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 3 days ago. It has 87,919 GitHub stars.

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

87.9k 21.9k/wk 2 tools GitHub npm

No known CVEs

MIT license

Actively maintained

Last commit 3d 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 →

Are you the author?

Add this badge to your README to show your security score and help users find safe servers.

Embed in your READMEAbout badges →

[![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:

Loading README…

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

Be the first to review

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 3 days ago. It has 87,919 GitHub stars.

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MCP Security Weekly

Get CVE alerts and security updates for Brave Search MCP Server and similar servers.

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?

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 →

Are you the author?

Add this badge to your README to show your security score and help users find safe servers.

Embed in your READMEAbout badges →

[![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

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:

README

Model Context Protocol servers

This repository is a collection of reference implementations for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), as well as references to community-built servers and additional resources.

[!IMPORTANT] If you are looking for a list of MCP servers, you can browse published servers on the MCP Registry. The repository served by this README is dedicated to housing just the small number of reference servers maintained by the MCP steering group.

[!WARNING] The servers in this repository are intended as reference implementations to demonstrate MCP features and SDK usage. They are meant to serve as educational examples for developers building their own MCP servers, not as production-ready solutions. Developers should evaluate their own security requirements and implement appropriate safeguards based on their specific threat model and use case.

The servers in this repository showcase the versatility and extensibility of MCP, demonstrating how it can be used to give Large Language Models (LLMs) secure, controlled access to tools and data sources. Typically, each MCP server is implemented with an MCP SDK:

🌟 Reference Servers

These servers aim to demonstrate MCP features and the official SDKs.

Everything - Reference / test server with prompts, resources, and tools.
Fetch - Web content fetching and conversion for efficient LLM usage.
Filesystem - Secure file operations with configurable access controls.
Git - Tools to read, search, and manipulate Git repositories.
Memory - Knowledge graph-based persistent memory system.
Sequential Thinking - Dynamic and reflective problem-solving through thought sequences.
Time - Time and timezone conversion capabilities.

Archived

The following reference servers are now archived and can be found at servers-archived.

AWS KB Retrieval - Retrieval from AWS Knowledge Base using Bedrock Agent Runtime.
Brave Search - Web and local search using Brave's Search API. Has been replaced by the official server.
EverArt - AI image generation using various models.
GitHub - Repository management, file operations, and GitHub API integration.
GitLab - GitLab API, enabling project management.
Google Drive - File access and search capabilities for Google Drive.
Google Maps - Location services, directions, and place details.
**[Postgre

... View full README on GitHub

Loading README…

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

Be the first to review

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 3 days ago. It has 87,919 GitHub stars.