Brave Search MCP Server

Brave Search MCP Server

Privacy-First Search for AI Agents Official MCP server from Brave integrating the Brave Search API. Provides comprehensive search capabilities including web, images, videos, news, and local points of interest with AI-powered summarization.

🔒 Privacy-Focused

No user tracking, no profiling, no search history surveillance. Unlike Google, Brave Search doesn't build profiles or track behavior.

🤖 AI-Native Features

AI-powered summarization (summarizer tool) Structured data for agent consumption Rich context in search results

🌐 Comprehensive Coverage

Web Search - General internet search Image Search - Visual content discovery Video Search - Video content from multiple platforms News Search - Current events and journalism Local POI - Businesses, restaurants, services near any location

Installation

# Official Brave Search MCP Server npm install -g @brave/brave-search-mcp-server # Or via GitHub git clone https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server cd brave-search-mcp-server npm install npm run build

Configuration

Add to your MCP client config: { "mcpServers": { "brave-search": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"], "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" } } } }

Get API Key

Visit https://brave.com/search/api/ Sign up for Brave Search API Free tier: 2,000 queries/month Paid plans available for higher volume

1. Web Search (brave_web_search)

General purpose internet search. Agent Usage: "Search for recent developments in quantum computing" "Find tutorials on React hooks" "What are the best practices for Docker security?" Parameters: query (required) - Search terms count (optional) - Number of results (default 10, max 20) offset (optional) - Pagination offset

2. Local Search (brave_local_search)

Find businesses, restaurants, services near a location. Agent Usage: "Find coffee shops near San Francisco" "Pizza restaurants in Brooklyn" "Gas stations near Times Square" Parameters: query (required) - What to search for location (optional) - City, address, coordinates

3. Image Search (brave_image_search)

Visual content discovery. Agent Usage: "Find images of the Golden Gate Bridge" "Product photography for smartphones" "Infographics about climate change"

4. Video Search (brave_video_search)

Video content from YouTube, Vimeo, and other platforms. Agent Usage: "Tutorial videos on machine learning" "Keynotes from recent tech conferences" "Documentary about space exploration"

5. News Search (brave_news_search)

Current events and journalism. Agent Usage: "Latest news about AI regulation" "Recent developments in renewable energy" "Tech industry news this week"

6. Summarizer (brave_web_search with summarizer)

AI-powered summarization of search results. Agent Usage: "Summarize current state of quantum computing research" "Give me a summary of recent climate policy changes"

Research Assistant

Agent: "What are the latest findings on CRISPR gene editing?" Brave Search: Returns recent articles, papers, news with summary

Fact Checking

Agent: "Is it true that coffee improves cognitive function?" Brave Search: Provides sources, studies, verification

Local Discovery

Agent: "Find highly-rated sushi restaurants in Seattle" Brave Search: Returns businesses with ratings, addresses, hours

Content Discovery

Agent: "Find video tutorials on Kubernetes deployment" Brave Search: Returns relevant videos from multiple platforms

News Monitoring

Agent: "What's happening with Tesla this week?" Brave Search: Recent news articles, announcements, coverage

Example Agent Workflow

• Human: "I'm planning a trip to Tokyo. Help me prepare."
• Agent:
• 1. brave_web_search("Tokyo travel guide 2026")
• 2. brave_web_search("Tokyo weather forecast")
• 3. brave_local_search("best ramen restaurants Tokyo")
• 4. brave_image_search("Tokyo metro map")
• 5. brave_news_search("Tokyo events 2026")
• Agent: "Here's your Tokyo trip prep:
• Weather: [from search results]
• Top ramen spots: [from local search]
• Metro map: [image links]
• Current events: [from news search]"

vs Google Search

FeatureBrave SearchGoogle SearchPrivacy✅ No tracking❌ Extensive trackingAI Summary✅ Built-in⚠️ LimitedAPI Cost✅ 2K free/month❌ ExpensiveSpeed✅ Fast✅ FastCoverage✅ Independent index✅ ComprehensiveAgent-Friendly✅ Structured data⚠️ Limited

Rate Limits

Free Tier: 2,000 queries/month 1 query/second Web, image, video, news, local search Pro Tier: Higher volume available Dedicated support See https://brave.com/search/api/ for pricing

Privacy Guarantee

From Brave: "Brave Search does not collect personal data, build user profiles, or track individual searches. Your queries are anonymous."

Resources

Official MCP Server: https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server API Documentation: https://brave.com/search/api/ API Key Signup: https://brave.com/search/api/ Brave Search: https://search.brave.com

Advanced: Custom Configuration

{ "mcpServers": { "brave-search": { "command": "node", "args": ["/path/to/brave-search-mcp-server/build/index.js"], "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY", "DEFAULT_COUNT": "15", "ENABLE_SUMMARIZER": "true" } } } } The search tool every agent needs: Privacy-first, AI-native, comprehensive coverage. Install once, search forever.