← Directory

YaCy

YaCy is a decentralized, peer-to-peer search engine that maintains its own web index across participating nodes.

  • Network Services
  • Tools & Utilities
YaCy is a decentralized, peer-to-peer search engine that maintains its own web index across participating nodes. It lets self-hosters run a private search node that queries and contributes to the distributed network. Use it when you want an independent, self-controlled search engine without reliance on commercial search providers.

Platform availability

Available on 1 of 9 platforms

  • Unraid
  • TrueNAS (not listed)
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox (not listed)
  • Helm (not listed)
  • Mac (not listed)
  • Windows (not listed)
  • Linux (not listed)

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

74/100 Good

Maintained
100last commit 20 days ago
Popular
724,055 GitHub stars
Easy to install
351 install platform, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
602 GB minimum RAM, runs on ARM

Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked 16 days ago

GitHub stars
4,055
Open issues
244
Last commit
2026-09-23
Activity
steady

Checked 7 days ago - source: GitHub (yacy/yacy_search_server)

Resources & Compatibility

Minimum requirements: 2 GB RAM, 2 CPU core(s). ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 15 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Initial setup Default credentials are admin and yacy. Create an admin account after first start-up at the server's configuration page (http://ServerIP:8090/ConfigAccounts_p.html). On Unraid, set appdata permissions with chmod -R 777 /mnt/user/appdata/yacy. source

Fetched 12 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (12)

  • 4get - 4get is a lightweight, open-source proxy search engine that provides a private, ad-free search experience.
  • Araa - A privacy-respecting, ad-free, self-hosted Google metasearch engine with strong security that offers full API support and utilizes Qwant fo…
  • Brave Search - Brave Search MCP Server is an open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives AI agents and large language model (LLM) clients a…
  • DuckDuckGo - Privacy-focused search engine offering Zero-click Info, instant answers, and more, built from open-source software for a user-friendly expe…
  • Ecosia - Search engine donating over 80% of profits to global reforestation, supporting millions of trees planted, funded by ad revenue, with mobile…
  • Google Search - Dominant search engine offering personalized results, image, video, news search, and voice capabilities, used across multiple platforms.
  • Kagi Search - Subscription-based search engine focusing on privacy, ad-free experience, deep customization, unbiased results, user-controlled features, a…
  • Mojeek - Privacy-focused search engine delivering independent, unbiased web and image results from its own index without tracking or profiling, host…
  • Openverse - Openverse is a tool that allows openly licensed and public domain works to be discovered and used by everyone.
  • Qwant - Privacy-first European search engine offering multi-platform web and image search, no tracking, no personalized results, and supports 13 la…
  • SearXNG - SearXNG is a privacy-respecting, self-hosted metasearch engine and maintained fork of searx that aggregates results from many search servic…
  • Startpage - Privacy-focused search engine using Google results without trackers, storing no personal data, and offering Anonymous View for private brow…

Checked 12 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

What default port and credentials should I use after first start?

The configuration page is reachable on port 8090. Default credentials are admin and yacy. Create an admin account after first start-up.

Can I run YaCy without joining the P2P network?

Yes, in search portal mode your YaCy installation is independent from other peers. You can define your own web index and start your own web crawl.

Where can I change advanced YaCy settings?

You can change settings in the DATA/SETTINGS/yacy.conf file. You can also change all settings in Administration > System Administration > Advanced Properties.

How can I use a reverse proxy and Let's Encrypt with YaCy?

The Unix full installation guide covers systemd or runit, nginx, and Let's Encrypt. There is also a page for using the YaCy front end over HTTPS.

Is YaCy reliable if individual peers go offline?

Users note it has limited redundancy because results can depend on a single node. They also describe it as not easy to use.

Answers sourced from ca.unraid.net, www.reddit.com, yacy.net, yacy.net, yacy.net

Community

Collected 15 days ago - public community threads