice(0, maxCharacters)}...`;
+}
+
+function compactWhitespace(input: string) {
+  return input.replace(/\r/g, "").replace(/[ \t]+\n/g, "\n").replace(/\n{3,}/g, "\n\n").replace(/\s+/g, " ").trim();
+}
+
+function requireSearxngBaseUrl() {
+  if (!env.SEARXNG_BASE_URL) {
+    throw new Error("SEARXNG_BASE_URL not set");
+  }
+  return env.SEARXNG_BASE_URL.endsWith("/") ? env.SEARXNG_BASE_URL : `${env.SEARXNG_BASE_URL}/`;
+}
+
+function normalizeDomain(input: string) {
+  const trimmed = input.trim().toLowerCase();
+  if (!trimmed) return null;
+
+  try {
+    const parsed = new URL(trimmed.includes("://") ? trimmed : `https://${trimmed}`);
+    return parsed.hostname.replace(/^www\./, "");
+  } catch {
+    return trimmed.split(/[/?#]/, 1)[0]?.replace(/^www\./, "") || null;
+  }
+}
+
+function normalizeDomains(input: string[] | undefined) {
+  return Array.from(new Set((input ?? []).map(normalizeDomain).filter((domain): domain is string => Boolean(domain))));
+}
+
+function hostnameMatchesDomain(urlRaw: string | null, domain: string) {
+  if (!urlRaw) return false;
+  try {
+    const hostname = new URL(urlRaw).hostname.toLowerCase().replace(/^www\./, "");
+    return hostname === domain || hostname.endsWith(`.${domain}`);
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+function filterResultsByDomains(results: SearxngSearchResult[], options: SearxngSearchOptions) {
+  const includeDomains = normalizeDomains(options.includeDomains);
+  const excludeDomains = normalizeDomains(options.excludeDomains);
+  return results.filter((result) => {
+    if (includeDomains.length && !includeDomains.some((domain) => hostnameMatchesDomain(result.url, domain))) return false;
+    if (excludeDomains.some((domain) => hostnameMatchesDomain(result.url, domain))) return false;
+    return true;
+  });
+}
+
+function buildSearxngQuery(query: string, options: SearxngSearchOptions) {
+  const includeDomains = normalizeDomains(options.includeDomains);
+  const excludeDomains = normalizeDomains(options.excludeDomains);
+  const includeClause =
+    includeDomains.length === 0
+      ? ""
+      : includeDomains.length === 1
+        ? `site:${includeDomains[0]}`
+        : `(${includeDomains.map((domain) => `site:${domain}`).join(" OR ")})`;
+  const excludeClause = excludeDomains.map((domain) => `-site:${domain}`).join(" ");
+  return [query, includeClause, excludeClause].filter(Boolean).join(" ");
+}
+
+function buildSearchUrl(query: string, options: SearxngSearchOptions) {
+  const url = new URL("search", requireSearxngBaseUrl());
+  url.searchParams.set("q", buildSearxngQuery(query, options));
+  url.searchParams.set("categories", DEFAULT_SEARXNG_CATEGORIES);
+  url.searchParams.set("language", "auto");
+  url.searchParams.set("safesearch", "1");
+  url.searchParams.set("format", "json");
+  return url;
+}
+
+async function fetchSearxng(url: URL, accept: string) {
+  const controller = new AbortController();
+  const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), SEARXNG_TIMEOUT_MS);
+
+  try {
+    return await fetch(url, {
+      redirect: "follow",
+      signal: controller.signal,
+      headers: {
+        "User-Agent": "SybilBot/1.0 (+https://sybil.local)",
+        Accept: accept,
+      },
+    });
+  } finally {
+    clearTimeout(timeout);
+  }
+}
+
+function stringOrNull(value: unknown) {
+  if (typeof value !== "string") return null;
+  const normalized = compactWhitespace(value);
+  return normalized || null;
+}
+
+function stringArray(value: unknown) {
+  if (!Array.isArray(value)) return [];
+  return value.filter((item): item is string => typeof item === "string").map(compactWhitespace).filter(Boolean);
+}
+
+function mapJsonResult(result: any): SearxngSearchResult {
+  const summary = stringOrNull(result?.content) ?? stringOrNull(result?.snippet);
+  const text = summary ? clipText(summary, 700) : null;
+  return {
+    title: stringOrNull(result?.title),
+    url: stringOrNull(result?.url),
+    publishedDate: stringOrNull(result?.publishedDate) ?? stringOrNull(result?.published_date),
+    summary: summary ? clipText(summary, 1_400) : null,
+    text,
+    engines: stringArray(result?.engines ?? (typeof result?.engine === "string" ? [result.engine] : [])),
+  };
+}
+
+export async function searchSearxng(query: string, options: SearxngSearchOptions): Promise<SearxngSearchResponse> {
+  const url = buildSearchUrl(query, options);
+  const response = await fetchSearxng(url, "application/json");
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    await response.arrayBuffer();
+    throw new Error(`SearXNG JSON search failed with status ${response.status}. Verify search.formats includes json.`);
+  }
+
+  const contentType = response.headers.get("content-type")?.toLowerCase() ?? "";
+  if (!contentType.includes("application/json")) {
+    await response.arrayBuffer();
+    throw new Error(`SearXNG JSON search returned ${contentType || "unknown content type"}.`);
+  }
+
+  const data: any = await response.json();
+  const results = Array.isArray(data?.results) ? data.results.map(mapJsonResult) : [];
+  return { query, requestId: null, results: filterResultsByDomains(results, options).slice(0, options.numResults) };
+}

