brave/brave-search-mcp-server

An MCP server implementation that integrates the Brave Search API, providing comprehensive search capabilities including web search, local business search, place search, image search, video search, news search, LLM context, and AI-powered summarization. This project supports both STDIO and HTTP transports, with STDIO as the default mode.
Migration
1.x to 2.x
Default transport now STDIO
To follow established MCP conventions, the server now defaults to STDIO. If you would like to continue using HTTP, you will need to set the BRAVE_MCP_TRANSPORT environment variable to http, or provide the runtime argument --transport http when launching the server.
Response structure of brave_image_search
Version 1.x of the MCP server would return base64-encoded image data along with image URLs. This dramatically slowed down the response, as well as consumed unnecessarily context in the session. Version 2.x removes the base64-encoded data, and returns a response object that more closely reflects the original Brave Search API response. The updated output schema is defined in src/tools/images/schemas/output.ts.
Tools
Web Search (brave_web_search)
Performs comprehensive web searches with rich result types and advanced filtering options.
**Parameters:**
- query (string, required): Search terms (max 400 chars, 50 words)
- country (string, optional): Country code (default: "US")
- search_lang (string, optional): Search language (default: "en")
- ui_lang (string, optional): UI language (default: "en-US")
- count (number, optional): Results per page (1-20, default: 10)
- offset (number, optional): Pagination offset (max 9, default: 0)
- safesearch (string, optional): Content filtering ("off", "moderate", "strict", default: "moderate")
- freshness (string, optional): Time filter ("pd", "pw", "pm", "py", or date range)
- text_decorations (boolean, optional): Include highlighting markers (default: true)
- spellcheck (boolean, optional): Enable spell checking (default: true)
- result_filter (array, optional): Filter result types (default: ["web", "query"])
- goggles (array, optional): Custom re-ranking definitions
- units (string, optional): Measurement units ("metric" or "imperial")
- extra_snippets (boolean, optional): Get additional excerpts (Pro plans only)
- summary (boolean, optional): Enable summary key generation for AI summarization
Local Search (brave_local_search)
Searches for local businesses and places with detailed information including ratings, hours, and AI-generated descriptions.
**Parameters:**
- Same as brave_web_search with automatic location filtering
- Automatically includes "web" and "locations" in result_filter
**Note:** Requires Pro plan for full local search capabilities. Falls back to web search otherwise.
Video Search (brave_video_search)
Searches for videos with comprehensive metadata and thumbnail information.
**Parameters:**
- query (string, required): Search terms (max 400 chars, 50 words)
- country (string, optional): Country code (default: "US")
- search_lang (string, optional): Search language (default: "en")
- ui_lang (string, optional): UI language (default: "en-US")
- count (number, optional): Results per page (1-50, default: 20)
- offset (number, optional): Pagination offset (max 9, default: 0)
- spellcheck (boolean, optional): Enable spell checking (default: true)
- safesearch (string, optional): Content filtering ("off", "moderate", "strict", default: "moderate")
- freshness (string, optional): Time filter ("pd", "pw", "pm", "py", or date range)
Image Search (brave_image_search)
Searches for images with metadata including URLs, dimensions, and confidence scores.
**Parameters:**
- query (string, required): Search terms (max 400 chars, 50 words)
- country (string, optional): Country code (default: "US")
- search_lang (string, optional): Search language (default: "en")
- count (number, optional): Results per page (1-200, default: 50)
- safesearch (string, optional): Content filtering ("off", "strict", default: "strict")
- spellcheck (boolean, optional): Enable spell checking (default: true)