Add
OfficialSearch & Research

Brave Search

by Brave

Add web, news, image, video and local search to an assistant using the Brave Search API.

ConnectRepository(opens in a new tab)

Best for

Assistants that need web, news and local search under your own Brave API key, with control over region, language and freshness.

Connect Brave Search

Choose your client

Local

This server runs on your machine. Pick your client for the matching config; placeholders stand in for any secrets.

Setup note

An API key from Brave's developer dashboard is required, and some options, such as extra snippets and full local search, depend on your API plan.

claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}
  • Replace each placeholder with your own value. The registry lists these variables but does not say which are optional.
  • Add this under the existing mcpServers key if the file already has one, then fully restart Claude Desktop.

Format checked Oct 30, 2026 against Claude Desktop documentation. Client settings change, so confirm with the client's own docs.

Official setup guide(opens in a new tab)

Connection details

Package

npm package · stdio
@brave/brave-search-mcp-server@2.1.3

Overview

This local server wraps the Brave Search API. An assistant gets tools for web, local business, image, video and news search, plus AI-generated summaries, and can narrow results by country, language, content-filtering level and freshness. It runs over STDIO by default with an HTTP transport as an option, and starts from npm or a Docker image. You need a Brave Search API key, and which result types and options you get depends on your Brave API plan.

What it can do

  • Separate tools for web, local, image, video and news search, with a result-type filter on web search.
  • Web search accepts country, language, UI language, result count, offset, content filtering and freshness options.
  • Defaults to STDIO since version 2.x; HTTP is available through BRAVE_MCP_TRANSPORT or --transport http.

What you need

Sign-in and credentials

A Brave Search API key, set as BRAVE_API_KEY or read from a file with BRAVE_API_KEY_FILE.

Environment variables

Set these before the server starts.

  • BRAVE_API_KEYsecret
Runs as

npm package

Sources

MCP Registry
Listed in the MCP Registry as io.github.brave/brave-search-mcp-server
Official docs
github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server
Repository
github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server
Last checked
Oct 31, 2026
Record reviewed
Oct 31, 2026

Statements on this page come from

Why is this labelled Official?

Registry name io.github.brave/brave-search-mcp-server. The registry only lets an organization's owners publish under its io.github.<org> namespace (registry authentication docs, read 2026-10-30). The repository is in the brave organization, and its README sends users to Brave's own Search API signup and developer dashboard (read 2026-10-31).

Listing on HistChat is not an endorsement or a security review. MCP servers can access data or perform actions, so review the source and permissions before connecting.

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