CogiSearch

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Features
• Browser Extensions
• Usage
• Self-Hosting
• Customizing
• License
• Privacy Policy

Introduction

CogiSearch is a search router that allows you to use the idea of "bangs" from DuckDuckGo to quickly search across different engines. Unlike DuckDuckGo, CogiSearch lets you set your own default search engine and provides a faster, more customizable experience.

A "bang" is a special shortcut that redirects your search to a specific search engine. For example, typing !g cats will search for "cats" on Google.

Features

• 🔍 Fast Search Routing: Instantly redirects your queries to your preferred search engines
• 🔄 Default Engine Selection: Set any search engine as your default (including custom URLs)
• 🛠️ Custom Bangs: Access to all DuckDuckGo bangs plus custom additions
• 🌐 Custom Engine URL: Define your own search engine by URL, using %s as a placeholder
• 🌓 Light/Dark Theme: Toggle between light and dark mode for comfortable browsing
• 📋 Easy Integration: Add CogiSearch to any browser with a simple URL
• 💾 No Tracking: Your searches aren't stored or tracked

Browser Extensions

For the best experience, install the CogiSearch browser extension.
It automatically sets CogiSearch as your default search engine and syncs your custom bangs across devices.

Features unlocked by the extension:

• One-click setup as your default search engine
• Sync your custom bangs across Firefox, Chrome, and compatible browsers
• No tracking or external servers involved — everything is stored securely via browser sync

Firefox

→ Get it on Firefox Add-ons

Chrome

→ Get it on the Chrome Web Store

ℹ️ The extension is optional — you can still use CogiSearch in your browser manually.
But the extension brings syncing and simpler setup.

Usage

Basic Searching

1. Enter your search query in the search box
2. Add a bang anywhere in your query to use a specific search engine (e.g., !g for Google)
3. If no bang is specified, your default search engine will be used

Popular Bangs

Bang	Search Engine	Example
!g	Google	!g best programming language
!b	Bing	!b vacation ideas
!y	Yahoo	!y weather forecast
!qw	Qwant	!qw privacy tools
!brave	Brave Search	!brave secure messaging
!yt	YouTube	!yt cooking tutorials
!w	Wikipedia	!w The Backrooms

Setting Your Default Search Engine

1. Visit the CogiSearch homepage
2. Scroll down to the Settings section
3. Choose between:
   • Selecting a popular engine
   • Entering a custom bang (e.g., !g)
   • Providing a custom engine URL (e.g., https://example.com/search?q=%s)
4. Your choice will be saved for future searches

Note: When using a custom URL, %s will be replaced by your search query dynamically.

Adding to Your Browser

To add CogiSearch as a search engine in your browser:

1. Copy this URL: https://search.cogilabs.eu/?q=%s
2. In your browser's search engine settings:

• Chrome: Settings → Search Engine → Manage Search Engines → Add
• Firefox: Mozilla has removed the ability to add a custom search engine through the settings, so install the CogiSearch Firefox extension
• Edge: Settings → Privacy, Search and Services → Address Bar and Search → Manage Search Engines → Add

3. Name it "CogiSearch" and paste the URL (for Chrome and Edge)
4. Set it as your default search engine (optional)

Self-Hosting

CogiSearch is a static website that can be hosted on any web server:

1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/cogilabs/cogisearch.git
2. Upload the files to your web server
3. Access the site through your domain

No server-side processing is required as all functionality is client-side JavaScript.

Customizing

Adding Custom Bangs

You can now add your own custom bangs directly from the user interface:

1. Scroll down to the User Bangs section on the main page
2. Enter your bang name in the first field
3. Enter the URL in the second field, using %s as a placeholder for the search query
4. Click the "Add Bang" button

Your custom bangs will be stored in your browser's local storage and available immediately for searches. You can add as many as you need and delete them any time. These custom bangs will persist between browser sessions on the same device.

Example:

• Bang name: reddit
• URL: https://www.reddit.com/search?q=%s

This will create a !reddit bang that searches Reddit directly.

Bangs created this way will overwrite any existing bangs with the same trigger.

Setting a Custom Engine URL

You can also define your own search engine URL without creating a bang.

Example:

• Enter https://example.com/search?q=%s in the custom engine URL field
• %s will automatically be replaced with your search query

This allows you to use any search engine that supports direct query URLs!

Example custom URL: https://github.com/search?q=%s will search GitHub directly.

License

CogiSearch is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.

Privacy Policy

CogiSearch respects your privacy and doesn't track or store your searches:

• No Data Collection: We don't store your search queries or browsing history
• No Cookies: We don't use tracking cookies
• Local Storage Only: All preferences are stored locally on your device
• No Analytics: We don't use any third-party analytics services

For complete details, please see our Privacy Policy.

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