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MCP-Bocha MCP Server

Provides Bocha AI web search data via MCP for up-to-date web information retrieval and research.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "intounknown-mcp-bocha": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@humansean/mcp-bocha"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BOCHA_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP-Bocha exposes Bocha AI's web search capabilities through the Model Context Protocol, enabling AI assistants to perform web information retrieval and research with up-to-date results.

How to use

You can run the MCP-Bocha server locally and connect your MCP client to perform web searches via the mcp-bocha_search tool. Use it to look up information, verify facts, or gather sources for research tasks. The tool supports queries, optional freshness filters, result summaries, domain filtering, and result count control.

To enable usage, start the MCP Bocha server as shown in the configuration example, then configure your MCP client to call the mcp-bocha_search endpoint with your query and optional parameters. You can tailor results with freshness windows, include or exclude specific domains, request summaries, and limit how many results you receive.

Configuration example for your MCP client to connect to the server is provided below. It shows the standard stdio-based startup command you would use to run the MCP server locally.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Node.js (including npm) installed on your machine.

Install and run the MCP-Bocha server using the following steps. Each line is a separate command you should run in your terminal.

# 1) Ensure Node.js and npm are installed (verify versions)
node -v
npm -v

# 2) Start the MCP-Bocha server via npx with your Bocha API key
export BOCHA_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY
npx -y @humansean/mcp-bocha

# 3) If you need to run in a single command (optional variant)
BOCHA_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY npx -y @humansean/mcp-bocha

# 4) Connect your MCP client to the running server using the standard mcp-bocha_search tool call via the client

Additional sections

Configuration notes: The server requires your Bocha API key to access the web search API. Set the BOCHA_API_KEY environment variable before starting the server. You can pass the key inline when starting the server, or export it in your shell session.

Security considerations: Keep your API key secret. Do not commit it to source control. Rotate the key if you suspect it has been exposed.

Troubleshooting: If the server fails to start, verify that Node.js and npm are installed, confirm the BOCHA_API_KEY is set, and check for network access to the Bocha API. If you encounter authentication errors, regenerate and update your API key.

Notes: This MCP server provides the mcp-bocha_search tool to perform web searches. Adjust query parameters at call time to refine results, including optional freshness filters (oneDay, oneWeek, oneMonth, oneYear, noLimit), summary inclusion, and domain whitelisting or blacklisting.

Available tools

mcp-bocha_search

Search the web for information with optional freshness window, summary, include/exclude domains, and result count