Quick Configuration

Choose the setup that matches your environment.

Before You Start

Confirm you have the account, endpoint, or API key required for Brave Search.
Start with minimum scopes and read-only access where possible.
Keep secrets in environment variables instead of hardcoding them in JSON.

Last verified: 2026-04-27

Environment: Node.js 22, @brave/brave-search-mcp-server over stdio

Install command: npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server --transport stdio

Local config

JSON

Local config json

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

Verify prompt

Search the web for "Model Context Protocol official docs" and return the top 3 official-looking sources.

Expected success output

You should see web results with titles, URLs, and snippets from Brave Search.

Common Pitfalls & Fixes

⚠️ Watch out: API key signup and endpoint selection.
🔑 Always store API keys in environment variables, never hardcode them in JSON.
🛡️ Start with read-only scopes if available to verify connection safely.

Security checklist

Keep BRAVE_API_KEY in an environment variable, not in committed JSON.
Treat returned pages as untrusted web content and verify citations before taking action.

Common errors

Error	Cause	Fix
`401 Unauthorized`	BRAVE_API_KEY is missing or invalid.	Create a Brave Search API key and expose it as BRAVE_API_KEY before starting OpenClaw.
`Rate limit exceeded`	The free quota or current plan limit was reached.	Wait for quota reset, reduce repeated searches, or upgrade the Brave Search API plan.
`No search results`	The server started, but the query or selected tool returned no matches.	Try a broader query and confirm the API key has web search access enabled.

Example Prompts

Once connected, try these prompts to test capabilities:

Search the web for the latest MCP benchmarks and summarize the top 3 sources.
Find a reliable source explaining Model Context Protocol.
Collect three recent articles about AI tooling and summarize them.

Verification Checklist

Run 1-2 real prompts to confirm Brave Search returns usable data.
Check that error messages are clear enough for troubleshooting.
Document the required scopes, dependencies, and env vars for future reuse.

Brave Search