Hermes Agent's built-in web_search skill uses DuckDuckGo scraping which frequently fails with empty results, rate limiting, or timeouts. This tutorial replaces it with a reliable search API backend via MCP, fixing the 'web_search returned no results' error permanently.
Prerequisites
- Hermes Agent installed (v0.10+)
- A Scavio API key from scavio.dev
Walkthrough
Step 1: Diagnose the issue
Hermes web_search fails because DuckDuckGo rate-limits automated requests. Check your Hermes logs for the error pattern.
Bash
# Common error in Hermes logs:
# [WARN] web_search: DuckDuckGo returned 0 results for query 'python fastapi'
# [ERROR] web_search: Request timed out after 10s
# [WARN] web_search: Rate limited by DuckDuckGo (429)
# Check your Hermes config:
cat ~/.hermes/config.yaml | grep -A5 web_searchStep 2: Add Scavio MCP as search provider
Configure Hermes to use Scavio MCP server for web search instead of DuckDuckGo.
# In ~/.hermes/config.yaml, add MCP server:
mcp_servers:
scavio:
url: "https://mcp.scavio.dev/mcp"
headers:
x-api-key: "your_scavio_api_key"
tools:
- google_search
- reddit_search
- youtube_searchStep 3: Create a search skill override
Override the default web_search skill to use the MCP-provided google_search tool.
# Create ~/.hermes/skills/reliable_search.yaml:
name: reliable_search
description: Web search using Scavio API (replaces DuckDuckGo)
trigger: "search for|look up|find information about|web search"
action: |
Use the google_search tool from the scavio MCP server.
For Reddit-specific queries, use reddit_search instead.
For video content, use youtube_search.
Always return the top 5 results with title, URL, and snippet.Step 4: Disable default web_search
Prevent Hermes from falling back to the broken DuckDuckGo scraper.
# In ~/.hermes/config.yaml, disable built-in web_search:
skills:
disabled:
- web_search # Disable DuckDuckGo-based search
# reliable_search skill (above) will handle search queries insteadStep 5: Test the fix
Verify search works reliably with the new backend.
Bash
# In Hermes chat:
> Search for best Python web framework 2026
# Expected: Hermes uses scavio google_search tool, returns results
# Previously: Empty results or timeout from DuckDuckGo
# Test Reddit search:
> Search Reddit for Python framework recommendations
# Test YouTube search:
> Find YouTube tutorials about FastAPIPython Example
Python
import requests, os
def hermes_search(query: str, platform: str = 'google') -> list:
resp = requests.post('https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search',
headers={'x-api-key': os.environ['SCAVIO_API_KEY'], 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
json={'platform': platform, 'query': query}, timeout=10)
return resp.json().get('organic', [])[:5]JavaScript Example
JavaScript
async function hermesSearch(query, platform = 'google') {
const resp = await fetch('https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {'x-api-key': process.env.SCAVIO_API_KEY, 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
body: JSON.stringify({platform, query})
});
return (await resp.json()).organic?.slice(0, 5) || [];
}Expected Output
JSON
Hermes Agent with reliable web search via Scavio MCP, replacing the broken DuckDuckGo scraper with a managed API backend.