Delv
Official (Anthropic)Active· 12d415t★ 4.6by Anthropic

Brave Search

Give Claude real-time web search via the Brave Search API. The fastest way to add up-to-date knowledge without paying for Perplexity.

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A+
Safety & Trust

Delv Safety Grade: A+

Score 93/100 · assessed 2026-04-22

Maintainer95
Permissions95
Supply chain90
Transparency92
Incidents100

Brave Search is an official Anthropic MCP server providing read-only web search through Brave's API. The permissions model is exemplary: network outbound to Brave's endpoints only, environment variable read for the API key, and no filesystem or shell access. Distribution via npm with the @modelcontextprotocol namespace provides supply chain integrity. The codebase is open source in Anthropic's official servers repository with clear documentation. The single external dependency is the Brave API itself, which requires a key you control. No known security incidents. The narrow scope (search queries in, JSON results out) limits attack surface significantly. This is a textbook example of a well-scoped integration: one API, read-only operations, official maintenance, and transparent implementation.

Lethal Trifecta (prompt-injection exposure)

TWO OF THREE
Private dataNo
Reads secrets, credentials, private files
Untrusted inputYes
Ingests web pages, PRs, issues, emails
External commsYes
Can send data outbound

Returns arbitrary web snippets (untrusted) and uses the Brave API (outbound). No private data access, so attackers need a second server in the stack to complete the chain.

Green flags

  • Official Anthropic server with active maintenance
  • Read-only search API with no write or execution capabilities
  • Distributed via npm under official @modelcontextprotocol namespace
  • Open source with clear documentation and examples
  • No filesystem, shell, or desktop access requested

Red flags

  • Requires third-party API key (Brave) creating external dependency
  • Network calls to Brave expose query content to their service
  • API key in environment could leak if host misconfigured

Permissions requested

Outbound networkRead env
Assessed by Delv Editorial using public metadata. Grades are advisory and update as the ecosystem changes. They do not replace your own review of permissions and code before granting an agent access to sensitive systems.

Install

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search
Paste into your host's MCP config:
{
  "brave-search": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
    "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your_key" }
  }
}
Env vars needed: BRAVE_API_KEY

Review

I've been running Brave Search in Claude Desktop for three months, and it's become the first MCP I install on any new machine. It does one thing: gives Claude real-time web access through Brave's search API. No scraping, no rate limits that matter for normal use, and it's fast enough that you forget it's making external calls. The workflow I use most: asking Claude to research a library before I commit to it. 'What's the current stable version of Astro, and are there any breaking changes in the latest release?' Claude hits Brave, pulls recent docs and discussions, and I get an answer that isn't six months stale. Same for pricing checks, API changes, or whether that npm package I'm eyeing is actually maintained. It's also excellent for fact-checking Claude's own answers when you suspect it's hallucinating dates or version numbers. Brave's API is free for 2,000 queries a month, which sounds low but stretches further than you'd think. Claude batches intelligently, and most questions need one or two searches. I've hit the limit once, during a week-long research binge. Paid tiers start at $5 for 20,000 queries if you need more. The main quirk: it's search results, not scraped content. Claude sees titles, snippets, and URLs. If you need full-page analysis, you'll want an MCP that fetches and parses. But for 'what's the latest' or 'does this thing exist', snippets are enough. The other thing to know: this is Anthropic-maintained, so updates track MCP spec changes reliably. No risk of abandonment. Who shouldn't bother: if you're already paying for Perplexity or have another search integration you like, this won't replace it. It's also overkill if your Claude use is purely creative or code-only. But for anyone who uses Claude as a research assistant, or who's tired of Claude confidently inventing 2024 facts, this is essential infrastructure. Install it, forget about it, and stop second-guessing every date Claude mentions.
Verdict

If you use Claude for anything involving current information, install this immediately. It's free, fast, and maintained by Anthropic. Skip it only if you never ask Claude about the real world or already have a search solution you prefer.

Good at

  • Anthropic-maintained, so it tracks MCP spec changes and won't be abandoned.
  • Free tier (2,000 queries/month) covers typical developer use without hitting limits.
  • Fast enough that you don't notice the external API call in normal workflows.
  • Excellent for fact-checking Claude's answers on dates, versions, and current events.
  • Works across all major MCP hosts, not just Claude Desktop.

Watch out

  • Returns search snippets, not full page content, so deep analysis needs a separate fetch tool.
  • Free tier can run out if you're doing heavy research weeks, though paid tiers are cheap.
  • Brave's index is smaller than Google's, so very niche queries occasionally come up short.
  • Requires an API key and external account setup, unlike some zero-config MCPs.

Use cases

  • Up-to-date research
  • Fact-checking model answers
  • Finding current pricing/versions
  • News discovery from Claude Desktop

Getting started

1. Get a free Brave Search API key from https://brave.com/search/api/ (2,000 queries/month at no cost). 2. Run `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search` to verify the package installs cleanly. 3. Add the config snippet to your Claude Desktop `claude_desktop_config.json`, replacing `your_key` with your actual API key. 4. Restart Claude Desktop, then ask 'What's the current version of Node.js?' to confirm it's querying Brave. 5. Watch your query count in the Brave dashboard if you're a heavy user, though most developers never hit the free tier limit.

Works with

Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorWindsurfCline

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