Google Search MCP server

Google Search MCP is a Playwright-based Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants like Claude and Cursor to perform Google searches. It bypasses anti-bot mechanisms, extracts search results, and handles CAPTCHAs automatically to provide real-time search capabilities.

Installation

Using with Cursor IDE

Global Installation

Run the MCP server using npx:

npx -y @mcp-server/google-search-mcp@latest

Then configure it in Cursor:

1. Go to Cursor Settings > MCP
2. Click + Add New MCP Server
3. Fill in the form:
   • Name: google-search (or any name you prefer)
   • Type: command
   • Command: npx -y @mcp-server/google-search-mcp@latest

Project-specific Installation

Add an .cursor/mcp.json file to your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@mcp-server/google-search-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Starting the Server

To run the MCP server directly:

yarn start

Using with MCP Inspector

For debugging purposes, you can use the MCP Inspector:

# First build the project
yarn build

# Start the MCP Inspector and server
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js

Search Parameters

The search tool accepts these parameters:

• query (required): Search query string
• limit (optional): Number of search results to return (default: 10)
• timeout (optional): Search operation timeout in milliseconds (default: 60000)
• language (optional): Language for search results, e.g., zh-CN, en-US (default: zh-CN)
• region (optional): Region for search results, e.g., cn, com, co.jp (default: cn)

Advanced Configuration

Browser State Management

By default, the browser state is saved in .google-search-browser-state.json in your home directory. This helps reduce the need for repeated CAPTCHA verification.

Language and Region Settings

You can customize search results by language and region:

• English (US): "language": "en-US", "region": "com"
• Japanese: "language": "ja-JP", "region": "co.jp"
• Chinese (Simplified): "language": "zh-CN", "region": "cn"

Important Notes

• On first use, if a CAPTCHA appears, the system will automatically switch to headed mode for you to complete verification
• After verification, the system saves the state file, making subsequent searches smoother
• Frequent search requests may trigger Google's rate limiting
• When encountering CAPTCHAs, you'll need to manually complete them once, after which the browser state is saved for future sessions

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "google-search" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@mcp-server/google-search-mcp@latest"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "google-search": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@mcp-server/google-search-mcp@latest"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "google-search": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@mcp-server/google-search-mcp@latest"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect