I’m always trying to find new ways to help get my tasks done in a more efficient yet effective manner. One area that definitely can be improved upon is how we all search online. There are so many places to go, it is at times difficult to recall each website, or even find the website amongst our bookmarks. A tool that I find extremely helpful is using DuckDuckGo !Bangs. A great solution to do searches with ease.
What are DuckDuckGo Bangs?
A shortcut command (bang) to perform a search directly on another search engine or service. This allows for a central point to conduct all search queries from instead of having to go to each website or service separately.
Bang is a slang word for exclamation point or mark (!). However, in this particular context a Bang represents not just the exclamation point or mark, but also includes the shortcut command (e.g. !tmdb).
How to Use DuckDuckGo Bangs
Using Bangs requires one to type the search keyword followed by the bang (exclamation point/mark), and then the shortcut command. Pressing enter afterwards will perform the search. Here is an example of searching for the keywords “space team” followed by an exclamation mark, and the shortcut (gr) to GoodReads.
space team !gr
If DuckDuckGo region setting is adjusted to a specific country in the settings menu, !bangs will automatically direct
to that region, if available. So if one does a Bang of linux !w, you will be sent to wikipedia.de.
Where Do I Find DuckDuckGo Bangs?
Search for available Bangs by simply using the Bang books !bangs or by going directly to
DuckDuckGo !Bangs web page.
Personally I experiment by testing out what I think a Bang could be. Quite often I find it quickly, and I discover Bangs that are not listed as far as I can find.
How to Add/Edit a Bang
New or updating existing Bangs can be submitted by going to the DuckDuckGo New !Bang web page, and filling out the required form fields.
Suggested Bangs
Here are a list of Bangs that I use frequently, that may be of help to get you started or discover a Bang you didn’t think to use.
| Service | Bang | Query Example |
|---|---|---|
| Aliexpress | !ali | gadgets !ali |
| Alpine Linux Wiki | !alw | uefi !alw |
| Alpine Packages | !alpine | podman !alpine |
| Amazon Canada | !ca | dell poweredge !ca |
| Amazon USA | !a | dell poweredge !a |
| ArchLinux Arm Packages | !alarmpkg | tcpdump !alarmpkg |
| ArchLinux AUR | !aur | pikaur !aur |
| ArchLinux Manual Pages | !archman | date !archman |
| ArchLinux Packages | !alp | tcpdump !alp |
| ArchWiki | !aw | networking !aw |
| Dict.org | !dict | linux !dict |
| eBay Canada | !ebc | gadgets !ebc |
| eBay USA | !e | gadgets !e |
| GoodReads | !gr | space team !gr |
| Internet Pinball Database | !ipdb | batman 66 !ipdb |
| Kijiji | !kijiji | switch game !kijiji |
| Manpage.me | !man | wc !man |
| Metacritic | !mc | streets of rage !mc |
| Mozilla Developer Network | !mdn !mdnjs !mdncss | video !mdn |
| Open Media Database | !omdb | star trek !omdb |
| OpenStreetMap | !osm | example !osm |
| Pixabay | !px | binary !px |
| Qwant | !qw | adamsdesk !qw |
| Qwant Maps | !qmaps | Canada !qmaps |
| !r | slice of life !r | |
| Rotten Tomato | !rt | monty python holly grail !rt |
| Startpage | !s | adamsdesk !s |
| SVGRepo | !svgrepo | fitness !svgrepo |
| The Movie DB | !tmdb | my neighbor totoro !tmdb |
| The TVDB | !tvdb | kotaro lives alone !tvdb |
| Wikimedia Commons | !wmc | linux terminal !wmc |
| Wikipedia | !w | archlinux !w |
| Wikiquote | !wq | change !wq |
| Wikitionary | !wt | coder !wt |
| Wordnik | !word | hacker !word |
This is post 79 of 100, and is round 2 of the 100 Days To Offload challenge.
References
- DuckDuckGo !Bangs
- DuckDuckGo Bangs Help
- DuckDuckGo New !Bang
- DuckDuckGo Params Help
- DuckDuckGo Press Page
Changelog
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- fix 100DaysToOffload post count
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- change 100DaysToOffload message