VS Code Brave Search brave_web_search
How to: VS Code Brave Search brave_web_search
Add Brave Search to VS Code
-
01
Open .vscode/mcp.json and merge this in. Keep any servers already there.
{
"inputs": [
{
"type": "promptString",
"id": "brave-api-key",
"description": "BRAVE_API_KEY",
"password": true
}
],
"servers": {
"brave-search": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"BRAVE_API_KEY": "${input:brave-api-key}"
}
}
}
}-
02
Save the file and restart VS Code.
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03
Ask for something brave_web_search does. VS Code lists the server's tools on connect and calls brave_web_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.
VS Code prompts for each input the first time the server starts, so no secret is written to the file. VS Code docs
Set these first
Brave Search will not start until these are set, so brave_web_search never becomes available.
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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.