# Brave Search MCP Server (`agentify/brave-search-mcp-server`) Actor

The Brave Search MCP Server powers query processing and data handling for Brave Search, enabling fast and private search results.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/agentify/brave-search-mcp-server.md
- **Developed by:** [agentify](https://apify.com/agentify) (community)
- **Categories:** AI, MCP servers, Open source
- **Stats:** 275 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 3 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $50.00 / 1,000 brave search tool usages

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### Brave MCP Server

An MCP server implementation that integrates the Brave Search API, providing both web and local search capabilities.

**About this MCP Server:** To understand how to connect to and utilize this MCP server, please refer to the official Model Context Protocol documentation at [mcp.apify.com](https://mcp.apify.com).

***

#### Features

- **Web Search:** General queries, news, articles, with pagination and freshness controls
- **Local Search:** Find businesses, restaurants, and services with detailed information
- **Flexible Filtering:** Control result types, safety levels, and content freshness
- **Smart Fallbacks:** Local search automatically falls back to web when no results are found

#### Tools

- `brave_web_search`
  - Execute web searches with pagination and filtering
  - Inputs:
    - `query` (string): Search terms
    - `count` (number, optional): Results per page (max 20)
    - `offset` (number, optional): Pagination offset (max 9)
- `brave_local_search`
  - Search for local businesses and services
  - Inputs:
    - `query` (string): Local search terms
    - `count` (number, optional): Number of results (max 20)
  - Automatically falls back to web search if no local results found

#### Configuration

##### Getting an API Key

- Sign up for a [Brave Search API account](https://brave.com/search/api/)
- Choose a plan (Free tier available with 2,000 queries/month)
- Generate your API key from the developer dashboard

##### Usage with Claude Desktop

Add this to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:

**Docker**

```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"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**NPX**

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

#### Usage with VS Code

For quick installation, use the one-click installation buttons below...

For manual installation, add the following JSON block to your **User Settings (JSON)** file in VS Code.\
You can do this by pressing `Ctrl + Shift + P` and typing **Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)**.\
Optionally, you can add it to a file called `.vscode/mcp.json` in your workspace.\
This will allow you to share the configuration with others.\
Note that the `mcp` key is not needed in the `.vscode/mcp.json` file.

**Docker**

```json
{
  "mcp": {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "type": "promptString",
        "id": "brave_api_key",
        "description": "Brave Search API Key",
        "password": true
      }
    ],
    "servers": {
      "brave-search": {
        "command": "docker",
        "args": [
          "run",
          "-i",
          "--rm",
          "-e",
          "BRAVE_API_KEY",
          "mcp/brave-search"
        ],
        "env": {
          "BRAVE_API_KEY": "${input:brave_api_key}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**NPX**

```json
{
  "mcp": {
    "inputs": [
      {
        "type": "promptString",
        "id": "brave_api_key",
        "description": "Brave Search API Key",
        "password": true
      }
    ],
    "servers": {
      "brave-search": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
        "env": {
          "BRAVE_API_KEY": "${input:brave_api_key}"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

#### Build

Docker build:

```bash
docker build -t mcp/brave-search:latest -f src/brave-search/Dockerfile .
```

#### License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License.\
This means you are free to use, modify, and distribute the software, subject to the terms and conditions of the MIT License.\
For more details, please see the LICENSE file in the project repository.

***

🚩 Claim this MCP server. Contact info.\
All credits to the original authors of https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived/tree/main/src/brave-search

Write to ai@apify.com

Original project URL: https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived/tree/main/src/brave-search

# Actor input Schema

## Actor input object example

```json
{}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("agentify/brave-search-mcp-server").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("agentify/brave-search-mcp-server").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call agentify/brave-search-mcp-server --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,agentify/brave-search-mcp-server"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/iAggBcjXv3XV0saWB/builds/o2v88Hj67ZV9NIB3x/openapi.json