Web Research MCP server

This MCP server enhances Claude with web research capabilities, allowing you to perform Google searches, extract webpage content, and capture screenshots directly within your conversations. This integration brings real-time information to Claude, making it easier to research any topic.

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 18 (includes npm and npx)
• Claude Desktop app

Installation

First, ensure you've downloaded and installed the Claude Desktop app and have npm installed.

Next, add this entry to your claude_desktop_config.json file:

On Mac: Located at ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "webresearch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@mzxrai/mcp-webresearch@latest"]
    }
  }
}

This configuration allows Claude Desktop to automatically start the web research MCP server whenever needed.

Usage

Getting Started

Simply start a chat with Claude and send a prompt that would benefit from web research.

For a more structured research experience, you can use the pre-built agentic-research prompt:

1. Click the Paperclip icon in the chat input
2. Select Choose an integration → webresearch → agentic-research

Available Tools

The MCP server provides three main tools:

Search Google

Performs Google searches and extracts results

Arguments: { query: string }

Visit Page

Visits a webpage and extracts its content

Arguments: { url: string, takeScreenshot?: boolean }

Take Screenshot

Takes a screenshot of the current page

No arguments required

Research Resources

The server maintains two types of resources that you can access:

Screenshots

When you take a screenshot, it's saved as an MCP resource. Access captured screenshots in Claude Desktop via the Paperclip icon.

Research Session

The server tracks your entire research session, including:

• Search queries
• Visited pages
• Extracted content
• Screenshots
• Timestamps

Tips for Better Results

If you're not using the agentic-research prompt, try suggesting high-quality sources for Claude to use. For example:

• Instead of: "news today"
• Try: "news today from Reuters or AP"

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues, check Claude Desktop's MCP logs:

tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log

The MCP server currently works on macOS, with Linux support coming soon.

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.