DuckDuckGo Search (Logged)

Search the web using DuckDuckGo and automatically save results to a plain-text log file.

When to use

Use this skill when the LoggedWebSearch name is included in the user query.

Execution

This skill runs a Python script and parses its JSON output.

Script location: workspace/Skills/LoggedWebSearch/logged_web_search.py

Command pattern:

code

python logged_web_search.py --query "<search_query>" --max <number> --timeout <seconds> --sleep-ms <milliseconds>

Command-Line Arguments

All arguments except --query are optional.

•
--query (required, string)
- •The search query to send to DuckDuckGo
- •Example: "python programming"
•
--max (optional, integer, default: 8)
- •Maximum number of results to return
- •Valid range: 1 to 25
- •Values outside range are clamped
•
--timeout (optional, integer, default: 20)
- •Network timeout in seconds
- •Valid range: 5 to 60 seconds
- •Values outside range are clamped
•
--sleep-ms (optional, integer, default: 0)
- •Milliseconds to sleep before searching
- •Useful for rate limiting
- •Example: --sleep-ms 500 waits 0.5 seconds

Response Format

The script outputs valid JSON to stdout.

Success Response (status: "ok")

json

{
  "query": "search query string",
  "results": [
    {
      "title": "Result Title",
      "url": "https://example.com",
      "snippet": "Brief description of result",
      "rank": 1
    }
  ],
  "log_path": "/path/to/logfile.txt",
  "count": 5,
  "status": "ok"
}

Error Response (status: "error")

json

{
  "query": "search query string",
  "error": "Error message describing what went wrong",
  "results": [],
  "count": 0,
  "status": "error"
}

Logging

Search results are automatically saved to plain-text files at:

code

{OPENCLAW_OUTPUT_ROOT}/datastore/YYYY/MM/DD/{QueryName}.txt

Where:

•YYYY/MM/DD is the current date (e.g., 2026/02/17)
•{QueryName} is the query converted to CamelCase (e.g., "PythonProgramming")

If OPENCLAW_OUTPUT_ROOT environment variable is not set, defaults to:

code

~/.openclaw/data

Each log entry includes:

•Query text
•ISO timestamp
•Result title, URL, and snippet for each result

Examples

Example 1: Simple search

code

python logged_web_search.py --query "climate change"

Returns up to 8 results (default).

Example 2: Limited results with timeout

code

python logged_web_search.py --query "python asyncio" --max 5 --timeout 15

Returns up to 5 results with 15-second timeout.

Example 3: Rate-limited search

code

python logged_web_search.py --query "AI news" --sleep-ms 1000

Waits 1 second before searching.

Troubleshooting

•
No output from python logged_web_search.py
- •Confirm workspace/Skills/LoggedWebSearch/logged_web_search.py exists.
- •Verify Python is available in the sandbox (python --version or python3 --version).
•
No log files created
- •Ensure OPENCLAW_OUTPUT_ROOT points to a valid, writable path.
- •If unset, the default ~/.openclaw/data must be writable and exist.
•
Cannot list or create files
- •The execution environment may be sandboxed; only declared filesystem capabilities are available.
•
Network timeout: Increase --timeout value
•
No results: Try a simpler query with fewer words
•
Connection refused: Check internet connectivity
•
Log file not created: Verify OPENCLAW_OUTPUT_ROOT environment variable or .openclaw/data directory exists