Research Multi-API Search MCP server

ResearchMCP allows you to enhance Claude's capabilities with web search functionality through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This tool integrates with search engines like Brave Search and Tavily Search to provide up-to-date information from the web directly in your Claude conversations.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Deno runtime
• Docker (optional, for containerized deployment)
• API keys for search services:
  • Brave Search API key (required)
  • Tavily Search API key (optional)

Local Setup

1. Install Deno following the instructions on the official website

2. Clone the repository to your local machine

3. Configure the required environment variables:

   • BRAVE_API_KEY: Your Brave Search API key
   • TAVILY_API_KEY: Your Tavily Search API key (optional)

4. Run the application:

   make dev  # Starts the HTTP server
   # OR
   make mcp  # Starts the MCP server for Claude Desktop
   

Docker Setup

1. Make sure Docker and Docker Compose are installed on your system

2. Create a .env file in the project root with your API keys

3. Build and run the container:

   make d-build  # Build the Docker image
   make d-up     # Run the container in the background
   

4. To view logs or stop the container:

   make d-logs  # View container logs
   make d-down  # Stop the container
   

Using with Claude Desktop

Configuring the MCP Server

1. Start the MCP server by running:

   make mcp
   

2. In Claude Desktop, add a new MCP server with the following configuration:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "MCPSearch": {
         "description": "Web search powered by Brave, Tavily, etc.",
         "command": "/absolute/path/to/ResearchMCP/cli.ts",
         "args": [],
         "transport": "stdio",
         "env": {
           "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your_brave_api_key_here",
           "TAVILY_API_KEY": "your_tavily_api_key_here"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Replace /absolute/path/to/ResearchMCP/cli.ts with the actual path to the cli.ts file on your system

Using Web Search in Conversations

Once configured, you can use the web search functionality directly in your Claude conversations. When Claude needs to search for information, it will utilize the MCP server to retrieve real-time web results.

Limitations

• Language Support: The Brave Search API has limited support for non-Latin characters. Searches in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and other non-Latin script languages may produce encoding errors or suboptimal results. For best performance, use English queries.

Features

• Web Search Integration: Access up-to-date information from the web through Claude
• Multiple Search Providers: Support for both Brave Search and Tavily Search
• Full MCP Compliance: Implements the Model Context Protocol for seamless integration
• Result Caching: Search results are cached to improve performance and reduce API calls

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 "MCPSearch" '{"description":"Web search powered by Brave, Tavily, etc.","command":"/absolute/path/to/ResearchMCP/cli.ts","args":[],"transport":"stdio","env":{"BRAVE_API_KEY":"your_brave_api_key_here","TAVILY_API_KEY":"your_tavily_api_key_here"}}'

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": {
        "MCPSearch": {
            "description": "Web search powered by Brave, Tavily, etc.",
            "command": "/absolute/path/to/ResearchMCP/cli.ts",
            "args": [],
            "transport": "stdio",
            "env": {
                "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your_brave_api_key_here",
                "TAVILY_API_KEY": "your_tavily_api_key_here"
            }
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "MCPSearch": {
            "description": "Web search powered by Brave, Tavily, etc.",
            "command": "/absolute/path/to/ResearchMCP/cli.ts",
            "args": [],
            "transport": "stdio",
            "env": {
                "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your_brave_api_key_here",
                "TAVILY_API_KEY": "your_tavily_api_key_here"
            }
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect