How to add Web Search MCP Server to Claude Desktop

Free web search via Google results scraping — no API keys required. Paste the config into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.

Last updated June 14, 2026 · 452★ · stdio · no auth

Claude Desktop config for Web Search MCP Server

npm install && npm run build

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web-search-mcp-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/web-search/build/index.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Setup steps

1Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (this opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json).
2Paste the Web Search MCP Server config below under the top-level "mcpServers" key.
3Fill in any placeholder secrets (API keys, paths) in the snippet.
4Save the file, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
5Open a chat and confirm Web Search MCP Server's tools appear under the 🔌 tools menu.

Before you start

Node.js (to run the built server with `node`)
Clone or download the repository, then run `npm install` and `npm run build`

What Web Search MCP Server can do in Claude Desktop

search

Performs a web search using Google search results. Accepts `query` (string, the search query) and optional `limit` (number, results to return — default 5, max 10). Returns an array of results, each with `title`, `url`, and `description`.

Security

Works by scraping Google search result HTML. Google may temporarily block requests if too many searches are performed in a short time; keep search frequency reasonable and consider adding delays. The parser depends on Google's HTML structure and may break if it changes. Intended for personal use only — respect Google's terms of service.

Web Search MCP Server + Claude Desktop FAQ

Where is the Claude Desktop config file?

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the Web Search MCP Server config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.

Is Web Search MCP Server safe to use with Claude Desktop?

Do I need an API key?

No. The server uses free Google search results and requires no API keys or authentication.

How many results can I get per search?

Use the optional `limit` parameter. The default is 5 results and the maximum is 10.

Why might searches fail or return incomplete data?

It scrapes Google's HTML, so Google may rate-limit requests if too many run quickly, and changes to Google's HTML structure can cause missing descriptions or other parsing issues. Keep searches to a reasonable frequency.

View repo Full Web Search MCP Server page