MiniSearch

What it does

A self-hosted search engine with an assistant that runs inside the tab, on GPU or CPU — no API key, no inference server, nobody else seeing your queries. Results come from a bundled SearXNG instance and are reranked locally; history and chats stay in browser storage. Ships as one Docker container, with a hosted demo that was running on 2026-08-18. The in-browser models run 135M to 4B, so answers are rougher than a hosted service — follow the sources. Apache-2.0.

Summary based on the project's own description. The Japanese page has a fuller beginner guide: setup difficulty, what to prepare, and a step-by-step start.

Screenshots & visuals

Before you start

• Setup difficultySome setup needed
• Command lineRequired
• API keyNot required
• Sends data onlineYes

Judged automatically from the project's own metadata. Always confirm on the official page.

MiniSearch FAQ

Is MiniSearch free?

Yes. It runs on your own machine, so there is no usage-based cost either.

Do I need to install anything or write code to use MiniSearch?

It needs the command line. If you are not comfortable typing commands, expect to get stuck during setup.

Does MiniSearch work on a phone?

No. It needs a computer.

Can I use MiniSearch commercially?

The licence is Apache-2.0, which permits commercial use. Conditions such as keeping the copyright notice still apply, so read the licence text before shipping it inside something.

How it compares

The conditions that decide whether you can actually use it, side by side.

"Sends data out" means your input is uploaded to someone's server. Pick "No" when the material cannot leave your organisation.

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