Overview

The Brave Search MCP Server allows AI assistants to perform web and local searches using Brave's search engine. This server provides two main tools: brave_web_search for general web queries and brave_local_search for finding local businesses and services.

Available Tools

brave_web_search

This tool executes web searches with support for pagination and filtering.

Parameters:

• query (string, required): The search terms to look for
• count (number, optional): Number of results per page (maximum 20)
• offset (number, optional): Pagination offset for retrieving additional pages (maximum 9)

brave_local_search

This tool searches for local businesses, restaurants, and services with detailed information.

Parameters:

• query (string, required): Local search terms
• count (number, optional): Number of results to return (maximum 20)

If no local results are found, this tool automatically falls back to web search to ensure users always get relevant information.

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

Before using this MCP server, you'll need to obtain a Brave Search API key:

1. Sign up for a Brave Search API account at https://brave.com/search/api/
2. Choose a plan (a Free tier is available with 2,000 queries per month)
3. Generate your API key from the developer dashboard at https://api.search.brave.com/app/keys

Installation Options

You can run the Brave Search MCP Server using either Docker or NPX.

Option 1: Using Docker

Add the following configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "BRAVE_API_KEY",
        "mcp/brave-search"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

To build the Docker image yourself:

docker build -t mcp/brave-search:latest -f src/brave-search/Dockerfile .

Option 2: Using NPX

Add the following configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json:

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

Usage Examples

Web Search Example

To perform a basic web search:

Use brave_web_search to find information about "climate change solutions"

For paginated results:

Use brave_web_search with the query "electric vehicles", count 10, and offset 1 to see the second page of results

Local Search Example

To find local businesses:

Use brave_local_search to find "coffee shops in San Francisco"

To search for specific services with limited results:

Use brave_local_search with the query "dentists near Boston" and count 5

Limitations

• The free tier of Brave Search API is limited to 2,000 queries per month
• Web search pagination is limited to a maximum offset of 9
• Each search request can return a maximum of 20 results

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the MCP server:

1. Verify your API key is correctly set in the environment variables
2. Check that you haven't exceeded your monthly query limit
3. Ensure your Docker or NPX installation is working properly

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License, allowing free use, modification, and distribution subject to the license terms.