What is ban.gs?

ban.gs is a shortcut search tool. It lets you type things like !gh react to search GitHub, !w cats to search Wikipedia, or just plain words for a normal web search.

What is a bang?

A bang is a short code that starts with !. It tells ban.gs where to send your search. For example, !yt ambient music goes to YouTube and !mdn fetch goes to MDN.

Does ban.gs see everything I search for?

Normally, no. The redirect happens in your browser with a Service Worker, so your query is usually turned into the final destination before it ever reaches the network. The main exception is search suggestions, because those come from a search suggestion provider.

Do I need to install an extension?

No browser extension is required. You visit the site once, then add it as a custom search engine in your browser. After that, your address bar can use it directly.

What happens if I type a normal search?

If you do not use a bang, ban.gs sends the search to your default search engine. In this project, that default is DuckDuckGo unless you change it in Settings.

Can I change the default search engine?

Yes. Open Settings and change the default bang. That decides where plain searches go when you do not type a shortcut.

What does “Feeling Lucky” mean?

It means “take me straight to the first result instead of showing a results page.” You can use \query, query !, or ! query for that.

Is this private?

It is more private than sending every search through a remote redirect page, because the redirect logic runs on your device. But the site you end up using, like DuckDuckGo, Google, YouTube, or GitHub, still receives the search you send to it.