The product
What is Searchbase?
Searchbase is an independent web-access layer for AI agents. It provides search results and readable page content through REST and MCP. The core is open source and self-hostable; Searchbase Cloud runs the managed service for you.
How does it work with my AI model?
Your agent calls Searchbase when it needs information from the web, then passes the results to the model you choose. This keeps your web tools independent of your model provider. Your client needs to support REST requests or an authenticated remote MCP connection.
Will Searchbase use fewer tokens than my agent’s built-in web tools?
Not always. Searchbase aims to return compact, readable results, but our tests were mixed: token use was lower than or on par with most agent harnesses, and higher than Claude Code and Codex. Anthropic and OpenAI run their own web search infrastructure and do extra work before the model sees a page. Claude Code, for example, passes fetched pages through a smaller model that returns only the relevant parts, and Codex searches an index that OpenAI maintains by default. If the lowest token use matters most to you, test both or keep your harness’s built-in tools. OpenCode is an exception, at least for search, because its built-in search already uses a third-party provider. Searchbase is built for independence and privacy, not for the lowest token count. Searchbase Cloud also offers summarize, which works like Claude Code’s approach: a smaller model reads the page and returns only what your agent asks for. We have not measured its token use yet.
What does summarize do?
Summarize fetches a page exactly like fetch, then a smaller language model hosted in Europe reads it and answers your prompt, or summarizes the page when you send no prompt. Your agent gets the answer instead of the full page. Because the model that reads the page has no tools and returns only an answer, text on the page has a harder time steering your agent, but it can still get through, so treat answers as untrusted web content. Very long pages are cut before the model reads them, and the response says when that happens. When you need the page itself, use fetch. Summarize is available on Searchbase Cloud only.
What does provider-flexible mean?
When you self-host Searchbase, you can configure supported search providers independently of your model. Searchbase Cloud manages its search and crawler infrastructure for you and uses Staan, an independent European search index from Ecosia and Qwant, for search; the Cloud account does not include a provider selector.
Does fetch render JavaScript?
Yes. Cloud fetch loads every page in a browser that runs JavaScript, then returns the page content as Markdown. There is no setting to turn it on or off and no extra charge. Pages that need a sign-in, clicks or other interaction, or that block automated access may return limited content. Fetch respects each site’s robots.txt. When a fetch fails, the error and your usage history say why, such as a page that was not found or that robots.txt blocks, and the request is not charged.
Cloud & billing
Where is Searchbase Cloud hosted?
The managed application infrastructure is hosted on Scaleway in Europe, and the language model behind summarize runs on Scaleway in Europe too. Authentication, payments, and optional analytics use the services described in our privacy policy.
How much does it cost?
A successful search costs €0.03, a successful fetch costs €0.05, and a successful summarize costs €0.07, fetch included. Add prepaid credit from €5, plus the displayed top-up fee and applicable tax. There is no subscription. See pricing.
Are unsuccessful requests charged?
No. Failed operations are not charged. MCP initialization, discovery, and ping do not consume credits. Each successful operation is billed, including a successful retry.
How do I connect my agent?
Create an account, add credit, and create an API key. Then configure your REST integration or compatible MCP client with that key. The quickstart has copyable examples.
How do I get help?
Email support@searchbase.md. If your question is about a specific request, include its request ID from your usage history or the X-Request-ID response header. Never send your API key. For questions and conversation, join #searchbase on Libera.Chat IRC.
Privacy & ownership
Do you save my searches or the pages I fetch?
Searchbase Cloud does not store or log search queries, fetched URLs, summarize prompts, request bodies, or response bodies in usage records, logs, traces, metrics, or public errors. We keep operational details such as request ID, operation, outcome, duration, and cost. Requests still need to be processed by search providers, fetched from the websites you request, or, for summarize, read by a language model hosted in Europe. Read the privacy details.
What happens when I delete my account?
Your account, sign-in identity, and API keys are deleted. Financial and operational records that need to remain have their account and API-key links removed. You can start deletion in account settings.
Who is behind Searchbase?
Searchbase is an independent open-source project created by @coolapso. Searchbase Cloud is operated by coolapso.sh, the company that supports the project, and the open-source core stays independent of it. You can inspect the core code, report issues, and contribute on GitHub.