SearchEngines Extension for PowerToys Command Palette

Caution

⚠️ WORK-IN-PROGRESS ⚠️

SearchEngines is an extension for the Microsoft PowerToys Command Palette that allows you to quickly search the web using search engines.

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🌟 Features

• Search Ranking: The extension uses fuzzy matching to rank search engines based on your query. It matches against both the engine's name and its shortcut, providing more relevant results.

• Flexible Shortcut Usage: You can use search engine shortcuts (e.g., !g for Google) anywhere within your search query. The extension automatically detects and uses the shortcut to prioritize the relevant search engine.

• Custom Query Parameters: Add custom query parameters to your searches using the &key=value or &key (for flags) syntax directly in your query (e.g., !gh my search &language=rust &type=repositories).

• Favicon Support: Search results display favicons for each search engine. The extension attempts to automatically discover favicons if they are not explicitly defined in the configuration.

• Easy Config Management: Create, edit and delete search engines directly from the Command Palette.

📖 Usage

1. Open Command Palette: Launch the PowerToys Command Palette.
2. Activate Extension: Type Search Engines and select the main command.
3. Search:
   • General Search: Type your search query (e.g., how to code). The extension intelligently ranks search engines based on your input.
   • Using Shortcuts: Include a shortcut (e.g., !g) anywhere in your query to prioritize a specific search engine (e.g., how to code !g).
   • Custom Parameters: Add &key=value or &key to your query for additional parameters (e.g., my query &lang=en &strict).
4. Open Configuration: Select the "Open Configuration File" subcommand to edit your SearchEngines.json file.

⚙️ Configuration

Search engines are configured in the SearchEngines.json file, located in %LOCALAPPDATA%\CommandPaletteExtension-SearchEngines\.

You can of course, create, update or delete search engines from CommandPalette itself.

Tip

• You can change the path of the configuration file in: SearchEngines.jsonPowerToys Command Palette Settings > Extensions > Search Engines
• To reload the configuration after making changes, you can use the "Reload Configuration" subcommand or press Ctrl+R when the "Search Engines" command is active.

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📦 Development

📕 References

• Microsoft Command Palette Overview
• Microsoft Command Palette Extensions
• Microsoft Command Palette Extensions Toolkit
• Microsoft Command Palette Extension Samples
• Extension Samples on GitHub

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📄 License

The project is licensed under the MIT License