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Brave Search MCP Server

Gives agents Brave Search results for web, local, image, video and news queries, plus AI summaries.

Install

Claude Desktop

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

Copilot (VS Code)

{"inputs":[{"password":true,"id":"brave-api-key","type":"promptString","description":"Brave Search API Key"}],"servers":{"brave-search-mcp-server":{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@brave/brave-search-mcp-server","--transport","stdio"],"env":{"BRAVE_API_KEY":"${input:brave-api-key}"}}}}

Commands and configuration as given in the server’s documentation (Documentation). Replace placeholders such as API keys with your own values.

Brave’s official server, which replaced the archived reference Brave Search server.

Tools include brave_web_search, local, video, image, news and place search, brave_summarizer, and brave_llm_context for grounding content. It runs through npx or Docker with a Brave Search API key, defaults to stdio since 2.x, and can also serve HTTP.

Questions

Does the Brave Search MCP Server need an API key?

Yes. It runs with a Brave Search API key.

Which tools does the Brave Search MCP Server offer?

brave_web_search, local, video, image, news and place search, brave_summarizer, and brave_llm_context for grounding content.

Does the Brave Search MCP Server use stdio or HTTP?

It defaults to stdio since 2.x and can also serve HTTP.

Is this the old reference Brave Search server?

No. Brave’s official server replaced the archived reference Brave Search server.

Sources

Checked October 2, 2026.

Docs & search

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