Web Search Plus MCP Server

Multi-provider web search MCP server with intelligent auto-routing.

README.md

🔍 web-search-plus-mcp

Multi-provider web search MCP server with intelligent auto-routing.

A Model Context Protocol server that gives AI assistants access to 7 search providers with intelligent auto-routing. Analyzes query intent and picks the best provider automatically — no manual switching needed. Install, configure your keys, and go.

✨ Features

  • Intelligent auto-routing — analyzes query intent and picks the best provider automatically
  • 7 search providers — use one or all, graceful fallback if any key is missing
  • Zero install option — run instantly with uvx web-search-plus-mcp
  • MCP-native — works with Claude Desktop, NanoBot, and any MCP-compatible host

🔎 Supported Providers

Provider Best for Free tier
Serper (Google) Facts, news, shopping, local businesses 2,500 queries/month
Tavily Deep research, analysis, explanations 1,000 queries/month
Querit Multi-lingual AI search with rich metadata and real-time info 1,000 queries/month
Exa (Neural) Semantic discovery, finding similar content 1,000 queries/month
Perplexity AI-synthesized answers with citations Via API key
You.com Real-time RAG, LLM-ready snippets Limited free tier
SearXNG Privacy-first, self-hosted, $0 cost Free (self-hosted)

🧠 Auto-Routing Examples

Query Routed to Why
"iPhone 16 Pro price" Serper Shopping intent detected
"how does TCP/IP work" Tavily Research/explanation intent
"latest multilingual EV market updates" Querit Real-time AI search
"companies like Stripe" Exa Discovery/semantic intent
"what is quantum computing" Perplexity Direct answer intent

🚀 Quick Start

# Run instantly with uvx (no install needed)
uvx web-search-plus-mcp

# Or install globally with pip
pip install web-search-plus-mcp
web-search-plus-mcp

⚙️ Claude Desktop Config

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web-search-plus": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["web-search-plus-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SERPER_API_KEY": "your_serper_key",
        "TAVILY_API_KEY": "your_tavily_key",
        "QUERIT_API_KEY": "your_querit_key",
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your_exa_key",
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your_perplexity_key",
        "YOU_API_KEY": "your_you_key",
        "SEARXNG_BASE_URL": "https://your-searxng-instance.example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

🤖 NanoBot Config

Add to your NanoBot config.json under mcp_servers:

{
  "mcp_servers": [
    {
      "name": "web-search-plus",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["web-search-plus-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SERPER_API_KEY": "your_serper_key",
        "TAVILY_API_KEY": "your_tavily_key",
        "QUERIT_API_KEY": "your_querit_key",
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your_exa_key",
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your_perplexity_key",
        "YOU_API_KEY": "your_you_key",
        "SEARXNG_BASE_URL": "https://your-searxng-instance.example.com"
      }
    }
  ]
}

🔑 Environment Variables

Variable Provider Sign up
SERPER_API_KEY Serper (Google) console.serper.dev
TAVILY_API_KEY Tavily tavily.com
QUERIT_API_KEY Querit querit.ai
EXA_API_KEY Exa exa.ai
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY Perplexity docs.perplexity.ai
YOU_API_KEY You.com you.com/api
SEARXNG_BASE_URL SearXNG (self-hosted) docs.searxng.org

At least one provider is required. More providers = better routing coverage. SearXNG needs no API key — just point SEARXNG_BASE_URL at your self-hosted instance.

You can also drop a .env file next to the server:

SERPER_API_KEY=xxx
TAVILY_API_KEY=xxx
QUERIT_API_KEY=xxx
EXA_API_KEY=xxx
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=xxx
YOU_API_KEY=xxx
SEARXNG_BASE_URL=https://your-searxng-instance.example.com

🛠 Tool Reference

`web_search`

Parameter Type Default Description
query string required

Tools 1

web_searchPerforms a web search using an intelligently routed provider based on query intent.

Environment Variables

SERPER_API_KEYAPI key for Serper (Google) search provider
TAVILY_API_KEYAPI key for Tavily search provider
QUERIT_API_KEYAPI key for Querit search provider
EXA_API_KEYAPI key for Exa search provider
PERPLEXITY_API_KEYAPI key for Perplexity search provider
YOU_API_KEYAPI key for You.com search provider
SEARXNG_BASE_URLBase URL for self-hosted SearXNG instance

Try it

Search for the current price of the iPhone 16 Pro.
Explain how TCP/IP works using deep research.
Find the latest multilingual updates for the EV market.
List companies similar to Stripe for my market analysis.
What is quantum computing and how does it work?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key features of Web Search Plus?

Intelligent auto-routing based on query intent. Support for 7 different search providers. Graceful fallback if specific API keys are missing. MCP-native compatibility with Claude Desktop and other hosts. Zero-install execution via uvx.

What can I use Web Search Plus for?

Performing deep research using Tavily for comprehensive explanations. Checking real-time shopping prices and local business info via Serper. Discovering similar content or companies using Exa's semantic search. Synthesizing answers with citations using Perplexity. Conducting privacy-focused searches via a self-hosted SearXNG instance.

How do I install Web Search Plus?

Install Web Search Plus by running: uvx web-search-plus-mcp

What MCP clients work with Web Search Plus?

Web Search Plus works with any MCP-compatible client including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and other editors with MCP support.

Turn this server into reusable context

Keep Web Search Plus docs, env vars, and workflow notes in Conare so your agent carries them across sessions.

Open Conare