Best MCP Servers for Search (2026)

A data-ranked shortlist of the 12 strongest MCP servers for search — every entry links to its full page with copy-paste configs for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and Windsurf. List compiled 2026-10-28; rankings refresh as the underlying data updates.

How entries are picked: An entry is eligible only if it meets at least one of: 10+ GitHub stars, 100+ monthly npm/PyPI downloads, or a verified official/reference tier on its brand page; entries meeting none of the three are excluded, as are archived repositories. Eligible entries are ranked by a score built from: GitHub stars — multiplied by 10 when the entry has a verified official/reference tier, so official status counts as ten times the community traction rather than a flat bonus; maintenance recency (last push); and npm/PyPI downloads where available. Two tie-break rules keep the list honest: when the same repository is shared by several listings, its star count does not contribute to ranking (the shared figure would otherwise swamp independent projects), and when several implementations share a product name, only the highest-scoring one is listed — the others stay in the directory. Data comes from the public MCP Registry (description, install method), GitHub repository stats and package download counts — no editorial scoring, no paid inclusion, and sponsorship never affects these lists.

MCP official reference implementations

These entries sit outside the ranking: they are the Model Context Protocol steering group's own reference implementations for this scenario. They are not scored, they do not affect the order below, and archived ones are marked as such with a maintained alternative where one exists.

Brave SearchArchived upstreamSource on GitHub ↗
Listed under archived servers in the steering group's README, which notes Brave Search was replaced by an official server.
Maintained alternative: Brave Search MCP Server (published by Brave) ↗ — Brave's own implementation, published under the brave namespace in the registry. Page in this directory

Exa

Officialby exa-labs

Neural web search built for AI — semantic search, company and people research, and deep content retrieval.

⭐ 5,139 starsLast push: 2026-10-07License: MITRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add exa -- npx -y exa-mcp-server

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Perplexity

Officialby ppl-ai

The official MCP server implementation for the Perplexity API Platform

⭐ 2,577 starsLast push: 2026-10-17License: MITRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add perplexity -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Tavily

Officialby tavily-ai

Advanced web search, extraction and crawling API tuned for LLM agents and RAG pipelines.

⭐ 2,437 starsLast push: 2026-10-15License: MITRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tavily": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "tavily-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add tavily -- npx -y tavily-mcp@latest

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tavily": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "tavily-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "tavily": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "tavily-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tavily": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "tavily-mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Zotero MCP

by 54yyyu

Search, read, annotate, and add to your Zotero research library, local or web.

⭐ 5,448 starsLast push: 2026-10-16License: MIT20,314/mo downloadsRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ZOTERO_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env ZOTERO_API_KEY=<YOUR_ZOTERO_API_KEY> zotero-mcp -- uvx zotero-mcp-server

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ZOTERO_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ZOTERO_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ZOTERO_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Keys / environment: ZOTERO_API_KEY

Arxiv Mcp Server

by blazickjp

Search arXiv papers, download full text, semantic search, citation graphs, and alerts via MCP.

⭐ 3,222 starsLast push: 2026-10-08License: Apache-2.054,236/mo downloadsRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "arxiv-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add arxiv-mcp-server -- uvx arxiv-mcp-server

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "arxiv-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "arxiv-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "arxiv-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Tooluniverse

by mims-harvard

2,700+ scientific tools for AI scientists: life science, research, literature, and more.

⭐ 1,745 starsLast push: 2026-10-17License: Apache-2.040,535/mo downloadsRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tooluniverse": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tooluniverse"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY>",
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY>",
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY>",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "HF_TOKEN": "<YOUR_HF_TOKEN>",
        "NCBI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NCBI_API_KEY>",
        "SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY> --env ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=<YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY> --env GEMINI_API_KEY=<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY> --env OPENROUTER_API_KEY=<YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY> --env AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY> --env HF_TOKEN=<YOUR_HF_TOKEN> --env NCBI_API_KEY=<YOUR_NCBI_API_KEY> --env SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY=<YOUR_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY> tooluniverse -- uvx tooluniverse

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tooluniverse": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tooluniverse"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY>",
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY>",
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY>",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "HF_TOKEN": "<YOUR_HF_TOKEN>",
        "NCBI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NCBI_API_KEY>",
        "SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "tooluniverse": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tooluniverse"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY>",
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY>",
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY>",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "HF_TOKEN": "<YOUR_HF_TOKEN>",
        "NCBI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NCBI_API_KEY>",
        "SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tooluniverse": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tooluniverse"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "<YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY>",
        "GEMINI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY>",
        "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY>",
        "AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY>",
        "HF_TOKEN": "<YOUR_HF_TOKEN>",
        "NCBI_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NCBI_API_KEY>",
        "SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Keys / environment: OPENAI_API_KEY · ANTHROPIC_API_KEY · GEMINI_API_KEY · OPENROUTER_API_KEY · AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY · HF_TOKEN · NCBI_API_KEY · SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY

Brave Search Mcp Server

by brave

Brave Search MCP Server: web results, images, videos, rich results, AI summaries, and more.

