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Brave Search

Private web search

Brave Search lets agents search the web and local results without tracking. An API key from the Brave Search API dashboard is passed to the local server as one environment variable.

What an agent can do with Brave Search

  • Research with cited sources

    The brave_web_search tool returns web results with rich result types and filters. The brave_llm_context tool returns content that Brave extracts from pages for grounding. Every result comes from Brave's own independent index, so the agent can cite the pages it read.

  • Follow current news

    The brave_news_search tool finds recent news articles. Its freshness controls limit the results to a recent period. The agent can then compare what each article says about a product or an event.

  • Find local places

    The brave_local_search tool finds local businesses and places, with ratings, hours and descriptions. The brave_place_search tool finds points of interest in a geographic area. Brave's MCP server falls back to web search when full local search is not available on your plan.

  • Find images and videos

    The brave_image_search tool finds images, with their URLs and dimensions. The brave_video_search tool finds videos, with metadata and thumbnails. The agent can collect these results for a slide, a report or a reference list.

How to connect Brave Search to OpenBot

  1. Open Brave Search in OpenBot

    Press Open in OpenBot on this page, or find Brave Search in the app's Apps tab. Get the app first if it is not on this computer.

  2. Add your API key

    Press Connect and enter this value. OpenBot keeps it on the computer that runs OpenBot.

    • API key - Brave Search API dashboard → API keys

    Get a key

  3. Give an agent a task

    Ask an agent for work that needs Brave Search, such as one of the example prompts below. The agent uses the plugin's tools to do it.

Example prompts3

  • Brave SearchWhat are reviewers saying about this framework version?
  • Brave SearchFind today's announcements for this product area.
  • Brave SearchCompare these two vendors with cited sources.

Apps1

  • Brave Search

    Web and local search, over a local MCP server with a Brave API key.

Information6

Developer
brave.com
Category
Research
Version
1.0.0
Website
brave.com
Privacy policy
brave.com/privacy
Terms
brave.com/terms-of-use

Questions

Is the Brave Search MCP server official?

Yes. Brave links to the MCP server from its Search API page. The code is in Brave's GitHub organization and has an MIT license. The OpenBot listing runs this package as a local server.

Does the Brave Search plugin need an API key?

Yes. Sign up for the Brave Search API and make a key in its dashboard. Type the key in the OpenBot connect dialog. OpenBot gives it to the local server as BRAVE_API_KEY. The plugin catalog holds no secret.

Does Brave Search cost anything?

Installing the plugin is free. Brave uses prepaid credits, not subscriptions, and asks for a credit card to prevent abuse. The Search plan costs $5 per 1,000 requests and includes free credits every month.

What data does Brave get?

Brave gets the search queries that the agent sends. Brave says that it never shares queries or trains on them, and that each query stays on infrastructure that Brave operates. Your OpenBot workspaces, conversations and files stay on the computer that runs OpenBot.

Sources

Every statement about Brave Search comes from the pages below, checked on . They can change after that date.