server
Open source
free (server, MIT) + Brave API key

MCP Brave Search Server

Reference MCP server wrapping the Brave Search API. Privacy-respecting alternative to Google/Bing endpoints — Brave does not maintain a personal-history-linked index. The default web-search MCP in the Anthropic reference set; trivial to swap out for Tavily or SerpAPI variants if you prefer.

By Fredoline Eruo·Last verified Jun 12, 2026·60,000 GitHub stars

Overview

Reference MCP server wrapping the Brave Search API. Privacy-respecting alternative to Google/Bing endpoints — Brave does not maintain a personal-history-linked index. The default web-search MCP in the Anthropic reference set; trivial to swap out for Tavily or SerpAPI variants if you prefer.

Stack & relationships

How MCP Brave Search Server relates to other entries in the catalog — recommended pairings, alternatives, dependencies, and edges to avoid. Each edge carries a one-line operator note from our editorial team.

MCP Brave Search Server ↔ ecosystem

Recommended stack

  • Pairs with
    MCP Fetch Server

    Search returns links; fetch reads them. The canonical web-research duo in the Anthropic reference set.

  • Commonly deployed with
    OpenHands

    Brave Search MCP is the default web-research path in agentic OpenHands setups. Privacy-respecting; sufficient API quota tier for typical agent use.

Pros

  • Privacy-respecting search backend
  • Reference implementation — well-documented
  • Straightforward API key auth

Cons

  • Requires a Brave Search API subscription for non-trivial volume
  • Result quality below Google for long-tail queries

Compatibility

Operating systems
macOS
Linux
Windows
GPU backends
n/a
LicenseOpen source · free (server, MIT) + Brave API key

Runtime health

Operator-grade signals on how actively MCP Brave Search Server is being maintained, how fresh its measurements are, and what failure classes operators have flagged. Every label below is anchored to a real date or count — we never infer maintainer activity we can't show.

Release cadence

Derived from the most recent editorial signal on this row.

Active
Updated Jun 12, 2026

8 days since last refresh · source: lastUpdated

Benchmark freshness

How recent the editorial measurements on this runtime are.

0editorial benchmarks

No editorial benchmarks for this runtime yet.

Community reproduction

Submissions that match an editorial measurement on similar hardware.

0reproduced reports

No community reproductions on file yet.

Get MCP Brave Search Server

Frequently asked

Is MCP Brave Search Server free?

Yes — MCP Brave Search Server is free to use and open-source.

What operating systems does MCP Brave Search Server support?

MCP Brave Search Server supports macOS, Linux, Windows.

Does MCP Brave Search Server need a GPU?

No — MCP Brave Search Server runs on CPU; it does not require or use a GPU.

Reviewed by RunLocalAI Editorial. See our editorial policy for how we evaluate tools.

Related — keep moving

Before you buy

Verify MCP Brave Search Server runs on your specific hardware before committing money.