Brave Search MCP server

This MCP server implementation integrates the Brave Search API to provide both web and local search capabilities directly within Claude. It allows you to search the web, find local businesses, filter results, and automatically falls back to web search when local results aren't found.

Installation

Getting an API Key

Before using the Brave Search MCP server, you'll need to obtain an API key:

1. Sign up for a Brave Search API account
2. Choose a plan (Free tier available with 2,000 queries/month)
3. Generate your API key from the developer dashboard

Setup with Claude Desktop

You can add the Brave Search MCP server to Claude Desktop using either Docker or NPX.

Using Docker

Add the following configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "BRAVE_API_KEY",
        "mcp/brave-search"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with the API key you obtained from Brave.

Using NPX

Alternatively, you can use NPX to run the server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage

The Brave Search MCP server provides two main tools:

Web Search

Use the brave_web_search tool for general web queries, news, and articles:

Parameters:

• query (string): Your search terms
• count (number, optional): Results per page (maximum 20)
• offset (number, optional): Pagination offset (maximum 9)

Example usage:

Use brave_web_search to search for "latest AI developments"

You can also specify the count and offset:

Use brave_web_search to search for "climate change solutions" with count=15 and offset=5

Local Search

Use the brave_local_search tool to find businesses, restaurants, and services:

Parameters:

• query (string): Local search terms
• count (number, optional): Number of results (maximum 20)

Example usage:

Use brave_local_search to find "pizza restaurants in Boston"

You can also specify the count:

Use brave_local_search to find "coffee shops near central park" with count=10

Advanced Features

• Smart Fallbacks: If no local results are found, the system will automatically fall back to web search
• Filtering Options: The search respects Brave's filtering capabilities for result types, safety levels, and content freshness

How to add this MCP server to 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 > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

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

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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 explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.