Open Websearch Maintainer

Open WebSearch Maintainer

Use this skill when modifying the open-websearch codebase itself.

If this skill and the current repository behavior disagree, trust the repository code, tests, and intended change scope, then update the skill or docs before finishing.

First classify the change

• Engine change: new engine, engine parsing, engine pagination, anti-bot handling.
• Network change: proxy, TLS, request builder, Playwright interaction, browser fallback.
• Tool surface change: MCP tool registration, schema, engine normalization, config exposure.
• Validation-only change: tests, docs, or release hygiene when no code-path behavior changes are intended.

Use this classification as the execution entrypoint. Start by choosing one category, load only the checklist that matches it, and expand scope only when the changed code path actually crosses that boundary.

Scope discipline

• Keep fixes as local as the real failure surface allows.
• Do not turn a parsing or engine-specific issue into a shared networking refactor without evidence.
• Do not widen insecure or compatibility-relaxing behavior just to make one test pass.
• Do not change tool contracts or global behavior unless the change is intentional, verified, and documented.

Core rules

• Keep MCP tool contracts stable unless the change explicitly requires a breaking change.
• Route Axios-based networking through the shared HTTP request builder instead of ad hoc proxy handling.
• Treat proxy, TLS, and Playwright behavior as cross-cutting concerns. Verify them explicitly after changes.
• Update tests and README files when adding engines or changing behavior.

Do not

• Do not bypass the shared HTTP request builder for a one-off engine fix.
• Do not silently fork proxy behavior in a single engine unless the repository explicitly adopts that policy.
• Do not widen insecure TLS behavior beyond the narrow code path that requires it.
• Do not change tool contracts without checking tests, config handling, and README files.
• Do not touch shared networking code if the change is only about result parsing or docs.

Change checklist

When adding or changing a search engine:

• update src/config.ts
• update src/tools/setupTools.ts
• add or update engine tests
• update README.md and README-zh.md

When changing network behavior:

• prefer src/utils/httpRequest.ts
• keep proxy: false behavior explicit for Axios
• keep insecure TLS opt-in and scoped only where necessary

Validation

• Run TypeScript checks first.
• Run targeted tests for the touched area.
• Run live tests when the change depends on real network behavior.

Review focus

• pagination and empty-result handling
• anti-bot / verification page detection
• proxy interactions with USE_PROXY and PROXY_URL
• request-mode versus Playwright-mode behavior
• documentation drift

Read references/workflow.md when implementing changes and references/validation.md before finalizing a patch.

Validation

Baseline

• npx tsc --noEmit

Targeted tests

Run the tests relevant to the touched area, for example:

• npm run test:engine-normalization
• npm run test:url-safety
• npm run test:http-request-options
• npm run test:web-content
• npm run test:startpage

Live checks

Run live checks when implementation depends on real remote behavior, anti-bot handling, or parsing live HTML:

• npm run test:web-content:live
• npm run test:bing:live
• npm run test:article-fetch:live
• npm run test:startpage when Startpage parsing, anti-bot handling, or pagination logic changed. This test depends on real network behavior and is not the default first test for unrelated changes.

Release hygiene

• confirm docs match behavior
• confirm the new engine or fix is reflected in package scripts if needed
• use npm pack --dry-run before publish

Workflow

Adding a new engine

1. Create the engine implementation under src/engines/<engine>/. 2. Export it from that engine's index.ts when needed. 3. Register it in src/tools/setupTools.ts. 4. Add it to the default/valid engine config in src/config.ts. 5. Add engine normalization coverage if the engine name has aliases or mixed-case input. 6. Update user-facing documentation in both README files.

Networking conventions

• Use buildAxiosRequestOptions() for Axios requests.
• Do not let individual engines drift into separate proxy behavior.
• Keep request headers intentional and minimal.
• Browser fallback should remain explicit and testable.
• If a change only affects parsing logic, avoid widening it into a shared networking refactor.

Documentation sync

Update these together when behavior changes:

• README.md
• README-zh.md
• package scripts if a new test or workflow is added

If a change only affects docs or tests, avoid touching MCP tool contracts or shared networking code.