Kagi Search MCP server

The Kagi MCP server allows you to integrate Kagi's powerful search and summarization capabilities with AI assistants like Claude. This server implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable Claude to perform web searches and summarize content through Kagi's API.

Installation

Prerequisites

Before installing, ensure you have access to the Kagi search API (currently in closed beta). Contact [email protected] for an invite if needed.

Installing UV Package Manager

First, install the UV package manager:

For MacOS/Linux:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

For Windows:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Installing via Smithery

The simplest installation method is using Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install kagimcp --client claude

Configuration

Setting Up with Claude Desktop

Add the Kagi MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration:

// claude_desktop_config.json
// Find location through: Hamburger Menu -> File -> Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kagi": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["kagimcp"],
      "env": {
        "KAGI_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE": "YOUR_ENGINE_CHOICE_HERE" 
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: If no summarizer engine is specified, it defaults to the "cecil" engine.

Setting Up with Claude Code

Add the Kagi MCP server with the following command:

claude mcp add kagi -e KAGI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE="YOUR_ENGINE_CHOICE_HERE" -- uvx kagimcp

Since Claude Code has its own web search functionality, you may want to disable it to avoid conflicts. Add the following to your Claude Code settings file (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "permissions": {
    "deny": [
      "WebSearch"
    ]
  }
}

Usage

Once configured, you can ask Claude questions that require the use of Kagi's tools:

• For web search: "Who was time's 2024 person of the year?"
• For summarization: "summarize this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"

Claude will automatically use the Kagi MCP server to retrieve the necessary information.

Advanced Configuration

Logging Level

Adjust the logging level using the FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL environment variable:

"env": {
  "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "ERROR"
}

Summarizer Engine

Customize the summarization engine using the KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE environment variable:

"env": {
  "KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE": "daphne"
}

Different summarization engines have different capabilities. Learn more about the available engines at Kagi's documentation.

Debugging

If you encounter issues, use the MCP inspector to debug:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx kagimcp

This will allow you to inspect requests and responses between Claude and the Kagi MCP server.

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 "kagi" '{"command":"uvx","args":["kagimcp"],"env":{"KAGI_API_KEY":"YOUR_API_KEY_HERE","KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE":"cecil"}}'

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": {
        "kagi": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "kagimcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "KAGI_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
                "KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE": "cecil"
            }
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "kagi": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "kagimcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "KAGI_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
                "KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE": "cecil"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect