Brave Search
An MCP Server implementation that integrates the Brave Search API, providing, Web Search, Local Points of Interest Search, Image Search, Video Search, News Search and LLM Context Search capabilities
What is Brave Search?
Brave Search is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to mcp server implementation that integrates the brave search api, providing, web search, local points of interest search, image search, video search, news search and llm context search capabilities
An MCP Server implementation that integrates the Brave Search API, providing, Web Search, Local Points of Interest Search, Image Search, Video Search, News Search and LLM Context Search capabilities
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- An MCP Server implementation that integrates the Brave Searc
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx brave-search-mcpConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Brave Search
Brave Search MCP is an MCP server that wraps the Brave Search API and exposes six distinct search tools: web search, image search, video search, news search, local points-of-interest search, and an LLM-context search that returns pre-extracted content optimised for AI grounding and RAG pipelines. It is ideal for giving AI assistants real-time, privacy-respecting internet access without relying on Google or Bing. A single Brave Search API key is required, and the server supports optional rate-limiting, audit logging, and TOML-based policy configuration.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+ and npx
- A Brave Search API key — sign up at https://brave.com/search/api/ (free tier available)
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop or Claude Code
Obtain a Brave Search API key
Create an account at the Brave Search API developer portal and generate an API key. The free tier provides up to 2,000 queries per month.
# Visit https://brave.com/search/api/ to sign up and get your key
# The key looks like: BSA...Test the server with npx
Run the server directly with npx to verify the API key works before configuring a permanent MCP integration.
BRAVE_API_KEY="your_key_here" npx -y brave-search-mcpAdd to Claude Desktop configuration
Edit your claude_desktop_config.json to register the Brave Search MCP server. The BRAVE_API_KEY environment variable is required.
# File location:
# macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
# Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.jsonOptional: configure rate limits and audit logging
Create a TOML config file to limit request rates and enable audit logging. Point the server at the file via the BRAVE_MCP_CONFIG env var.
# config.toml
[guardrail]
requestLimit = 100
windowSeconds = 60
cooldownSeconds = 10
[audit]
enabled = true
logRaw = false
[server]
allowedHosts = ["localhost", "127.0.0.1"]Restart Claude Desktop and verify tools
Restart the Claude Desktop app to load the new MCP server config. You should now have access to six Brave search tools in your AI assistant.
# Tools available after setup:
# brave_web_search, brave_image_search, brave_news_search,
# brave_local_search, brave_video_search, brave_llm_context_searchBrave Search Examples
Client configuration (Claude Desktop)
Full configuration block for claude_desktop_config.json with the required API key environment variable.
{
"mcpServers": {
"brave-search": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "brave-search-mcp"],
"env": {
"BRAVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Each prompt exercises a different Brave Search tool. The LLM context search is especially useful for grounding answers in recent web content.
- "Search the web for the latest developments in quantum computing."
- "Find recent news articles about the EU AI Act."
- "Search for images of the Aurora Borealis."
- "Find coffee shops near downtown Seattle."
- "Search for YouTube videos explaining how transformers work."
- "Use LLM context search to get grounding content about TypeScript 5.5 features."Troubleshooting Brave Search
API key authentication errors or 401 responses
Double-check that BRAVE_API_KEY is set correctly in the env block of your MCP config. Keys from the Brave developer portal start with `BSA`. Ensure no extra whitespace or quotes surround the value.
Rate limit exceeded errors during heavy use
Create a TOML config file with a `[guardrail]` section and set `BRAVE_MCP_CONFIG` to its path. The free tier allows 2,000 requests/month, so consider upgrading your plan for production workloads.
`brave_local_search` returns no results
Local POI search requires a location query (e.g., 'coffee shops near Seattle'). The tool automatically falls back to web search when no local results are found, so vague queries may return web results instead.
Frequently Asked Questions about Brave Search
What is Brave Search?
Brave Search is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that mcp server implementation that integrates the brave search api, providing, web search, local points of interest search, image search, video search, news search and llm context search capabilities It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Brave Search?
Follow the installation instructions on the Brave Search GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Brave Search?
Brave Search works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Brave Search free to use?
Yes, Brave Search is open source and available under the GPL 3.0 license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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