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Search Providers

Three IWebSearchProvider implementations ship with WebTools.NET.

Comparison

Provider Transport Browser needed Stealth Typical use
DuckDuckGoSearchProvider Plain HTTP No — Fast, lightweight default choice
PlaywrightSearchProvider Chromium via Playwright Yes No When DuckDuckGo HTML results are insufficient
CloakBrowserSearchProvider Chromium via CloakBrowser Yes Yes Anti-bot protected search endpoints

DuckDuckGoSearchProvider

Parses DuckDuckGo's HTML-only endpoint (html.duckduckgo.com), so no browser is involved.

  • 10 second HTTP timeout, browser-like User-Agent header
  • Accepts an HttpClient in the constructor for testing or custom configuration
  • Implements IDisposable (disposes its owned HttpClient when constructed without one)
using var provider = new DuckDuckGoSearchProvider();
var result = await provider.SearchAsync("playwright automation");

PlaywrightSearchProvider

Performs the search in a real Chromium session and extracts results from the rendered page. Registered by AddBrowserServices() when the Playwright engine is selected.

CloakBrowserSearchProvider

Same browser-based approach on the CloakBrowser engine with stealth scripts enabled — see Browser Engines.

Warning

Browser-based providers are significantly slower than the HTTP provider and consume more resources. Prefer DuckDuckGoSearchProvider unless its results are insufficient for your scenario.