Add suggestion URL for custom search engine in chrome

Question

I have a local search engine backed by a elasticsearch and a thin nodejs API for search. I want to be able to search those documents from Google Chrome (builds available from Go

Answer 1

There is a Setting Overrides mechanism for Chrome Extensions, which is not widely known, which can achieve what you want, but:

• At least according to the docs, it only works on Windows.
• You won't be able to publish the extension unless you can verify the site in Webmaster Tools. Otherwise, you are stuck with unpacked installs.

Answer 2

I finally found the solution.

The opensearch.xml document reference can be used as a link in the head section of the HTML page. It contains two URL schemes, one for search results and other for suggestions.

The details can be found here: Opensearch Document Specs.

As soon as I updated my index.html and opened the page in Chrome, Chrome automatically added a new search engine. It didn't show that there is a suggestions URL under Settings > Manage search engines.

Next, I chose my engine as the default search engine by clicking on Make Default and done! Now I can see all the search suggestions in the omnibox without using a keyword.