How to Set Up the Brave Search MCP Server for Web Research

Enable your AI agent to search the web using Brave Search API through MCP. Perfect for research, fact-checking, and gathering real-time information.

Brave Searchweb searchAPIresearchreal-time data

Set Up the Brave Search MCP Server

The Brave Search MCP server gives AI agents the ability to search the web, providing access to real-time information beyond their training data.

Why Brave Search + MCP?

▸Real-time data: Access current information, news, and prices
▸Privacy-focused: Brave Search doesn't track users
▸Rich results: Web pages, news, videos, and local results
▸Free tier: 2,000 queries per month at no cost

Getting a Brave Search API Key

▸Visit brave.com/search/api
▸Sign up for a free account
▸Create a new API key
▸Copy the key

Configuration

json

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

Available Tools

▸
code
brave_web_search
— General web search with pagination
▸
code
brave_local_search
— Location-based search for businesses and places

Search Parameters

The web search tool supports:

▸
code
```
query
```
— The search term
▸
code
```
count
```
— Number of results (max 20)
▸
code
```
offset
```
— Pagination offset

Example Use Cases

Real-Time Research

code

"Search for the latest developments in quantum computing this week"

Competitive Analysis

code

"Find recent news articles about competitors in the CRM space"

Fact Verification

code

"Verify the current population of Tokyo and the latest census data"

Local Information

code

"Find the best-rated Italian restaurants near downtown Portland"

Rate Limits

▸Free tier: 2,000 queries/month, 1 query/second
▸Paid plans: Higher limits available for production use

Tips

▸Combine with other MCP servers for powerful workflows
▸Use specific search terms for better results
▸The AI agent will automatically format and synthesize search results