Safari Keyword Search is a simple extension for Safari on macOS amd iOS that enables keyword searching from the address bar. This is a simple but powerful feature that gives you access to several search engines using simple keywords. For example, you can search Wikipedia for information on monkeys by typing w monkeys in the address bar.
The following searches are included in the default set:
a: amazon.com
ao: archive.org waybackmachine
d: duckduckgo.com
down: downforeveryoneorjustme.com
e: ebay.com
g: google search
gm: google maps
i: google image search
imdb: imdb.com
so: stackoverflow.com
w: en.wikipedia.org
wa: wolframalpha.com
y: youtube.com
You can also add your own searches in the extension settings, which live inside Safari.
Weird details/limitations etc
This is how the extension works:
Listening for the beforeNavigate event
Checking the URL to see if the domain matches one of the default search domains in Safari (Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo or Ecosia
Extracting the search string from the URL
Checking if the search string includes one of the keywords
Quickly replacing the URL of the tab with the new search URL
Parsing the URL to get the search string is not optimal, but it’s the only way with the current APIs. These edge cases/bugs can occur:
In some cases, the default search engine will load in the tab before the extension is triggered, especially if the search engine you are using is slightly slow to respond (Wikipedia I'm lookin at you).
If you have more than one keyword the extension can in rare cases trigger multiple times (i.e. if you enter ddg g w monkey) (there are workarounds for this in place but it can happen anyway).
The previous previous Safari Extension API had a beforeSearch event that was a lot more convenient. To any Safari developers who might be reading this: hello!