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.

Why Brave Search?

🔒 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

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

Available Tools

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"

Use Cases for Agents

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

Feature	Brave Search	Google Search
Privacy	✅ No tracking	❌ Extensive tracking
AI Summary	✅ Built-in	⚠️ Limited
API Cost	✅ 2K free/month	❌ Expensive
Speed	✅ Fast	✅ Fast
Coverage	✅ Independent index	✅ Comprehensive
Agent-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"
      }
    }
  }
}

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The search tool every agent needs: Privacy-first, AI-native, comprehensive coverage. Install once, search forever.