brave — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
Connects Brave Search API to your coding agent for querying current web pages, news, images, and places. Useful when an LLM needs live web access.
claude mcp add --transport http brave https://server.smithery.ai/brave/mcpWhat brave does
This server exposes tools for querying the Brave Search API directly inside an agent session. Tools include brave_web_search for standard queries, brave_news_search with a default 24-hour freshness filter, plus specialized endpoints for video and point-of-interest lookups via brave_place_search. Version 2.x returns plain image URLs instead of base64 payloads. That change saves context tokens.
For AI summaries, the workflow pairs brave_web_search with brave_summarizer. You request a search with summary: true, then feed the resulting summary key into the summarizer tool. A free API key is available at https://brave.com/search/api/. Without a paid Pro subscription, brave_local_search downgrades to regular web results because full local business details require a paid tier.
What it helps with
- fetch recent web search results and documentation
- retrieve news articles published within the last 24 hours
- query coordinates and operating hours for places with
brave_place_search - generate automated AI summaries of web pages without reading raw pages
Example prompts for the agent
- Search for the latest Next.js 15 release notes using
brave_web_search. - Look up recent news about Python 3.13 over the last 24 hours with
brave_news_search. - Find the location and opening hours of bookstores in Berlin using
brave_place_search.
How to install brave
Platform CLI: remote server
claude mcp add --transport http brave https://server.smithery.ai/brave/mcpPlatform CLI: remote server
codex mcp add brave --url https://server.smithery.ai/brave/mcpConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"brave": {
"url": "https://server.smithery.ai/brave/mcp"
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"brave": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://server.smithery.ai/brave/mcp"
}
}
}Platform CLI: remote server
gemini mcp add -t http brave https://server.smithery.ai/brave/mcpStep 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 brave
How do I install brave in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add --transport http brave https://server.smithery.ai/brave/mcp in your terminal.
What does the brave MCP server do?
It gives coding agents tools to search the web, news, videos, images, and geographic locations through the Brave Search API. It can also produce AI-generated search summaries.
Do I need a paid plan to use brave?
Basic web, image, and news searches work with a free API key from https://brave.com/search/api/. A Pro plan is only required for extra snippets and full business listings in brave_local_search.
