Add the Brave Search MCP server to Claude Desktop

Config last verified Jun 1, 2026

The exact config to run Brave Search in Claude Desktop — paste it in, restart, and the tools load.

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop installed.
BRAVE_API_KEY — API key for the Brave Search API.

Setup

1. Open `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

On Windows the file lives at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.

2. Add this configuration

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop and confirm the Brave Search tools load.

Gotchas

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from an "mcpServers" object, but the config file is stdio-only: it cannot dial a remote URL directly. To reach a remote server you bridge it locally by running "npx mcp-remote <url>" as the command. Native remote Connectors exist on paid plans, but not through this config file, so the bridge is the portable path.

← Back to the Brave Search MCP server