# Web Search MCP Server — Search Tools for AI Agents (`mrlarryjohnson/web-search-mcp-server`) Actor MCP server giving AI agents (Claude, Cursor, n8n, Make) multi-engine web search, news search, and DuckDuckGo instant answers. No API keys, pay per tool call, hosted — connect in 30 seconds. - **URL**: https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson/web-search-mcp-server.md - **Developed by:** [Larry Johnson](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson) (community) - **Categories:** AI, MCP servers, Agents - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $5.00 / 1,000 tool calls 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Web Search MCP Server — search tools for AI agents, no API keys Give Claude, Cursor, n8n, Make — any MCP client — **web search, news search, and instant answers** in 30 seconds. No Google API keys, no SerpAPI subscription. Hosted on Apify, pay per tool call, failed calls are free. ### Tools | Tool | What it returns | |---|---| | `web_search` | Multi-engine web results: title, url, snippet (region + time filters, pinnable backend) | | `news_search` | Multi-engine news: title, url, source, date, snippet | | `instant_answer` | DuckDuckGo Instant Answers for encyclopedic topics — **empty answers are free** | **Where results come from (honest version):** searches run through a metasearch layer that aggregates Bing, Brave, Google, Mojeek, Wikipedia, Yandex and others. `backend="auto"` (default) blends engines for resilience; pass `backend="google"`, `"bing"`, `"mojeek"`, etc. to pin one (pinned engines can fail when they block datacenter traffic — auto mode is the reliable choice). ### Quick start ```json { "mcpServers": { "web-search": { "url": "https://mrlarryjohnson--web-search-mcp-server.apify.actor/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer " } } } } ```` Or via Apify's MCP gateway: `https://mcp.apify.com?tools=mrlarryjohnson/web-search-mcp-server` - **Transport:** Streamable HTTP · **Auth:** Bearer (free Apify account token) - **Pricing:** pay per tool call — no subscription, no minimum ### Billing you can trust - **Failed calls are never billed** — a blocked or rate-limited search raises a clear error instead of returning fake "no results" - **Relevance guard:** if the engines return filler that doesn't even contain your query terms, the call raises (unbilled) rather than selling you junk - **Empty instant answers are free** — most non-encyclopedic queries have no instant answer; you only pay when there's an actual payload - **Fully async server** — concurrent tool calls never block each other Built by the maker of the [Polymarket MCP Server](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson/polymarket-mcp-server) and the [whale-tracking suite](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson) — same engineering rules throughout. ### FAQ **Is this DuckDuckGo?** Only the `instant_answer` tool calls DuckDuckGo's Instant Answer API directly. Web/news search is multi-engine metasearch — that's deliberate: single-engine scraping from datacenter IPs is unreliable, and we'd rather be honest about sourcing than pretend. **What about scraping ethics?** Only public results pages/APIs, no logins, no personal data, no CAPTCHA circumvention. Pinned backends that block us simply fail loudly (and free). ### More tools by this maker | Tool | What it does | |---|---| | [Polymarket Whale Tracker Pro](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson/polymarket-whale-tracker-pro) | Insider-scored large trades, top holders, wallet P\&L | | [Polymarket Top Traders](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson/polymarket-top-traders) | Leaderboards with cross-window consistency + verified P\&L | | [Polymarket MCP Server](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson/polymarket-mcp-server) | The same live data as native AI-agent tools (MCP) | | [Hyperliquid Whale Tracker](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson/hyperliquid-whale-tracker) | Scored perp trades w/ counterparty addresses, funding/OI, wallet PnL | | [Web Search MCP Server](https://apify.com/mrlarryjohnson/web-search-mcp-server) | Multi-engine web/news search + instant answers for AI agents | Same engineering rules everywhere: fail-loud data integrity, dedup-before-billing, errors never billed. # Actor input Schema ## `note` (type: `string`): This Actor is an MCP server and runs in Standby mode — connect your AI agent to its MCP URL (see README). Running it normally just outputs the connection info. ## Actor input object example ```json { "note": "See README for MCP connection instructions." } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `mcpServer` (type: `string`): Streamable-HTTP MCP endpoint served by this run (Standby mode). ## `results` (type: `string`): Connection/config records pushed by non-standby runs. # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("mrlarryjohnson/web-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("mrlarryjohnson/web-search-mcp-server").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).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 mrlarryjohnson/web-search-mcp-server --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=mrlarryjohnson/web-search-mcp-server", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Web Search MCP Server — Search Tools for AI Agents", "description": "MCP server giving AI agents (Claude, Cursor, n8n, Make) multi-engine web search, news search, and DuckDuckGo instant answers. No API keys, pay per tool call, hosted — connect in 30 seconds.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "IvrBNczoyje0OjaR0" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/mrlarryjohnson~web-search-mcp-server/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-mrlarryjohnson-web-search-mcp-server", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/mrlarryjohnson~web-search-mcp-server/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-mrlarryjohnson-web-search-mcp-server", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/mrlarryjohnson~web-search-mcp-server/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-mrlarryjohnson-web-search-mcp-server", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "note": { "title": "Note", "type": "string", "description": "This Actor is an MCP server and runs in Standby mode — connect your AI agent to its MCP URL (see README). Running it normally just outputs the connection info.", "default": "See README for MCP connection instructions." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```