Web Search

A launcher provider plugin that allows you to quickly search the internet directly from the Noctalia launcher, complete with live autocomplete suggestions.

Features

• Quick Web Searching: Search the web instantly without opening a browser first
• Live Autocomplete: Get search suggestions from your preferred engine as you type
• Multiple Search Engines: Support for Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, Brave, and Yandex
• Smart URL Detection: Automatically detects URLs, IP addresses, and localhost and opens them directly in the browser
• Smart Priorities: Web search acts as a fallback when searching for apps, or takes absolute priority when using the explicit >web command

Usage

1. Open the Noctalia launcher
2. Type >web followed by your query to enter web search mode exclusively
3. Or just type your query directly. Web search results appear as fallbacks below matched applications
4. Live suggestions populate underneath the main result as you type
5. Press Enter on any result to open it in your default browser

Examples

Search with the >web command:

>web chocolate cake recipe

This bypasses all local apps/files and shows only web search results. The top result will open a search for "chocolate cake recipe" in your configured engine, with autocomplete suggestions listed below.

Fallback search:

discord

Type a query normally. If it matches an installed app, the app appears first. Web search results appear at the bottom as fallbacks, so you can still search for "discord" on the web if the app isn't what you wanted.

Direct URL navigation:

>web github.com/noctalia-dev

When Direct URL Opening is enabled, the plugin detects that github.com/noctalia-dev is a URL and offers to open it directly in your browser, alongside the regular search result.

Open localhost or IP addresses:

>web localhost:3000
>web 192.168.1.1

Local addresses and IPs are detected as URLs and offered for direct opening. Localhost and IP addresses default to http://, while domain names default to https://.

IPC Commands

You can control the web search plugin via the command line using the Noctalia IPC interface.

Available Commands

Command	Description	Example
toggle	Opens or closes the launcher on the current screen	qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call plugin:web-search toggle

Configuration

You can configure the plugin directly via Noctalia's Plugin Settings:

Setting	Description	Default
Search Engine	Choose between Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, Brave, or Yandex	Google
Direct URL Opening	Automatically detect URLs and open them directly in the browser instead of searching	Enabled
Show Search Suggestions	Fetch real-time autocomplete suggestions while typing	Enabled
Maximum Results	Number of autocomplete suggestions shown in the launcher (1–10)	5

Requirements

• Noctalia 3.9.0 or later
• Internet connection (for search suggestions)

Changelog

1.1.1

• Fix protocols other than http/https not recognized as URL
• Support for middle domain with only one character (e.g., www.a.com)
• Support for hostname without dot with port (e.g., hostname:8080)
  • If you want to enter hostname without port and dot, you have to type the protocol manually

1.1.0

• Added Direct URL Opening. Automatically detects URLs, IP addresses, and localhost and opens them directly in the browser
• Added configurable toggle for the Direct URL feature
• Smart protocol handling

1.0.2

• Added French translation

1.0.1

• Added German translation

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Live autocomplete suggestions from the selected search engine
• Support for Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, Brave, and Yandex
• Configurable suggestion count and toggle
• Fallback results when typing normally in the launcher
• English translation