Want the full 550+ engine power? Follow these steps. (Yes, every single one.)
STEP 0 — Do you have Node.js?
Open a terminal (Command Prompt on Windows, Terminal on Mac/Linux) and type:
node -v
If you see a version number (like v18.x or higher) → great, skip to Step 1.
If you get "command not found" → go to nodejs.org, download the LTS version, install it (just click Next → Next → Next → Finish), then close and re-open your terminal.
STEP 1 — Download Tracer
In your terminal, type this and press Enter:
git clone https://github.com/potemkin666/Tracer
This downloads the whole project into a folder called Tracer. If you don't have git, grab the .zip from GitHub and unzip it instead.
STEP 2 — Go into the folder
cd Tracer
You're now inside the project folder. If you downloaded the zip, cd into wherever you unzipped it.
STEP 3 — Install dependencies
npm install
This downloads all the libraries Tracer needs. It might take a minute. Wait until you see your cursor blinking again — that means it's done.
STEP 4 — Start the server
npm run serve
You should see something like Tracer server listening on port 3000. Don't close this terminal window — the server runs as long as it's open.
STEP 5 — Connect this page to your server
Come back to this page. The endpoint box above should already say http://localhost:3000.
Click the PING button. If it turns green — you're connected to all 550+ engines. Search away! 🎉
Still red? Make sure the terminal from Step 4 is still open, shows no errors, and you're using http:// (not https).
💡 Tip: Next time you want to use it, just open a terminal, cd Tracer, and npm run serve. Steps 0-3 are one-time only.
🌐 Works from anywhere: This page auto-detects your local server — even from GitHub Pages. Just start npm run serve on your machine, then search from this page and it will use all 550+ engines automatically.
SCANNING THE DEEP…