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AN OPENING TO THE REST OF THE INTERNET

HOLE.

Search the web. Then go down the hole.

Advanced search

Choose what makes it into your results.

Applying filters runs a new search. Supported constraints are sent to search providers, and HOLE checks every result on the server before returning it. Providers vary in what they support; results and content classifications may be incomplete.

Find more precisely

Words match titles and descriptions, not full page contents. Separate list entries with commas or new lines.

Exclude websites & words

Each comma-separated entry is one whole word or phrase. Website rules also check the original website of archived results. Uncheck subdomains for exact hosts (www is treated as the same site).

Exclude media & file formats

Uses direct file extensions, source media labels and known media sites. Ordinary webpages containing images or embedded video remain eligible. Hidden file types cannot always be detected.

Exclude content types

Uses source labels and recognizable website paths, not full-page analysis. Unclassified results stay visible unless you choose to hide them.

Sources, language & dates

Show these source groups. Leave unchecked to include all. A result may belong to more than one group.

Choosing a language or date range hides results missing that metadata. A year-only date matches any range overlapping that year. Retrieval dates are never treated as publication dates.

Arrange results

Date sorting uses the selected date meaning, with undated results last.

Unchecked filters apply to this search and its next pages, then clear when you search for something new. Applying with this unchecked removes saved preferences.

Search the web, independent sites, archived pages, books, research and public Circle conversations in one place. Follow related ideas and save discoveries in Trails. No paid placement in HOLE.

Sources & years · 6 selected
Choose where to look

Press the search arrow to search selected sources. Your query is sent to them; their privacy policies apply. These searches use no Tavily credits and are not added to the shared web collection. Dates mean capture, item date or publication as labeled. Wiby is skipped when years are selected. Source limits may pause requests.

Web + Circle is also included within the shared free allowance. Selecting years searches only sources that support dates.

More places to explore ↗

These open another website. Their results are not imported into HOLE, and HOLE’s year filters do not carry over.

Marginalia ↗

Independent web. Direct integration awaits license eligibility or permission.

Europeana ↗

European cultural heritage. Direct integration needs a project API key.

Gallica ↗

France’s digital library. Search on Gallica; its API blocked our connection check.

National Diet Library ↗

Japanese collections. Direct integration needs applicable dataset permissions.

OpenAlex ↗

Global research. Direct integration needs a free API key and budget setup.

Wayback Machine ↗

Look up a known URL’s historical snapshots. Not a full-text search of every archived page.

Common Crawl ↗

URL-index lookup for known domains; not general keyword search.

Ahmia ↗

Onion search on Ahmia. Opening onion destinations requires Tor. No scraping or onion crawling by HOLE.

Search options & free allowance
Applies to your next search. Live web search stays within our shared free allowance.

Checking the shared search allowance…

Browse without live requests:
START SOMEWHERE
01 / SEARCH

Start with anything.

Money, music, art, a new skill. Search connected web and archive sources together. Try a year like 2004 to look for older material.

02 / EXPLORE

Follow a different path.

Choose “Go down the hole” on a result to explore related topics. Use “Dig deeper” to load more from sources with another page.

03 / SAVE

Keep what you find.

Add discoveries to a Trail, then save it on this device. Suggest a useful source to help the collection grow.

Your curiosity sets the direction.
Free to explore. Live web searches share a limited allowance; the collection stays searchable when it runs out.

A collection we build together.

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Suggest a permanent source

Write your own short description. Suggestions stay private until a moderator approves them. Your account is retained for moderation; it is not displayed on the public result.

Submissions are awaiting moderator setup.

Help test HOLE

Choose a task, explore a source, then tell us whether the results helped. Starting a test opts this tab into anonymous search counts and one optional usefulness vote per search. No query text, link clicks, account identity or browsing history is recorded in this feedback. You can turn it off beside the search box.

These are optional visitor tests. Automated checks are not counted as people.

Help the collection grow.

Share a useful link with your own description in a public Circle post. Eligible public posts can appear in HOLE; your discovery settings still apply.

Share in The Circle ↗
NO DESTINATION REQUIRED

The good kind of lost.

One door into a small, reviewed directory of the web.