Bangs are quick shortcuts you can type into DuckDuckGo to jump straight to a search on another site. If you already know you want Amazon, Wikipedia, YouTube, or something else, bangs save you the extra steps of loading the site and finding its search box.
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What Are Bangs?
You are probably scratching your head and wondering what a bang is, like I did when I first encountered them. You can think of a bang like a shortcut that does a search on a website of your choice.
As a quick example, pretend you’re wanting to search for computers on Amazon. Most of the time, people will type something like “computers amazon” into a search engine. Some will even go to Amazon and either browse or search for computers. By the power of bangs, this process becomes even quicker.
The Beginning of the Bang
A bang search shortcut starts with an exclamation point. The Duck calls this a bang. Now you know why these search shortcuts are called bangs. The exclamation mark has been called a “bang” since the early days of computing and telegraphy, likely stemming from the percussive sound of a typewriter striking that character. This kind of typographic shorthand has a long history: printers and typesetters used similar abbreviations for punctuation marks going back centuries. If you’re curious about where the term comes from, here’s a neat rabbit hole: Why is the exclamation mark called a bang?
Your First Bang
Either go to DuckDuckGo, or if you have set DuckDuckGo as your default search engine in your browser, just go to the address bar and do the following:
Type an exclamation point, followed by the letter A. Case is not important.
Type a space followed by the word computer.
Press Enter.
Here is what this would look like written out:
Once you do that, you will not only be taken to Amazon, but the search will automatically be done for you. Now simply browse through the results.
More About Bangs
At the time I updated this post, DuckDuckGo’s official Bangs page lists 13,566 bangs and counting. You can browse the directory, and you can click a bang to try it out: DuckDuckGo Bangs directory.
DuckDuckGo has had bangs since 2008. If you can’t find what you want, you can suggest a new one or update an existing one here: Submit or update a bang.
Generally, you can type something similar to what you want to use, such as “bang a” or “bang amazon”. The Duck will usually figure out what you mean, and then just do the search for you on the appropriate website.
Example Bangs You Can Try Right Now
You can get a categorized list of all bang shortcuts if you’d like. Now, here are a few more of interest. Each bang below is a link, so you can try it immediately.
Spotify: !spy we built this city
INCOMPETECH: !incomp future
Google Play Music: !gpmusic eko
YouTube: !yt thundersnow
Project Gutenberg: !gutenberg: The Historians’ History of the World
Fanfiction: !fanfiction Superman
Google Books: !GB Strange Attractors
Amazon Kindle: !kindle hurricane Andrew
National Weather Service: !nws atlanta
The Weather Channel: !wc atlanta, GA
Google News: !gnews current events
Indeed Jobs: !jobs customer service
WorkATRemote: !workatremote video transcription
Ticketmaster: !ticketmaster piano guys
StubHub: !tickets piano guys
Calorie King: !carbs cheese burger
Consumer Reports: !crep robotic
DogPedia: !dogpedia hotspot
Bible Gateway: !bible John 3:16
Booking: !booking atlanta, ga
Microsoft Store: !mstore surface
IsThereAnyDeal: !isthereanydeal HP Spectre
A Couple Quick Tips
If DuckDuckGo is your default search engine, you can type bangs right into your browser’s address bar and jump straight to the site search. If you’re not sure what a site’s bang is, start typing an exclamation point and a few letters, or try searching for “bang” and the site name.
FAQ
Do I need to memorize thousands of bangs?
No. Most people keep a handful they use all the time, like Amazon, Wikipedia, YouTube, or a favorite news site. You can also browse the Bangs directory or search for “bang” plus the site name.
Can I use bangs from the browser address bar?
Yes, if DuckDuckGo is set as your default search engine, bangs work right from the address bar.
Can I suggest a new bang?
Yes. DuckDuckGo lets you submit new bangs and suggest updates to existing ones.
Do bangs work on mobile?
They can, as long as your browser is using DuckDuckGo for search. On phones, some browsers may vary in how they handle the address bar and search, but the bang syntax itself is the same.
Conclusion
Wow. This just barely scratches the surface. I certainly encourage you to try some yourself and browse the thousands of bangs. I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief tour of Duck bangs. Until next time…
Qapla!
I have actually submitted a few bangs that I couldn’t find myself. So we’ll see if I can add a few more to the already impressive list!
🤞
I knew bangs were awesome, but I had no idea there were so many! Just the list you gave us has 4 or 5 new ones I can’t wait to try! Funny thing is, this is one feature the Duck has that Google doesn’t. So for any other readers out there on the interwebz, if you’re thinking about de-Googling your life a bit, or have a hard time using Google with your screen reader of choice, DuckDuckGo is a great alternative. Thanks as always Casey for the info. I’m off to try !bible, !fanfiction, and a coupe others on here. :)