Brave Search MCP Server
A reference MCP server that gives an agent real-time web and local search results through the Brave Search API — a straightforward way to add current information retrieval.
Add to Claude Code
claude mcp add brave-search -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search
Source: https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/tree/main/src/brave-search
About
The Brave Search MCP server calls the Brave Search API to return web search results — titles, URLs, and descriptions — directly to an agent, along with a separate local search mode for businesses and places near a specified location.
It's one of the original reference servers in the Model Context Protocol collection and remains a simple, low-setup option for adding general web search when you don't need a specialized research API.
Key features
- Real-time web search results via the Brave Search API
- Separate local search mode for businesses and places
- Simple API-key-based configuration
- No browser automation or scraping involved
Use cases
- Let an agent look up current information not present in its training data
- Find local businesses or services relevant to a user's query
- Add a lightweight, general-purpose search fallback to an agent's toolset
Available tools
brave_web_search
Performs a general web search and returns titles, URLs, and snippets.
brave_local_search
Searches for local businesses and places near a specified location.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Brave Search API key?
Yes — set BRAVE_API_KEY as an environment variable; Brave offers a free tier of API queries per month.
Does it scrape the pages it finds?
No — it returns the search result metadata (title, URL, description) that Brave's API provides, not the full page content.