QuantDinger web search without a SearXNG server

The change is one line in .env

QuantDinger, an "Open-Source AI Quant Research Platform", searches the web for its research agents. Its SearXNG provider is written for a "Self-hosted SearXNG metasearch provider", reads its address from SEARCH_SEARXNG_BASE_URL and adds /search. Before and after, in .env:

# .env, before: your own SearXNG instance
SEARCH_PROVIDER=searxng
SEARCH_SEARXNG_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080

# .env, after: no instance to run
SEARCH_PROVIDER=searxng
SEARCH_SEARXNG_BASE_URL=https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/<your SpecStream key>

QuantDinger asks the provider named in SEARCH_PROVIDER first, then falls back in its own order. The provider sends no key of its own, so the SpecStream key goes in the path of the address, and SpecStream reads it from there.

A key in an address, made for this one use

A key in an address can end up in logs, such as a proxy's access log or a debug line. So make a key for QuantDinger alone under Agents & API in the workspace, with a spending limit. If the address leaks, revoke that key: a revoked key gets a 401 from then on.

curl -X POST https://api.specstream.ai/v1/account/keys \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPECSTREAM_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "quantdinger", "scopes": ["account:read", "finds:spend"], "spend_cap_cents": 2000, "zero_retention": true}'

spend_cap_cents is the most the key can spend, here $20, and with zero_retention a search made with it keeps no request text and no answer after the reply.

SearXNG's JSON, so the provider's parser reads it

QuantDinger sends q, format=json and pageno=1, with categories, engines and language from its settings. SpecStream reads q and pageno, answers format=json, and accepts the other three with no error. The reply has results[] with title, url and content, which the provider turns into its own results.

The call QuantDinger makes, in Python with requests:

import os, requests

key = os.environ["SPECSTREAM_API_KEY"]
reply = requests.get(
    f"https://api.specstream.ai/searxng/{key}/search",
    params={"q": "NVDA earnings guidance", "format": "json", "pageno": 1, "categories": "general"},
).json()

for result in reply["results"]:
    print(result["title"], result["url"], result["content"])

Every parameter and field of the route is in the SearXNG migration guide, and how SpecStream compares with running SearXNG is on the SearXNG page.

$5 per 1,000 searches, with no daily limit

QuantDinger asks for page 1, a search of 10 results at $0.005. There is no monthly plan and no daily limit. Credit you buy never expires, and a new account starts with $10 of credit, which covers 2,000 searches. A call stopped by a 429 charges nothing.

The most accurate web search API, in about one second

The SpecStream Search API scores 97.9 F-score on all 1,000 official SimpleQA Verified questions, with 978 correct, and 64.0 item F1 and 43.4 row F1 on all 200 official WideSearch tasks. The Extract API scores 0.908 F1 on WCXB. Each score and its method is on the benchmarks page.

Every drop-in call runs the fast search. On production on November 9, 2026, its median was 0.82 s at 1 search a second and 1.07 s at 20 a second, its 95th percentile stayed between 1.09 and 1.73 s, and it answered 718 of 720 calls.

Search, pages and rows on one key

The same account reads up to 20 pages or documents a call with the Extract API at $0.80 per 1,000 pages, and a page with no text is not charged. Deep Search returns every match for a request in plain words as structured rows, at 5¢, 15¢ or $1 a row, with a source URL on every value, and the most a run can cost is approved before it starts.

Your own SearXNG instance

The same provider pointed at a server you run on Docker or Podman, with the json format turned on and a Valkey database for the limiter. Its results are those of the engines it queries. SpecStream answers the same call with no server, at $0.005 a search.

Tavily

QuantDinger's default provider, with keys in TAVILY_API_KEYS. Tavily gives 1,000 credits a month, then bills $0.008 a credit on pay as you go, 1 credit a basic search. SpecStream costs $0.005 a search, and its credit never expires.

SerpApi

Keys go in SERPAPI_KEYS. SerpApi's Starter plan is $25 a month for 1,000 searches and 200 searches an hour, after 250 free a month. SpecStream has no plan and no hourly cap, at $5 per 1,000.

Google Custom Search, until January 1, 2027

QuantDinger calls https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1 with SEARCH_GOOGLE_API_KEY and SEARCH_GOOGLE_CX, and the address cannot be changed. Google closed the API to new customers and ends it on January 1, 2027. SpecStream keeps QuantDinger searching after that date through the SearXNG setting.