Agent Web Search — Claude Code MCP server: keyless agent search
Gives your agent a single search call: ask a question in plain language, get citations or structured evidence back. Setup takes a minute.
claude mcp add --env AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS=<AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS> --env ARK_API_KEY=<ARK_API_KEY> --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> --env XAI_API_KEY=<XAI_API_KEY> --env DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=<DEEPSEEK_API_KEY> --transport stdio agent-web-search -- uvx agent-web-search-mcpWhat Agent Web Search does
Agent Web Search is an MIT-licensed MCP server, CLI and Python library. One search core sits behind three routes: an MCP tool, a native plugin, or a CLI described by an Agent Skill. Python 3.10+ is required.
DDGS, Exa and Parallel come as default providers and need no API key, so you can try search right after install. Other providers are wired through AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS, ARK_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY and DEEPSEEK_API_KEY. A provider without its key will not come up.
Want to look before you install? uvx --from agent-web-search-mcp agent-web-search "<question>" runs a search and leaves your environment alone. The normal install is pipx install agent-web-search-mcp. For shell-capable agents the author recommends the CLI + Skill route: no MCP JSON to debug, no transport lifecycle in the background.
What it helps with
- look up current information from the terminal
- give an agent web search access with no provider signup
- get citations and structured evidence instead of bare links
- test search through
uvxwithout installing anything - call search from a Python script as a library
Example prompts for the agent
- Use agent-web-search to find what changed in the latest Anthropic Claude CLI release
agent-web-search "how to configure MCP in Codex"- Install agent-web-search-mcp and check that the tool answers a query
How to install Agent Web Search
Platform CLI
claude mcp add --env AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS=<AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS> --env ARK_API_KEY=<ARK_API_KEY> --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> --env XAI_API_KEY=<XAI_API_KEY> --env DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=<DEEPSEEK_API_KEY> --transport stdio agent-web-search -- uvx agent-web-search-mcpReplace <…> with your own values. 12 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from agent-web-search-mcp <command>
Platform CLI
codex mcp add agent-web-search --env AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS=<AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS> --env ARK_API_KEY=<ARK_API_KEY> --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> --env XAI_API_KEY=<XAI_API_KEY> --env DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=<DEEPSEEK_API_KEY> -- uvx agent-web-search-mcpReplace <…> with your own values. 12 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from agent-web-search-mcp <command>
Config file
{
"mcpServers": {
"agent-web-search": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"agent-web-search-mcp"
],
"env": {
"AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS": "<AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS>",
"ARK_API_KEY": "<ARK_API_KEY>",
"GEMINI_API_KEY": "<GEMINI_API_KEY>",
"XAI_API_KEY": "<XAI_API_KEY>",
"DEEPSEEK_API_KEY": "<DEEPSEEK_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Replace <…> with your own values. 12 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from agent-web-search-mcp <command>
Config file
{
"servers": {
"agent-web-search": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"agent-web-search-mcp"
],
"env": {
"AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS": "<AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS>",
"ARK_API_KEY": "<ARK_API_KEY>",
"GEMINI_API_KEY": "<GEMINI_API_KEY>",
"XAI_API_KEY": "<XAI_API_KEY>",
"DEEPSEEK_API_KEY": "<DEEPSEEK_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Replace <…> with your own values. 12 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from agent-web-search-mcp <command>
Platform CLI
gemini mcp add -e AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS=<AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS> -e ARK_API_KEY=<ARK_API_KEY> -e GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> -e XAI_API_KEY=<XAI_API_KEY> -e DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=<DEEPSEEK_API_KEY> agent-web-search uvx agent-web-search-mcpReplace <…> with your own values. 12 more environment variables are in the server README. uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from agent-web-search-mcp <command>
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about Agent Web Search
How do I install Agent Web Search in Claude Code?
With one command: `claude mcp add --env AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS=<AGENT_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDERS> --env ARK_API_KEY=<ARK_API_KEY> --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<GEMINI_API_KEY> --env XAI_API_KEY=<XAI_API_KEY> --env DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=<DEEPSEEK_API_KEY> --transport stdio agent-web-search -- uvx agent-web-search-mcp`. Fill in your own environment values if you go beyond the default providers.
What does Agent Web Search do?
It takes a natural-language question and returns an answer, citations or structured evidence in a form an agent can use. It ships as an MCP server, a CLI and a Python library.
Do I need an API key?
The default providers DDGS, Exa and Parallel need none. Set keys through environment variables for the rest.