web/src/App.tsx

@@ -452,6 +452,7 @@ export default function App() {
   const searchRunCounterRef = useRef(0);
   const shouldAutoScrollRef = useRef(true);
   const wasSendingRef = useRef(false);
+  const pendingReplyScrollRef = useRef(false);
   const [contextMenu, setContextMenu] = useState<ContextMenuState | null>(null);
   const [isMobileSidebarOpen, setIsMobileSidebarOpen] = useState(false);
   const [sidebarQuery, setSidebarQuery] = useState("");
@@ -643,6 +644,12 @@ export default function App() {
   }, [providerModelPreferences]);
 
   const selectedKey = selectedItem ? `${selectedItem.kind}:${selectedItem.id}` : null;
+  const isChatReplyStreamingInView =
+    isSending &&
+    draftKind !== "search" &&
+    selectedItem?.kind !== "search" &&
+    !!pendingChatState &&
+    (!pendingChatState.chatId || (selectedItem?.kind === "chat" && selectedItem.id === pendingChatState.chatId));
 
   useEffect(() => {
     shouldAutoScrollRef.current = true;
@@ -675,11 +682,27 @@ export default function App() {
     if (draftKind === "search" || selectedItem?.kind === "search") return;
     const wasSending = wasSendingRef.current;
     wasSendingRef.current = isSending;
-    if (wasSending && !isSending) return;
+    if (isSending) return;
+    if (wasSending) {
+      shouldAutoScrollRef.current = false;
+      return;
+    }
     if (!shouldAutoScrollRef.current) return;
-    transcriptEndRef.current?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: isSending ? "smooth" : "auto", block: "end" });
+    transcriptEndRef.current?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "auto", block: "end" });
   }, [draftKind, selectedChat?.messages.length, isSending, selectedItem?.kind, selectedKey]);
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!isChatReplyStreamingInView || !pendingReplyScrollRef.current) return;
+    pendingReplyScrollRef.current = false;
+    shouldAutoScrollRef.current = true;
+
+    window.requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+      const container = transcriptContainerRef.current;
+      if (!container) return;
+      container.scrollTo({ top: container.scrollHeight, behavior: "smooth" });
+    });
+  }, [isChatReplyStreamingInView, pendingChatState?.chatId]);
+
   useEffect(() => {
     if (isSending) return;
     const hasWorkspaceSelection = Boolean(selectedItem) || draftKind !== null;
@@ -697,13 +720,7 @@ export default function App() {
   const messages = selectedChat?.messages ?? [];
   const isSearchMode = draftKind ? draftKind === "search" : selectedItem?.kind === "search";
   const isSearchRunning = isSending && isSearchMode;
-  const isSendingActiveChat =
+  const isSendingActiveChat = isChatReplyStreamingInView;
-    isSending &&
-    !isSearchMode &&
-    !!pendingChatState &&
-    !!pendingChatState.chatId &&
-    selectedItem?.kind === "chat" &&
-    selectedItem.id === pendingChatState.chatId;
   const displayMessages = useMemo(() => {
     if (!pendingChatState) return messages.filter(isDisplayableMessage);
     if (pendingChatState.chatId) {
@@ -837,6 +854,8 @@ export default function App() {
   }, [contextMenu]);
 
   const handleSendChat = async (content: string) => {
+    pendingReplyScrollRef.current = true;
+
     const optimisticUserMessage: Message = {
       id: `temp-user-${Date.now()}`,
       createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
@@ -1424,7 +1443,7 @@ export default function App() {
 
           <div
             ref={transcriptContainerRef}
-            className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-4 pt-8 md:px-10 lg:px-14 pb-36 md:pb-44"
+            className="flex-1 overflow-y-auto px-4 pt-8 md:px-10 lg:px-14 pb-36 md:pb-44 [overflow-anchor:none]"
             onScroll={() => {
               const container = transcriptContainerRef.current;
               if (!container) return;
@@ -1443,6 +1462,9 @@ export default function App() {
                 onStartChat={selectedSearch ? handleStartChatFromSearch : undefined}
               />
             )}
+            {isChatReplyStreamingInView ? (
+              <div className="mx-auto mt-6 h-[52vh] min-h-72 max-h-[36rem] max-w-4xl" aria-hidden="true" />
+            ) : null}
             <div ref={transcriptEndRef} />
           </div>