Brave Search MCP Server

This project implements a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Brave Search, allowing integration with AI assistants like Claude.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• uv - A fast Python package installer and resolver

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install Brave Search MCP server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @thomasvan/mcp-brave-search --client claude

Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/thomasvan/mcp-brave-search.git
   cd mcp-brave-search
   

2. Create a virtual environment and install dependencies using uv:

   uv venv
   source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows, use: .venvScriptsactivate
   uv pip install -r requirements.txt
   

3. Set up your Brave Search API key:

   export BRAVE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
   

   On Windows, use: set BRAVE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Usage

1. Configure your MCP settings file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json) to include the Brave Search MCP server:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "brave-search": {
         "command": "uv",
         "args": [
           "--directory",
           "path-to\mcp-python\mcp-brave-search\src",
           "run",
           "server.py"
         ],
         "env": {
           "BRAVE_API_KEY": "YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY_HERE"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

   Replace YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY_HERE with your actual Brave API key.

2. Start the Brave Search MCP server by running your MCP-compatible AI assistant with the updated configuration.

3. The server will now be running and ready to accept requests from MCP clients.

4. You can now use the Brave Search functionality in your MCP-compatible AI assistant (like Claude) by invoking the available tools.

Available Tools

The server provides two main tools:

1. brave_web_search: Performs a web search using the Brave Search API.
2. brave_local_search: Searches for local businesses and places.

Refer to the tool docstrings in src/server.py for detailed usage information.

Development

To make changes to the project:

1. Modify the code in the src directory as needed.
2. Update the requirements.txt file if you add or remove dependencies:

   uv pip freeze > requirements.txt
   

3. Restart the server to apply changes.

Testing

The project includes both unit tests and integration tests:

Installing Test Dependencies

uv pip install pytest pytest-asyncio pytest-cov

Running Unit Tests

Unit tests can be run without an API key and use mocks to simulate API responses:

# Run all unit tests
python -m pytest tests/unit/

# Run with verbose output
python -m pytest tests/unit/ -v

Running Integration Tests

Integration tests require a valid Brave API key and make real API calls:

# Run integration tests with your API key
BRAVE_API_KEY_INTEGRATION="your_api_key_here" python -m pytest tests/integration/ -v

Test Coverage

To check test coverage:

python -m pytest --cov=src/mcp_brave_search

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues:

1. Ensure your Brave API key is correctly set.
2. Check that all dependencies are installed.
3. Verify that you’re using a compatible Python version.
4. If you make changes to the code, make sure to restart the server.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.