Brave Search MCP Server

Name: Brave Search MCP Server
Author: Anthropic (reference implementation)

Official★MCPpedia Verified

@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search · by Anthropic (reference implementation)

Web and local search using Brave Search API

85.7k 22.4k/wk 2 tools GitHub npm

No known CVEs

MIT license

Actively maintained

Last commit 4d ago

Works with most clients

Transport: stdio

2 tools · ~58 tok

Grade A · 0.0% of 200K ctx

Edit this pageView history

Step 1

Install in your client

Config is the same across clients — only the file and path differ.

Supported in Claude Desktopstdio · Node 18+ · API key required

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      },
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

Requires an API key. Replace <your-api-key> with your actual key. How to get one →

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[![MCPpedia Score](https://mcppedia.org/api/badge/brave-search)](https://mcppedia.org/s/brave-search)

Required API Keys

BRAVE_API_KEYBrave Search API Key

1. Go to brave.com/search/api
2. Click "Get Started"
3. Create an account or sign in
4. Choose the Free plan (2,000 queries/month)
5. Copy your API key from the dashboard

Open Brave Search API Key page

Read me

What Brave Search MCP Server does

The Brave Search MCP Server gives your AI assistant the ability to search the web using the Brave Search API. It supports both web search and local search (finding nearby businesses and places). Privacy-respecting alternative to Google search.

Test This Server

Run this in your terminal to verify the server starts. Then let us know if it worked — your result helps other developers.

npx -y '@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search' 2>&1 | head -1 && echo "✓ Server started successfully"

After testing, let us know if it worked:

Scored, not listed

Why this score

Five weighted categories — click any category to see the underlying evidence.

Score breakdown

98/100across 5 weighted dimensions

How we score →

0255075100

−2

Security

Maintenance

Efficiency

Documentation

Compatibility

Categoriesclick a row to see evidence

Security

OSV.dev

No known CVEs.

Checked @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search against OSV.dev.

Inventory

Tools (2)

Click any tool to inspect its schema.

~58 tokens total

API

API information

API: Brave Search API
Pricing: freemium
Rate limits: Free tier: 2,000 queries/month. Paid plans available.
Auth required: Yes

Community

Reviews

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Have you used this server?

Share your experience — it helps other developers decide.

How easy was setup?Did it work reliably?How was the documentation?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brave Search MCP Server safe to use?: Brave Search MCP Server has no known CVEs as of the latest MCPpedia security scan. It does not require authentication, so any local process can connect — keep this in mind in shared environments. Licensed under MIT.
How do I install Brave Search MCP Server?: Brave Search MCP Server supports copy-paste install configs on its MCPpedia page for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Claude Code. Scroll to the Quick Install section and select your client.
What can Brave Search MCP Server do?: Brave Search MCP Server provides 2 tools: brave_web_search, brave_local_search. See the full tools list on the server page for descriptions and parameters.
What AI clients work with Brave Search MCP Server?: Brave Search MCP Server is compatible with claude-desktop, cursor, claude-code. It uses stdio transport.
Is Brave Search MCP Server actively maintained?: Brave Search MCP Server is actively maintained — last commit was 4 days ago. It has 85,733 GitHub stars.

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Community

Discussion

Start a conversation

Ask a question, share a tip, or report an issue.

Has anyone used this with Cursor?How do you handle auth?Any alternatives?

{ "mcpServers": { "brave-search": { "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-api-key" }, "args": [ "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search" ], "command": "npx" } } }

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brave Search MCP Server safe to use?

Brave Search MCP Server has no known CVEs as of the latest MCPpedia security scan. It does not require authentication, so any local process can connect — keep this in mind in shared environments. Licensed under MIT.

How do I install Brave Search MCP Server?

Brave Search MCP Server supports copy-paste install configs on its MCPpedia page for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Claude Code. Scroll to the Quick Install section and select your client.

What can Brave Search MCP Server do?

Brave Search MCP Server provides 2 tools: brave_web_search, brave_local_search. See the full tools list on the server page for descriptions and parameters.

What AI clients work with Brave Search MCP Server?

Brave Search MCP Server is compatible with claude-desktop, cursor, claude-code. It uses stdio transport.

Is Brave Search MCP Server actively maintained?

Brave Search MCP Server is actively maintained — last commit was 4 days ago. It has 85,733 GitHub stars.