Claude Desktop Brave Search brave_image_search
How to: Claude Desktop Brave Search brave_image_search
Add Brave Search to Claude Desktop
-
01
Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and merge this in. Keep any servers already there.
{
"mcpServers": {
"brave-search": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"BRAVE_API_KEY": "<BRAVE_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}-
02
Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.
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03
Ask for something brave_image_search does. Claude Desktop lists the server's tools on connect and calls brave_image_search itself — you do not invoke it by name.
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04
If nothing happens, check the server is running and that Brave Search's identifier in your config matches the one above exactly.
Settings → Developer → Edit Config opens this file. Restart the app after saving. Claude Desktop docs
Set these first
Brave Search will not start until these are set, so brave_image_search never becomes available.
-
BRAVE_API_KEY
Same tool, other clients
Mutating and Read-only are read off each tool's name, not its schema — a hint, not a guarantee. The registry stores tool names only; connect the server for its live schemas.