duckduckgo-search

Free keyless web, news, and image search via ddgs.

Quality

68%

Does it follow best practices?

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Securityby

Low

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tessl review fix ./optional-skills/research/duckduckgo-search/SKILL.md

Quality

Content

71%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.

The body is highly actionable with executable CLI and Python examples and a clear detection workflow, but it is padded by repeated runtime-separation warnings and an inline version pin, and it under-uses the existing script bundle by never referencing it.

Suggestions

Consolidate the repeated CLI-vs-execute_code separation warning into a single canonical callout instead of restating it in five sections.

Move the pinned 'ddgs==9.11.2' version into a clearly labeled 'Validated With' note or a deprecated/old-patterns section, or drop it to avoid time-sensitive rot.

Reference the bundled scripts/duckduckgo.sh from the body (e.g. in Method 1) and consider moving the per-method Python API reference into a separate reference file to improve progressive disclosure.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Conciseness	Code examples are tight and useful, but the CLI-vs-execute_code separation warning is repeated across Detection Flow, Method 2, Limitations, Troubleshooting, and Pitfalls, and the time-sensitive 'ddgs==9.11.2' version pin sits outside a deprecated section, so it could be tightened.	3 / 5
Actionability	Provides fully executable, copy-paste-ready CLI commands and Python snippets covering text, news, image, and video search, plus flag tables, a quick-reference table, and a troubleshooting matrix covering the common cases.	5 / 5
Workflow Clarity	A clear detection-to-search-to-extract sequence exists with availability checkpoints ('command -v ddgs', 'ddgs --help', import verification) and a troubleshooting table for error recovery, though validation is availability-focused rather than operation-focused.	4 / 5
Progressive Disclosure	Section headers give reasonable structure, but the full per-method API reference is inlined in one ~150-line file and the bundled scripts/duckduckgo.sh is never referenced or linked from the body, leaving navigation and content-splitting gaps.	3 / 5
	Total	15 / 20 Passed

Description

66%Weight 40%Scale 1-5

Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.

The description is specific and reasonably distinctive, naming three concrete search types and a clear free/keyless value proposition. Its main weakness is the missing 'Use when...' trigger guidance, which caps completeness.

Suggestions

Add an explicit 'Use when ...' clause naming trigger phrases (e.g. 'Use when web_search is unavailable, FIRECRAWL_API_KEY is unset, or the user wants DuckDuckGo results').

Include 'video search' alongside web/news/image to match the full capability set documented in the body.

Add natural synonyms such as 'look up' or 'find online' to broaden trigger coverage beyond 'ddgs'.

Dimension	Reasoning	Score
Specificity	Lists several concrete search capabilities ('web, news, and image search') plus the distinguishing 'Free keyless' attribute, but omits video search and the CLI/API distinction, leaving minor coverage gaps.	4 / 5
Completeness	Provides a clear 'what' ('Free keyless web, news, and image search via ddgs') but has no 'Use when...' clause or equivalent explicit trigger guidance, capping completeness at 3 per the rubric guideline.	3 / 5
Trigger Term Quality	Natural terms 'web search', 'news', 'image search', 'free', and 'keyless' are phrases users would actually say; a few synonyms are missing and 'ddgs' is technical jargon rather than a natural trigger.	4 / 5
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk	'via ddgs' and 'Free keyless' carve a clear niche with minimal conflict risk, though there is minor overlap with general web-search skills.	4 / 5
	Total	15 / 20 Passed

Validation

81%

Warnings & errors only

Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.

Validation — 13 / 16 Passed

Validation for skill structure

Criteria	Description	Result
metadata_version	'metadata.version' is missing	Warning
metadata_field	'metadata' should map string keys to string values	Warning
frontmatter_unknown_keys	Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata	Warning

	Total	13 / 16 Passed

Repository: NousResearch/hermes-agent
Path: optional-skills/research/duckduckgo-search/SKILL.md
Commit: 6327930

Reviewed: 3 days ago

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