diff --git a/backend/open_webui/retrieval/web/duckduckgo.py b/backend/open_webui/retrieval/web/duckduckgo.py
index afd82eaf04..c9cefc25b1 100644
--- a/backend/open_webui/retrieval/web/duckduckgo.py
+++ b/backend/open_webui/retrieval/web/duckduckgo.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import logging
 import urllib.request
 
-from ddgs import DDGS
+from open_webui.env import USE_SLIM
 from open_webui.retrieval.web.main import SearchResult, get_filtered_results
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ def search_duckduckgo(
     Returns:
         list[SearchResult]: A list of search results
     """
+    if USE_SLIM:
+        raise ValueError(
+            'DDGS is unavailable in slim. Configure another web search provider in Admin Settings > Web Search.'
+        )
+
+    from ddgs import DDGS
+
     # The ddgs library (primp-based) does not auto-detect proxy env vars.
     # Resolve via stdlib getproxies() — same pattern as the other loaders.
     env_proxies = urllib.request.getproxies()
diff --git a/backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py b/backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py
index e57ca656e1..55813341a2 100644
--- a/backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py
+++ b/backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py
@@ -951,6 +951,15 @@ async def update_rag_config(request: Request, form_data: ConfigForm, user=Depend
     # RAG settings
     config = await get_retrieval_config()
     if USE_SLIM:
+        if (
+            form_data.web
+            and form_data.web.WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE == 'duckduckgo'
+            and config.WEB_SEARCH_ENGINE != 'duckduckgo'
+        ):
+            raise HTTPException(
+                400,
+                'DDGS is unavailable in slim. Configure another web search provider in Admin Settings > Web Search.',
+            )
         if (
             form_data.web
             and form_data.web.WEB_LOADER_ENGINE == 'playwright'
diff --git a/backend/requirements-slim.txt b/backend/requirements-slim.txt
index 4006798175..92e04118e5 100644
--- a/backend/requirements-slim.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements-slim.txt
@@ -74,8 +74,6 @@ rank-bm25==0.2.2
 black==26.5.1
 youtube-transcript-api==1.2.4
 
-ddgs==9.14.4
-
 azure-ai-documentintelligence==1.0.2
 azure-identity==1.25.3
 azure-search-documents==12.0.0
diff --git a/src/lib/components/admin/Settings/WebSearch.svelte b/src/lib/components/admin/Settings/WebSearch.svelte
index 2a20f192f3..e77814f3a4 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/admin/Settings/WebSearch.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/admin/Settings/WebSearch.svelte
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@
 						<option disabled selected value="">{$i18n.t('Select a engine')}</option>
 						{#each webSearchEngines as engine}
 							{#if engine === 'duckduckgo' || engine === 'ddgs'}
-								<option value={engine}>DDGS</option>
+								<option value={engine} disabled={$config?.features?.slim}>DDGS</option>
 							{:else if engine === 'serphouse'}
 								<option value={engine}>SERPHouse</option>
 							{:else}