LibreY
A self-hostable privacy-respecting metasearch engine built without frameworks or JavaScript.
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About LibreY
LibreY is a metasearch engine you run on your own server. It sends your queries to other search engines and shows the combined results on a plain page that needs no JavaScript, with an image proxy so result thumbnails do not load from third parties.
It is written in PHP, continues the earlier LibreX project, and ships with a Dockerfile and docker-compose file. There is a JSON API, an OpenSearch description for adding it to a browser, and a list of public instances for people who do not want to host it.
Strengths
- Works without JavaScript in the browser
- Docker and docker-compose files included
- Image proxy and JSON API
- Public instances available
Limitations
- Result quality depends on upstream engines
- Running your own instance needs a PHP-capable server
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Developer
- The LibreY contributors
- Platforms
- Web, Self-hosted
- How it runs
- Web application, Self-hosted
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- No
- Best suited for
- Running a private search page for yourself or a small group
- Categories
- Privacy tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to LibreY
Compare allSoftware that can replace LibreY for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
SearXNG
Self-hosted metasearch engine that aggregates results without profiling you.
SearXNG aggregates dozens of engines under the AGPL-3.0 and can be self-hosted, though running an instance needs ongoing maintenance and public instances may be rate limited.
4get
A proxying metasearch engine you can use through public instances or host yourself.
4get proxies searches through public instances or your own server, is reachable over Tor and has an API, but is not open source.
MetaGer
A privacy-focused metasearch engine and anonymous browsing service paid for with a prepaid key.
MetaGer is a hosted open-source metasearch engine run by a non-profit that requires a prepaid key instead of self-hosting, and adds anonymous browsing.
DuckDuckGo Search
A web search engine that does not track or profile its users.
DuckDuckGo Search is a free hosted engine with no profiling and no setup, but the service is closed source and shows ads alongside results.
Startpage
A web search engine that does not keep search histories and lets you view results anonymously.
Startpage is a hosted search engine with anonymous viewing of result pages, relying on the operator's stated policy instead of a server you control.
Brave Search
A private web search engine built on its own independent index, with optional AI answers.
Brave Search uses its own independent index rather than querying upstream engines, adds optional AI answers, and cannot be self-hosted.
Mojeek
An independent UK search engine with its own crawler and index that does not track users.
Mojeek is a UK engine with its own crawler and index and an API, though its smaller index can return fewer results and it is closed source.
Qwant
A French web search engine hosted in Europe that says it does not keep search data.
Qwant is a closed-source search engine hosted in Europe with apps for iOS and Android, and result quality varies outside French and European content.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Kagi
A paid, ad-free web search engine with anti-tracking, result customization and an AI assistant.
Swisscows
A Swiss private search engine with no tracking and results filtered to be family-friendly.
Sepia Search
A search engine for videos, channels and playlists hosted across many PeerTube instances.
Mozhi
A self-hostable alternative front end for Google Translate, DeepL and other translation engines.
