This PR fixes issue #20330 by replacing the invalid "lite" backend with a configurable backend option for the DDGS (Dux Distributed Global Search) web search engine.
Problem
The DDGS library was being called with backend="lite", which is not a valid backend option. This caused KeyError warnings in the logs and forced the library to fall back to "auto" mode, which randomly selects from available providers (including Google, Brave, Yahoo, etc.) - not what users expected when selecting "DDGS" as their search engine.
Solution
Added a new DDGS_BACKEND configuration option that defaults to "auto"
Added environment variable support via DDGS_BACKEND
Added a "DDGS Backend" dropdown in the Admin Settings → Web Search UI that only appears when DDGS is selected
By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the Contributor License Agreement (CLA), and I am providing my contributions under its terms.
Note
Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in.
🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.
## 📋 Pull Request Information
**Original PR:** https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/20366
**Author:** [@Classic298](https://github.com/Classic298)
**Created:** 1/4/2026
**Status:** ✅ Merged
**Merged:** 1/4/2026
**Merged by:** [@tjbck](https://github.com/tjbck)
**Base:** `dev` ← **Head:** `ddgs`
---
### 📝 Commits (3)
- [`75ca0e6`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/75ca0e6fef3ac8e558986fbfabba1730fa3e2542) init
- [`eed1d6f`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/eed1d6fa240ffd5cf7992123cf96ba719d52d4b8) Update WebSearch.svelte
- [`7b4f773`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/7b4f7736cb9c320cec0d963eef8924dea6ae8b50) reorder
### 📊 Changes
**5 files changed** (+45 additions, -1 deletions)
<details>
<summary>View changed files</summary>
📝 `backend/open_webui/config.py` (+6 -0)
📝 `backend/open_webui/main.py` (+2 -0)
📝 `backend/open_webui/retrieval/web/duckduckgo.py` (+3 -1)
📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py` (+4 -0)
📝 `src/lib/components/admin/Settings/WebSearch.svelte` (+30 -0)
</details>
### 📄 Description
## Summary
This PR fixes issue #20330 by replacing the invalid "lite" backend with a configurable backend option for the DDGS (Dux Distributed Global Search) web search engine.
## Problem
The DDGS library was being called with backend="lite", which is not a valid backend option. This caused KeyError warnings in the logs and forced the library to fall back to "auto" mode, which randomly selects from available providers (including Google, Brave, Yahoo, etc.) - not what users expected when selecting "DDGS" as their search engine.
## Solution
- Added a new DDGS_BACKEND configuration option that defaults to "auto"
- Added environment variable support via DDGS_BACKEND
- Added a "DDGS Backend" dropdown in the Admin Settings → Web Search UI that only appears when DDGS is selected
- Backend options include: Auto (Random), Bing, Brave, DuckDuckGo, Google, Grokipedia, Mojeek, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Yandex
Closes #20330
### Contributor License Agreement
By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the [Contributor License Agreement (CLA)](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/blob/main/CONTRIBUTOR_LICENSE_AGREEMENT), and I am providing my contributions under its terms.
> [!NOTE]
> Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in.
---
<sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>
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📋 Pull Request Information
Original PR: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/20366
Author: @Classic298
Created: 1/4/2026
Status: ✅ Merged
Merged: 1/4/2026
Merged by: @tjbck
Base:
dev← Head:ddgs📝 Commits (3)
75ca0e6initeed1d6fUpdate WebSearch.svelte7b4f773reorder📊 Changes
5 files changed (+45 additions, -1 deletions)
View changed files
📝
backend/open_webui/config.py(+6 -0)📝
backend/open_webui/main.py(+2 -0)📝
backend/open_webui/retrieval/web/duckduckgo.py(+3 -1)📝
backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py(+4 -0)📝
src/lib/components/admin/Settings/WebSearch.svelte(+30 -0)📄 Description
Summary
This PR fixes issue #20330 by replacing the invalid "lite" backend with a configurable backend option for the DDGS (Dux Distributed Global Search) web search engine.
Problem
The DDGS library was being called with backend="lite", which is not a valid backend option. This caused KeyError warnings in the logs and forced the library to fall back to "auto" mode, which randomly selects from available providers (including Google, Brave, Yahoo, etc.) - not what users expected when selecting "DDGS" as their search engine.
Solution
Closes #20330
Contributor License Agreement
By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the Contributor License Agreement (CLA), and I am providing my contributions under its terms.
🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.