diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 188d483..4cfe87f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
 # Engines
 Custom search engines
 ## Gitea
-Search through the hosted gitea or your own selfhosted instance. Supports a Access Token to also search private repositories.
\ No newline at end of file
+Search through your own selfhosted instance. Supports a Access Token to also search private repositories.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/engines/gitea-searchengine/index.js b/engines/gitea-searchengine/index.js
index 39bc261..5dff964 100644
--- a/engines/gitea-searchengine/index.js
+++ b/engines/gitea-searchengine/index.js
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
-const HOSTED_URL = "https://gitea.com";
+const DEFAULT_URL = "";
 const API_PATH = "/api/v1/repos/search";
 
+function isValidUrl(string) {
+  try {
+    new URL(string);
+    return true;
+  } catch (err) {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 export default class GiteaEngine {
   name = "Gitea";
   type = "web"; // web | images | videos | news | custom
@@ -11,17 +20,30 @@ export default class GiteaEngine {
   giteaToken = "";
 
   settingsSchema = [
-    { key: "giteaUrl", label: "Gitea Instance URL", description: "The base URL of your custom gitea instance, if empty uses the public hosted version.", type: "url", required: false },
+    { key: "giteaUrl", label: "Gitea Instance URL", description: "The base URL of your custom gitea instance.", type: "url", required: true },
     { key: "accessToken", label: "Access Token", description: "Access Token to the gitea instance, allows searching for private repositories. Requires repository read permission.", type: "password", required: false },
   ]
 
   configure(settings) {
     // called after settings save and on server restart
-    this.giteaBase = (settings.giteaUrl || HOSTED_URL );
+    this.giteaBase = (settings.giteaUrl || DEFAULT_URL );
     this.giteaSearchUrl = this.giteaBase + API_PATH;
+
+    if(!isValidUrl(this.giteaSearchUrl)){
+      this.giteaSearchUrl = "";
+    }
+
     this.giteaToken = settings.accessToken || "";
   }
 
+  async isConfigured(){
+    if(this.giteaSearchUrl == ""){
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    return true;
+  }
+
   async executeSearch (
     query,
     page = 1,
@@ -29,6 +51,11 @@ export default class GiteaEngine {
     context
   ) {
     try {
+      configured = await this.isConfigured();
+      if(!configured){
+        return [];
+      }
+
       const doFetch = context?.fetch ?? fetch;
 
       var headers = {};
diff --git a/engines/gitea-searchengine/test/test-runner.js b/engines/gitea-searchengine/test/test-runner.js
index ec91c1b..8777d55 100644
--- a/engines/gitea-searchengine/test/test-runner.js
+++ b/engines/gitea-searchengine/test/test-runner.js
@@ -8,9 +8,6 @@ const GiteaEngine = require('../index.js').default;
 const TEST_GITEA_URL = "https://gitea.furb.it"; // Change to your local instance if testing real connections
 const API_PATH = "/api/v1/repos/search";
 
-// Create the Engine Instance
-const engine = new GiteaEngine();
-
 // Mock Settings (Replace with your config or local instance URL)
 const settings = {
     giteaUrl: TEST_GITEA_URL, 
@@ -40,9 +37,66 @@ const context = {
 
 // --- TEST EXECUTION ---
 
-async function runTest() {
+async function runConfigTest() {
     console.log("Initializing Gitea Engine...");
+    engine = new GiteaEngine();
+
+    //Mock settings
+    empty_settings = {
+        giteaUrl: "", 
+        accessToken: "" 
+    };
+
+    incorrect_settings = {
+        giteaUrl: "this_is_not_a_url", 
+        accessToken: "" 
+    };
+
+    correct_settings = {
+        giteaUrl: TEST_GITEA_URL, 
+        accessToken: "" 
+        // Set accessToken to a real token if you want to test private repo search
+    };
+
+    // No config
+    configured = await engine.isConfigured();
+    if(configured){
+        console.error("Engine is not yet configured, but claims to be");
+    }
+
+    // Empty config
+    console.log("Configuring Gitea Engine with empty url...");
+    engine.configure(empty_settings);
     
+    configured = await engine.isConfigured();
+    if(configured){
+        console.error("Engine is incorrectly configured, but claims to be correct");
+    }
+
+    // Incorrect config
+    console.log("Configuring Gitea Engine with incorrect url...");
+    engine.configure(incorrect_settings);
+    
+    configured = await engine.isConfigured();
+    if(configured){
+        console.error("Engine is incorrectly configured, but claims to be correct");
+    }
+
+    // Correct config
+    console.log("Configuring Gitea Engine with correct settings...");
+    engine.configure(correct_settings);
+    
+    configured = await engine.isConfigured();
+    if(!configured){
+        console.error("Engine is correctly configured, but claims to be incorrect");
+    }
+
+}
+
+async function runSearchTest() {
+    console.log("Initializing Gitea Engine...");
+    engine = new GiteaEngine();
+
     // 1. Configure the engine
     engine.configure(settings);
     console.log(`Configured Base URL: ${engine.giteaBase}`);
@@ -77,4 +131,5 @@ async function runTest() {
     }
 }
 
-runTest().catch(console.error);
+runConfigTest().catch(console.error);
+runSearchTest().catch(console.error);
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 76ffe11..0bac4f2 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
       "path": "engines/gitea-searchengine",
       "name": "Gitea",
       "description": "Search your private gitea instance",
-      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "version": "1.0.1",
       "screenshots": [
         "screenshots/1.png"
       ]