# Agent Search MCP (MCP server) > Agent Search MCP is an MCP server that adds search and knowledge tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. Free-first Chinese and English web search MCP using zero-key sources and inspectable evidence. It has 110 GitHub stars, is released under the Apache-2.0 license and runs locally with npx -y agent-search-mcp. A Node.js MCP server and CLI for English and Chinese web search. Agent Search MCP starts without an API key. It returns compact multi-source evidence, records provider failures, and bounds work with request and evidence budgets. Paid providers run only when policy and credentials allow. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Repository | https://github.com/lennney/agent-search-mcp | | GitHub stars | 110 | | License | Apache-2.0 | | Language | TypeScript | | Transport | stdio | | Packages | npm: agent-search-mcp | | Remote URL | none | | Needs API key | no | | Official | no | | Works with | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code | | Category | AI & search | | Latest release | v3.2.1 (Aug 11, 2026) | | Last commit | Sep 16, 2026 | | MCP registry name | io.github.lennney/agent-search-mcp | ## Install ### Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json) ```json { "mcpServers": { "agent-search-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "agent-search-mcp" ], "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-value", "TAVILY_API_KEY": "your-value", "EXA_API_KEY": "your-value", "YDC_API_KEY": "your-value", "TENCENT_WSA_API_KEY": "your-value", "BOCHA_API_KEY": "your-value" } } } } ``` Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards. ### Claude Code ```sh claude mcp add --env BRAVE_API_KEY=your-value --env TAVILY_API_KEY=your-value --env EXA_API_KEY=your-value --env YDC_API_KEY=your-value --env TENCENT_WSA_API_KEY=your-value --env BOCHA_API_KEY=your-value --transport stdio agent-search-mcp -- npx -y agent-search-mcp ``` ### Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json) ```json { "mcpServers": { "agent-search-mcp": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "agent-search-mcp" ], "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "your-value", "TAVILY_API_KEY": "your-value", "EXA_API_KEY": "your-value", "YDC_API_KEY": "your-value", "TENCENT_WSA_API_KEY": "your-value", "BOCHA_API_KEY": "your-value" } } } } ``` Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project. ### VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json) ```json { "inputs": [ { "type": "promptString", "id": "brave_api_key", "description": "BRAVE_API_KEY", "password": true }, { "type": "promptString", "id": "tavily_api_key", "description": "TAVILY_API_KEY", "password": true }, { "type": "promptString", "id": "exa_api_key", "description": "EXA_API_KEY", "password": true }, { "type": "promptString", "id": "ydc_api_key", "description": "YDC_API_KEY", "password": true }, { "type": "promptString", "id": "tencent_wsa_api_key", "description": "TENCENT_WSA_API_KEY", "password": true }, { "type": "promptString", "id": "bocha_api_key", "description": "BOCHA_API_KEY", "password": true } ], "servers": { "agent-search-mcp": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "agent-search-mcp" ], "env": { "BRAVE_API_KEY": "${input:brave_api_key}", "TAVILY_API_KEY": "${input:tavily_api_key}", "EXA_API_KEY": "${input:exa_api_key}", "YDC_API_KEY": "${input:ydc_api_key}", "TENCENT_WSA_API_KEY": "${input:tencent_wsa_api_key}", "BOCHA_API_KEY": "${input:bocha_api_key}" } } } } ``` Config formats checked against the official docs on 2026-10-07. ## Environment variables - `BRAVE_API_KEY` (secret): Brave Search API key (optional, enables Brave engine) - `TAVILY_API_KEY` (secret): Tavily Search API key (optional, enables Tavily engine) - `EXA_API_KEY` (secret): Exa Search API key (optional, enables Exa engine) - `YDC_API_KEY` (secret): You.com Search API key (optional, enables You.com engine) - `TENCENT_WSA_API_KEY` (secret): Tencent Web Search API key (optional, enables Tencent WSA engine) - `BOCHA_API_KEY` (secret): Bocha Web Search API key (optional, enables Bocha engine) - `SERPER_API_KEY` (secret): Serper API key (optional, enables Google SERP search) - `SEARCH_PROVIDER_MODE`: Provider policy: freefirst, qualityescalation, paidfirst, or freeonly - `PAID_ENGINE_ORDER`: Comma-separated optional-provider preference order ## Tools - `free_search`: Multi-engine Web Search with bounded fallback - `free_search_advanced`: Filtered waterfall search and optional enrichment - `free_extract`: Extract a URL as clean Markdown - `fetch_github_readme`: Fetch a public GitHub repository README - `fetch_csdn_article`: Fetch a CSDN article - `fetch_juejin_article`: Fetch a Juejin article - `search_with_synthesis`: Search evidence with an LLM synthesis hint ## Similar MCP servers - [Context7](https://appsgit.com/mcp-servers/context7): Up-to-date code docs for any prompt. 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