Araa is a privacy-respecting, ad-free, self-hosted metasearch engine
Table of Content
Whats is Araa?
Araa is a powerful, open, and privacy-first metasearch engine designed for those who value control, security, and freedom from surveillance.
Unlike Google, Bing, or other mainstream search platforms, Araa doesn’t collect your data, serve targeted ads, or build profiles based on your queries. Instead, it puts you in control by being self-hosted, ad-free, and fully private .
Whether you're a privacy advocate, a developer, or just someone tired of being tracked online, Araa offers a refreshing alternative to the status quo.
It aggregates results from trusted sources like Google (for web results), Qwant (for images), and DuckDuckGo (for autocomplete), while stripping away tracking scripts and personal data collection. It’s built for users who want the convenience of powerful search results, without sacrificing their privacy.
Because Araa runs on your own server , you’re not relying on a third party to handle your searches. This means no logs, no tracking, and no data leaks, just clean, fast, and private results.
Hazem Abbas
Key Features
- Self-Hosted for Full Control: Install Araa on your own infrastructure and maintain complete ownership over your data and search environment.
- Ad-Free & Tracker-Free Experience: Say goodbye to sponsored results and hidden analytics. Araa delivers clean, unbiased search results with no ads or tracking scripts.
- Privacy-First Search Aggregation
- Web results via Google (without tracking)
- Image search powered by Qwant Images , known for its strong privacy stance
- Auto-complete suggestions from DuckDuckGo , ensuring no query logging
- Full API Support
Integrate Araa into your apps, tools, or internal systems with a robust API, perfect for developers building privacy-aware software. - Strong Security Measures
Supports SSL encryption (A+ rating on SSL Labs), firewalls, and secure deployment practices to keep your instance safe. - Tor & Clearnet Access
Public instances (like tailsx.com) are accessible via Tor, enhancing anonymity for users who need it. - Open & Community-Driven
Araa welcomes contributors and promotes transparency in development, fostering a community dedicated to digital freedom.
Hazem Abbas
Why choosing Araa?
- Total Privacy: Your searches stay yours. No data is stored, sold, or shared.
- No Ads, No Bias: Results aren’t influenced by advertising algorithms or commercial interests.
- Customizable & Scalable: Tailor the engine to your needs, whether for personal use, team collaboration, or enterprise deployment.
- Enhanced Security: Self-hosting + SSL + minimal attack surface = a secure search environment.
- Empowerment Through Ownership: You’re not just using a tool, you’re running it. That’s digital sovereignty in action.
Install Araa!
This guide walks you through the complete installation process on Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (works on other Debian-based systems too). You’ll need sudo or root access.
Prerequisites
- A domain name pointing to your server via an A record
- At least 1GB RAM (2GB recommended)
- Basic familiarity with Linux command line
Step 1: Install Required Packages
Update your system and install necessary software:
apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install nginx nginx-extras python3-pip certbot python3-certbot-nginx gunicorn git -y
Step 2: Clone the Araa Repository
Download the Araa source code from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/Extravi/araa-search.git
cd araa-search
Step 3: Configure OpenSearch (For Browser Integration)
Enable browser search integration by configuring opensearch.xml.
cd static/
mv opensearch.xml.example opensearch.xml
nano opensearch.xml
Replace:
http://127.0.0.1:5000/
With:
https://araa.yourdomain.com/
Make sure to usehttps://and replacearaa.yourdomain.comwith your actual domain.
Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).
Then go back to the main directory:
cd ..
Step 4: Install Python Dependencies
Araa uses Flask and web scraping libraries:
pip install flask lxml bs4 gunicorn
Step 5: Configure Nginx (Web Server)
Set up Nginx as a reverse proxy for Araa.
cd /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
rm default
wget -O araa https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Extravi/araa-docs/main/config/araa
nano araa
In the file, replace all instances of araa.yourdomain.com with your domain.
Save and exit.
Now replace the main Nginx configuration for improved security and disabled logging:
cd /etc/nginx/
rm nginx.conf
wget -O nginx.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Extravi/araa-docs/main/config/nginx.conf
Test and reload Nginx:
nginx -t && nginx -s reload
Expected output:
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful
Step 6: Obtain SSL Certificate (HTTPS)
Secure your site with a free Let’s Encrypt certificate:
certbot --nginx -d araa.yourdomain.com
Make sure your domain has an A record pointing to your server’s IP.
Follow the prompts and choose to redirect HTTP to HTTPS.
Step 7: Auto-Renew SSL Certificate
Add a cron job to automatically renew the certificate:
crontab -e
Add this line at the bottom:
0 12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet
Save and exit.
Step 8: Set Up Firewall (UFW)
Allow essential traffic only:
ufw default deny incoming
ufw allow ssh
ufw allow http
ufw allow https
ufw enable
Check status:
ufw status verbose
You should see ports 22, 80, and 443 allowed.
Step 9: Disable IPv6 (Recommended)
Some services (like Google) may block IPv6 requests from small servers.
Add these lines to disable IPv6:
bash -c 'cat << EOF > /etc/sysctl.conf
net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1
net.ipv6.conf.default.disable_ipv6 = 1
net.ipv6.conf.lo.disable_ipv6 = 1
EOF'
Apply changes:
sysctl -p
Also configure SSH to use IPv4 only:
echo 'AddressFamily inet' | sudo tee -a /etc/ssh/sshd_config
systemctl restart ssh
Step 10: Start Araa
Go back to the Araa directory and start the app with Gunicorn:
cd ~/araa-search
gunicorn -w 4 --bind 127.0.0.1:5000 __init__:app
For production, consider running Araa as a systemd service (optional but recommended).
Done!
Visit https://araa.yourdomain.com in your browser — you’re now running your own private, ad-free, self-hosted search engine!
Bonus Tip: Bookmark the OpenSearch plugin by visiting https://yourdomain.com/opensearch.xml in Firefox or Chromium-based browsers.
Resources & Downloads
Extravi
