Preview: These docs are available early so you can start using them now. Some pages may still be incomplete, outdated, or change as WebLibre develops.

Bang Providers

WebLibre uses bangs as site-specific search providers. Each bang points to one destination site, such as a reference site, code host, map service, shop, or assistant.

The important difference from many bang systems is the user workflow: WebLibre does not primarily expect you to type !w or !gh into the address bar. Instead, the app lets you pick a provider from chips, search the bang catalog, or set a default provider.

Some bang screens still show a trigger with a leading !. That trigger is part of the bang definition and helps WebLibre identify or search for the provider, but the day-to-day search flow is chip-based.

What a Bang Does

When a bang is active, WebLibre sends your query to that bang’s URL template instead of using the usual default search provider.

Examples of bang destinations include:

  • a reference site such as Wikipedia

  • a code host such as GitHub

  • a map provider

  • a video or shopping site

  • a specialist assistant or search tool

In the search UI, the selected bang also changes the icon shown inside the search field so you can see which provider will receive the query.

How Bang Search Works in WebLibre

WebLibre combines several pieces:

  • a Default Search Provider in Settings > Search

  • a chip row below the search field for quick bang selection

  • a full Search Bangs screen when you want to search the whole catalog

  • optional Search On This Site bangs when you are already viewing a page

If you do not choose a specific bang chip, WebLibre falls back to the configured default search provider.

Use a Bang from the Search Screen

  1. Open the address bar or open a new tab.

  2. Type a search query, or leave the field empty to see the default suggestions.

  3. Pick a provider chip below the field.

  4. If the provider you want is not shown, tap the chevron button to open Search Bangs and choose it there.

  5. Submit the search.

WebLibre then opens the results on the site connected to that provider.

When the field is empty, WebLibre shows a quick row based on your default or most-used providers. As you type, the bang results can change so you can search for providers by name, category, domain, or trigger.

Search On This Site vs All Providers

When you open search while already viewing a page, WebLibre can show two bang areas:

  • Search On This Site

  • All Providers

Search On This Site is for domain-specific bangs related to the current site. All Providers is the normal global bang list used for general searches.

Only one of these selections is active at a time. If you switch from one tab to the other, WebLibre clears the previous bang selection so the search goes to exactly one provider.

This makes the workflow different from manual !bang typing: you choose the destination with UI controls first, then submit an ordinary search query.

Browse and Search the Full Bang Catalog

To browse or search all available bang providers:

  1. Open the browser menu.

  2. Tap Bangs.

  3. Choose one of these screens:

    • Search Bangs to look up a provider by name, trigger, site, or related text

    • Browse Categories to explore by topic

    • Manage User Bangs to edit your own entries

You can also open Search Bangs directly from places where WebLibre lets you choose a provider, such as the default search selector or the bang chip row beside the address bar.

Bang detail cards can show:

  • the provider name

  • the site domain

  • the category or subcategory

  • the bang trigger, displayed with a leading !

Default Search Provider

WebLibre’s default provider is configured in Settings > Search > Default Search Provider.

That selector also uses chips:

  • frequently used providers appear first

  • the chevron opens the full Search Bangs picker

  • the selected provider is used whenever no other bang chip is active

This is separate from the Default Autocomplete Provider. Autocomplete controls which service supplies suggestions while you type. The default bang provider controls where an actual web search is sent when you submit it.

Recommendations, Frequency, and History

WebLibre keeps track of which bang providers you actually use so it can surface the most relevant ones first.

In normal tabs, using a bang can:

  • increase that provider’s frequency score

  • add the query to bang search history

This affects:

  • which bang chips appear first

  • which providers show up in frequency-based selectors

In private tabs, WebLibre does not update bang frequency or bang search history.

You can control or clear this behavior from search settings:

  • Settings > Search > Search History Limit controls how many recent bang searches are remembered

  • Settings > Search > Bang Settings > Bang Frequencies lets you clear the learned ranking data

Manage Built-In Bang Repositories

WebLibre ships with built-in bang collections that can be synced on demand.

Go to Settings > Search > Bang Settings to manage them.

Current repository sections include:

  • General Bangs

  • Assistant Bangs

  • Kagi Bangs

On that screen you can:

  • see how many providers each repository currently contains

  • see the last sync time

  • tap Sync to refresh a repository from its source

  • clear Bang Frequencies to reset learned recommendations

The settings page uses the label Repositories for these built-in bang sources. This is about the source collections of providers, not about code repositories in the app itself.

Create Your Own Search Engine

Custom bang providers are managed under Settings > Search > Custom Search Engines.

To add one:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Custom Search Engines.

  2. Tap the add button.

  3. Fill in at least Name, Trigger, and URL.

  4. Optionally set a category, subcategory, or formatting flags.

  5. Save the entry.

After that, the provider appears in User Bangs and can be selected from the same bang search and chip-based workflows as built-in providers.

What the Trigger Is For

Every bang has a Trigger field. This is still important, but not because you are expected to type it directly into the address bar.

In WebLibre, the trigger is mainly used to:

  • uniquely identify the bang

  • help you search for the bang in the bang browser

  • label or describe the provider in detail views

  • support custom and user-created bang definitions

You will often see the trigger displayed with a ! prefix in bang detail cards. That reflects the bang’s identity, not the primary search interaction model.

URL Template Format for User Bangs

Custom bangs use the placeholder {{{s}}} for the search query.

Example:

https://example.com/search?q={{{s}}}

If a site already has a search page, copy one of its result URLs and replace the search text with {{{s}}}.

Example:

https://mystore.com/search?q=shoes&category=all

becomes:

https://mystore.com/search?q={{{s}}}&category=all

WebLibre checks specifically for {{{s}}}. Using %s does not match the app’s expected format.

Optional Format Flags for User Bangs

The custom bang editor also exposes a few format flags:

  • Open Base Path opens the site’s base path when no search query is provided

  • URL Encode Placeholder controls whether the query is URL-encoded before insertion

  • URL Encode Space to Plus switches space encoding between + and %20

Most sites work with the default behavior. These flags are useful when a specific site expects search URLs in a non-standard format.

Edit or Remove User Bangs

Open Settings > Search > Custom Search Engines to see your saved entries.

From there you can:

  • open an entry to edit it

  • delete it

  • add another custom provider

The same user-created entries are also exposed through Bangs > Manage User Bangs.

Practical Tips

  • Set a sensible default search provider first, then use bang chips when you want to temporarily search on a different site.

  • If the chip row does not show the provider you want, open Search Bangs instead of trying to memorize triggers.

  • Check Search On This Site when you are already on a page and want a same-site search flow.

  • Use custom user bangs for documentation sites, stores, forums, or internal tools you search repeatedly.

  • If recommendations feel stale, clear Bang Frequencies and let WebLibre learn again from current usage.