# Brave Search MCP server

> Search the web, news, images, videos and places using Brave's independent search index and get AI summaries.

- Listing: https://mcp.tc/i/brave-search
- Connect: this is a local (stdio) server; install it on your machine (see Install). The listing link is a page, not an MCP endpoint.
- Type: local (stdio)
- Auth: API key
- Category: [Search & Web Data](https://mcp.tc/c/search-web)
- Vendor: Brave
- Homepage: <https://brave.com/search/api/>
- Repository: <https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server>
- Package: npm `@brave/brave-search-mcp-server`

## About

Connects an assistant to the Brave Search API. It offers web, local business, place, image, video and news search, plus a summarizer that turns web search results into AI-generated summaries. Search calls accept country, language, safesearch and freshness filters.

Runs locally over STDIO with npx (@brave/brave-search-mcp-server). An HTTP transport can be enabled with the BRAVE\_MCP\_TRANSPORT variable or the --transport http argument. It needs a Brave Search API key in BRAVE\_API\_KEY. Some features, such as extra snippets and full local search, require a Pro plan.

## What it can do

- Search the web with country, language and freshness filters
- Find news articles with recency controls
- Search images and videos with metadata
- Look up local businesses and points of interest
- Generate AI summaries from web search results
- Re-rank results with custom Goggles

## Example prompts

- "Search the web for the latest Node.js release notes"
- "Find news from the past day about the EU AI Act"
- "Find coffee shops near Shibuya, Tokyo with opening hours"
- "Search for videos explaining how transformers work"

## Install

### Claude Code

1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport stdio brave-search --env "BRAVE_API_KEY=<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>" -- npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server
```

2. Start Claude Code and type `/mcp`. **brave-search** should show as connected.

Add `--scope user` to make it available in every project. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

### Claude Desktop

1. Open **Settings → Developer → Edit Config**. It opens `claude_desktop_config.json`. Add:

`claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

2. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

Needs Node.js on your computer. The file lives in `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/` on macOS and `%APPDATA%\Claude\` on Windows.

### Cursor

[Add to Cursor](<https://cursor.com/install-mcp?name=brave-search&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsIkBicmF2ZS9icmF2ZS1zZWFyY2gtbWNwLXNlcnZlciJdLCJlbnYiOnsiQlJBVkVfQVBJX0tFWSI6IjxZT1VSX0JSQVZFX0FQSV9LRVk%2BIn19>) (opens Cursor)

Or add it by hand to `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (all projects) or `.cursor/mcp.json` (this project):

`mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Needs Node.js on your computer. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

### VS Code

Add it to `.vscode/mcp.json`. VS Code asks for the secret the first time and stores it securely:

`.vscode/mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "${input:brave-api-key}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "brave-api-key",
      "description": "BRAVE_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}
```

Needs Node.js on your computer.

### Devin Desktop

1. Add it to `~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json` (macOS and Linux) or `%APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json` (Windows):

`mcp_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

2. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add brave-search --env "BRAVE_API_KEY=<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>" -- npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server
```

Or edit `~/.codex/config.toml` directly:

`config.toml`:

```toml
[mcp_servers.brave-search]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"]
env = { BRAVE_API_KEY = "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>" }
```

Needs Node.js on your computer. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

### Gemini CLI

```bash
gemini mcp add -e "BRAVE_API_KEY=<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>" brave-search npx -- -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server
```

This adds it to the current project. Add `-s user` to use it everywhere.

### Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Zed puts servers under `context_servers` in its settings, with the same `command`, `args` and `env` fields.

Needs Node.js on your computer. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

## Details

- Server version: 2.1.3
- Last checked: 2026-10-03
- Listed: 2026-10-03
- Updated: 2026-10-03

---
Source: https://mcp.tc/i/brave-search (mcp.tc is an independent directory, not affiliated with this server's publisher). Corrections: https://mcp.tc/report