⭐ 1,507 starsLast push: 2026-10-17License: MITRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env BRAVE_API_KEY=<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY> brave-search-mcp-server -- npx -y @brave/brave-search-mcp-server

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "brave-search-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Keys / environment: BRAVE_API_KEY

Mcp Serp

by AceDataCloud

MCP server for Google search results via SERP API

⭐ 1 starsLast push: 2026-10-12License: MIT3,792/mo downloadsRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-serp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-serp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN=<YOUR_ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN> mcp-serp -- uvx mcp-serp

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-serp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-serp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "mcp-serp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-serp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-serp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-serp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN": "<YOUR_ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Keys / environment: ACEDATACLOUD_API_TOKEN

Openzim Mcp

by cameronrye

Offline MCP access to ZIM knowledge archives — Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Stack Exchange, Kiwix.

⭐ 145 starsLast push: 2026-10-17License: MIT1,496/mo downloadsRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openzim-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "openzim-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add openzim-mcp -- uvx openzim-mcp

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openzim-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "openzim-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "openzim-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "openzim-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openzim-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "openzim-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

#10

CLIO Arxiv

by iowarp

Search arXiv by topic, author, title or date, read paper details, and export BibTeX or PDFs.

Shared repository (15 listings)Last push: 2026-10-08License: BSD-3-Clause2,681/mo downloadsRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-iowarp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "clio-kit"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add arxiv-mcp-iowarp -- uvx clio-kit

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-iowarp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "clio-kit"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-iowarp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "clio-kit"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arxiv-mcp-iowarp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "clio-kit"
      ]
    }
  }
}

#11

Tinysearch

by TinySuiteHQ

Fast discovery search and self-hosted web research for MCP agents.

⭐ 234 starsLast push: 2026-10-08License: MIT507/mo downloadsRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tinysearch-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tinysuite-search"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add tinysearch-2 -- uvx tinysuite-search

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tinysearch-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tinysuite-search"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "tinysearch-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tinysuite-search"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tinysearch-2": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "tinysuite-search"
      ]
    }
  }
}

#12

SearXNG Search

by ihor-sokoliuk

MCP server for SearXNG — privacy-respecting web search with pagination, URL reading

⭐ 1,315 starsLast push: 2026-10-13License: MITRepository ↗Full page & details →

Install with your client

Claude Desktopconfig JSON

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-searxng": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "<YOUR_SEARXNG_URL>",
        "AUTH_USERNAME": "<YOUR_AUTH_USERNAME>",
        "AUTH_PASSWORD": "<YOUR_AUTH_PASSWORD>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude CodeCLI command

Claude Code

claude mcp add --env SEARXNG_URL=<YOUR_SEARXNG_URL> --env AUTH_USERNAME=<YOUR_AUTH_USERNAME> --env AUTH_PASSWORD=<YOUR_AUTH_PASSWORD> mcp-searxng -- npx -y mcp-searxng

Cursorconfig JSON

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-searxng": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "<YOUR_SEARXNG_URL>",
        "AUTH_USERNAME": "<YOUR_AUTH_USERNAME>",
        "AUTH_PASSWORD": "<YOUR_AUTH_PASSWORD>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Codeconfig JSON

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "mcp-searxng": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "<YOUR_SEARXNG_URL>",
        "AUTH_USERNAME": "<YOUR_AUTH_USERNAME>",
        "AUTH_PASSWORD": "<YOUR_AUTH_PASSWORD>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windsurfconfig JSON

Windsurf

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-searxng": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "<YOUR_SEARXNG_URL>",
        "AUTH_USERNAME": "<YOUR_AUTH_USERNAME>",
        "AUTH_PASSWORD": "<YOUR_AUTH_PASSWORD>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Keys / environment: SEARXNG_URL · AUTH_USERNAME · AUTH_PASSWORD

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