What Is modsearch? Free Web Search for DeepSeek Harness

modsearch is a free web search plugin for DeepSeek Harness (DSH) that brings web search, X search, and single-page fetch to models without native web access, with no signup and no API key required. Models can search inside a chat app but cannot reach the network in API scenarios, and that is the gap modsearch closes (source). It uses Firecrawl's keyless tier by default, offering 1,000 free credits per month with no account, key, or card. This guide is based on the plugin's latest README and official docs and covers its core features, installation, typical usage, and troubleshooting.

What Is modsearch?

modsearch is a free search plugin that gives DeepSeek Harness models a working web, X, and page-fetch stack where they previously had none. Models such as DeepSeek and GLM have no or weak web access in API scenarios, which makes real-time answers with sources hard to produce. As a DSH Plugin, modsearch solves this with an engine chain: Firecrawl's keyless tier by default, failing over automatically to free channels such as Antigravity CLI, Tavily, and Exa. Its promise is "free, no signup, no API key", and the author liustack calls it the strongest free web search plugin in the DeepSeek Harness ecosystem (source). Whether it is a web search, an X (Twitter) search, or a single-page fetch, the model gets structured JSON evidence with sources instead of an unverifiable answer.

What Are the Core Features of modsearch?

modsearch's core strengths are free out-of-the-box search, automatic failover, per-engine key rotation, and X search, all usable across multiple agent frameworks after a single install. Concretely (source):

• Free out of the box: Firecrawl keyless tier by default, 1,000 free credits per month, no account, no API key, no card; every fallback channel is free too, and Antigravity CLI only needs a one-time browser sign-in.
• Automatic failover: when a channel fails or exhausts its quota, the next one takes over without interrupting the search.
• Per-engine key rotation: Tavily, Exa, and Firecrawl accept multiple comma-separated keys, rotating to the next key on auth, rate-limit, or quota failures before falling back.
• X (Twitter) search: with Grok Build installed and signed in, modsearch queries the corpus that web indexes cannot reach.
• Install once, use everywhere: works in Claude Code, Codex, Pi, and OpenCode, and dsh web's native search tool row can run directly on the modsearch engine chain.
• Structured output: results come back as JSON evidence with sources, and an uncertainty field flags details that came from aggregation.

How to Install and Enable modsearch?

Installing, updating, and removing modsearch are standard DSH plugin commands, and enabling it is a matter of toggling it in the plugin list — no registration is involved. The four steps below cover install, enable, update, and remove. The install command follows the latest README (source).

1. Install modsearch: run the following command in the DeepSeek Harness terminal to add the plugin to the current profile:

npx -y @deepseek-ai/dsh plugin --profile web add @liustack/modsearch@5.10.0

Wait for the output to confirm the install; search and fetch now work on Firecrawl's free quota.

2. Enable and configure modsearch: confirm it is enabled under Settings → Plugins. dsh's Settings → Plugins → Plugin config also has a ModSearch card where you can pick the preferred engine, fill in an API key or a self-hosted endpoint, and tick which engines join failover — all without touching the command line.

3. Update modsearch: when a new version is out, run the update command:

dsh plugin --profile web update @liustack/modsearch

4. Remove modsearch: to uninstall, run the remove command:

dsh plugin remove @liustack/modsearch

After removal, search tool rows no longer route to the modsearch engine chain.

Typical modsearch Usage

With modsearch installed you do not need to memorize any commands — just chat as usual and the search or fetch triggers on its own. A few typical uses (source):

1. Fetch a URL and summarize it: paste a blog link and ask what the post says; modsearch reads the whole page and returns a structured summary without opening a browser.

2. Open-ended real-time search: ask "anything interesting in AI today?" and the model returns sourced stories, flagging aggregated details via the uncertainty field.

3. Set an API key for an engine: configure Tavily, Exa, or Firecrawl with a key:

modsearch config set tavily.apiKey <key>

Keys can also come from environment variables such as TAVILY_API_KEY, EXA_API_KEY, and FIRECRAWL_API_KEY, and one engine can take several comma-separated keys for rotation.

4. Exclude an engine or point at a self-hosted endpoint: disable an engine from failover with:

modsearch config set tavily.enabled false

For a Tavily-, Exa-, or Firecrawl-compatible self-hosted or third-party endpoint, point the engine at it:

modsearch config set tavily.baseURL <url>

All settings take effect on the next search.

modsearch Troubleshooting

Most modsearch issues fall into three buckets — X search unavailable, private-network targets blocked, and exhausted quota — and the first two have clear fixes. Walk through each symptom in turn (source):

1. Symptom: X search returns nothing or errors out. Cause: Grok Build is not installed or not signed in. Fix: install the grok CLI and sign in, which relies on a SuperGrok or X Premium subscription; ask again after signing in.

2. Symptom: the error says "Blocked private network target". Cause: Steam++, Watt Toolkit, or a VPN pointed GitHub and similar domains at your machine or a reserved address, triggering modsearch's SSRF guard. Fix: disable Steam++/Watt Toolkit or fix the proxy, then retry.

3. Symptom: searches fail after the free quota is exhausted. Cause: Firecrawl's keyless monthly quota of 1,000 credits is used up and no other engine can take over. Fix: add a free Tavily, Exa, or Firecrawl key, or configure multiple keys on one engine so rotation kicks in.

4. Symptom: a command fails and you are not sure which setting is wrong. Fix: run modsearch's built-in diagnostic:

modsearch config doctor

It checks the config and key status and prints a readable result.

Use Cases and Notes

modsearch fits models without native web access that need real-time, sourced answers, and its security and compliance boundaries are worth knowing before you deploy. Good use cases include API applications driven by web-less models like DeepSeek and GLM. Real-time Q&A that needs live news, prices, or document status also benefits. Research that needs the X corpus, and harnesses you already run such as Claude Code, Codex, Pi, and OpenCode, fit naturally (source). Keys live in ~/.modsearch/config.json with 0600 permissions and are masked when shown. modsearch ships SSRF guards and DNS-rebinding protection, so private-network targets are blocked. Upstream engines each have their own terms and quotas, and compliance is the user's responsibility. The project is MIT-licensed and the author gives no warranty.

Project Links

modsearch is an MIT open-source project maintained by liustack, listed in the DSH plugin marketplace as a free web search plugin. This page is the full usage guide for the plugin. For more configuration options, the output contract, and security notes, visit the plugin detail page: modsearch plugin page. The authoritative documentation and the latest changes always live in the upstream repository, linked below.

This page is an independent guide rewritten from the plugin's official README — for the authoritative documentation and the latest changes, defer to the source: liustack/modsearch. A plugin is third-party code that runs on your machine once installed; inclusion is not an endorsement — review the source before installing.