diff --git a/plugins/web/ddgs/__init__.py b/plugins/web/ddgs/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..26eb6407ef8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/web/ddgs/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+"""DuckDuckGo search plugin — bundled, auto-loaded.
+
+Backed by the community ``ddgs`` Python package which scrapes DDG's HTML
+results page. No API key required, but the package itself must be installed
+(it's an optional dep — gated via :meth:`is_available`).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from plugins.web.ddgs.provider import DDGSWebSearchProvider
+
+
+def register(ctx) -> None:
+    """Register the DDGS provider with the plugin context."""
+    ctx.register_web_search_provider(DDGSWebSearchProvider())
diff --git a/plugins/web/ddgs/plugin.yaml b/plugins/web/ddgs/plugin.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e85236c14cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/web/ddgs/plugin.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+name: web-ddgs
+version: 1.0.0
+description: "DuckDuckGo web search via the ddgs Python package — no API key required. Install with `pip install ddgs`."
+author: NousResearch
+kind: backend
+provides_web_providers:
+  - ddgs
diff --git a/plugins/web/ddgs/provider.py b/plugins/web/ddgs/provider.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..eefd98d51f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/web/ddgs/provider.py
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+"""DuckDuckGo search — plugin form (via the ``ddgs`` package).
+
+Subclasses the plugin-facing :class:`agent.web_search_provider.WebSearchProvider`.
+Same behavior as the legacy ``tools.web_providers.ddgs`` module — only the
+ABC name and import path change.
+
+The ``ddgs`` package is an optional dependency. ``is_available()`` reflects
+whether the package is importable; the plugin still registers either way so
+``hermes tools`` can prompt the user to install it.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+from typing import Any, Dict
+
+from agent.web_search_provider import WebSearchProvider
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class DDGSWebSearchProvider(WebSearchProvider):
+    """DuckDuckGo HTML-scrape search provider.
+
+    No API key needed. Rate limits are enforced server-side by DuckDuckGo;
+    the provider surfaces ``DuckDuckGoSearchException`` and other ddgs errors
+    as ``{"success": False, "error": ...}`` rather than raising.
+    """
+
+    @property
+    def name(self) -> str:
+        return "ddgs"
+
+    @property
+    def display_name(self) -> str:
+        return "DuckDuckGo (ddgs)"
+
+    def is_available(self) -> bool:
+        """Return True when the ``ddgs`` package is importable.
+
+        Probes the import once; cheap because Python caches the import. Must
+        NOT perform network I/O — runs at tool-registration time and on every
+        ``hermes tools`` paint.
+        """
+        try:
+            import ddgs  # noqa: F401
+
+            return True
+        except ImportError:
+            return False
+
+    def supports_search(self) -> bool:
+        return True
+
+    def supports_extract(self) -> bool:
+        return False
+
+    def search(self, query: str, limit: int = 5) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        """Execute a DuckDuckGo search and return normalized results."""
+        try:
+            from ddgs import DDGS  # type: ignore
+        except ImportError:
+            return {
+                "success": False,
+                "error": "ddgs package is not installed — run `pip install ddgs`",
+            }
+
+        # DDGS().text yields at most `max_results` items; we cap defensively
+        # in case the package ignores the hint.
+        safe_limit = max(1, int(limit))
+
+        try:
+            web_results = []
+            with DDGS() as client:
+                for i, hit in enumerate(client.text(query, max_results=safe_limit)):
+                    if i >= safe_limit:
+                        break
+                    url = str(hit.get("href") or hit.get("url") or "")
+                    web_results.append(
+                        {
+                            "title": str(hit.get("title", "")),
+                            "url": url,
+                            "description": str(hit.get("body", "")),
+                            "position": i + 1,
+                        }
+                    )
+        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — ddgs raises its own exceptions
+            logger.warning("DDGS search error: %s", exc)
+            return {"success": False, "error": f"DuckDuckGo search failed: {exc}"}
+
+        logger.info("DDGS search '%s': %d results (limit %d)", query, len(web_results), limit)
+        return {"success": True, "data": {"web": web_results}}
+
+    def get_setup_schema(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "name": "DuckDuckGo (ddgs)",
+            "badge": "free",
+            "tag": "No API key — community ddgs package (pip install ddgs).",
+            "env_vars": [],
+        }