Brave Search MCP Server - Super-Fast Web, Image & AI Answers

Search the web, images, and videos through AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and OpenClaw. Get AI-powered answers with source references.

No Brave API key needed. Just connect and search.

Fast. Results in 2-3 seconds per tool call. No queue, no waiting.

4 tools: web search (with discussions, news, knowledge panels, FAQ, locations, and rich widgets), image search (up to 200 results), video search (up to 60 results), and AI answers powered by Brave's ChatLLM.

Stateful MCP server running in Apify Standby mode. Persistent session with no cold starts.

MCP endpoint:

https://clearpath--brave-search-mcp.apify.actor/mcp

 

Brave Suite ➤	Search Scraper	Search MCP Server

Tools

4 tools available to connected AI agents:

• web_search

  • Search the web with Brave Search. Returns web links plus bonus sections.
  • Inputs:
    • query (string): Search query
    • country (string, optional): 2-letter country code (default "us")
    • max_results (number, optional): Max web results, 1-100 (default 20)
    • safesearch (string, optional): "off", "moderate", or "strict" (default "moderate")
    • time_filter (string, optional): "pd" (day), "pw" (week), "pm" (month), "py" (year)
  • Returns web results plus discussions, news, knowledge panels, FAQ, locations, and rich widgets when available.
  • ~$0.01 per call

• image_search

  • Search for images. Returns up to 200 results with URLs, dimensions, and thumbnails.
  • Inputs:
    • query (string): Image search query
    • country (string, optional): 2-letter country code (default "us")
    • safesearch (string, optional): "off", "moderate", or "strict" (default "moderate")
  • ~$0.01 per call

• video_search

  • Search for videos. Returns up to ~60 results with duration, views, and creator info.
  • Inputs:
    • query (string): Video search query
    • country (string, optional): 2-letter country code (default "us")
    • safesearch (string, optional): "off", "moderate", or "strict" (default "moderate")
  • ~$0.01 per call

• ask

  • Get an AI-powered answer with source references, powered by Brave's ChatLLM.
  • Inputs:
    • query (string): Question or search query
    • country (string, optional): 2-letter country code (default "us")
  • Returns markdown-formatted answer with numbered source references.
  • ~$0.013 per call

Output Example

Quick Start

Web search

"Search for the best pizza in New York"

Image search

"Find images of aurora borealis"

Video search

"Find videos about machine learning basics"

AI answer

"What is quantum computing and how does it work?"

How It Works

1. Agent connects to the MCP server endpoint
2. Searches using any of the 4 tools
3. Gets results structured for easy consumption by the AI agent

No authentication with Brave needed. The server handles everything.

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Pricing - Pay Per Event (PPE)

Action	Cost	Per 1,000
Web search	~$0.01	$9.99
Image search	~$0.01	$9.99
Video search	~$0.01	$9.99
AI answer	~$0.013	$12.99

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Configuration

No configuration required. The server works out of the box.

Replace YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN in all examples below with your Apify API token.

Usage with ChatGPT

ChatGPT supports MCP servers natively (Plus, Pro, Team, Enterprise plans).

1. Open Settings > Connectors > Add connector
2. Set Name to Reddit
3. Set MCP Server URL to:

https://clearpath--brave-search-mcp.apify.actor/mcp

4. Set Authentication to API Key and set the header:
   • Header name: Authorization
   • Value: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN
5. Click Save
6. Start a new chat, click + near the composer, select More, choose Reddit

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "brave-search": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://clearpath--brave-search-mcp.apify.actor/mcp",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
            }
        }
    }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Usage with Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user brave-search \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  https://clearpath--brave-search-mcp.apify.actor/mcp

Or add to your project's .mcp.json:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "brave-search": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://clearpath--brave-search-mcp.apify.actor/mcp",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer ${APIFY_TOKEN}"
            }
        }
    }
}

Usage with OpenClaw

Add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "provider": {
    "mcpServers": {
      "brave-search": {
        "url": "https://clearpath--brave-search-mcp.apify.actor/mcp",
        "headers": {
          "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Then message your OpenClaw bot on Telegram, WhatsApp, or Discord:

"Search for the latest news about AI regulation"

"What is the current exchange rate for EUR to USD?"

"Find me videos about cooking Italian pasta"

Other MCP Clients

Any client supporting the Streamable HTTP transport works. Use the MCP endpoint URL with your Apify API token as a Bearer auth header.

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FAQ

Do I need a Brave Search API key? No. No Brave API key or Brave account required. The server handles everything.

What countries/languages are supported? 38 countries including US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, and more. The country parameter controls both region and language of results.

What's the difference between web_search and ask? web_search returns links, descriptions, and metadata (like a search engine results page). ask returns a synthesized AI answer with source references (like asking an AI assistant).

Can I use this without an AI assistant? Yes. Any MCP client works. You can also call tools programmatically via any MCP SDK.

How is this different from the Brave Search Scraper? The scraper extracts search data in bulk and stores it in datasets. This MCP server provides real-time search as tool calls for AI agents.

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Support

• Email: max@mapa.slmail.me
• Bugs: Issues tab

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Search the web, images, and videos through AI agents. Get AI-powered answers with source references.