Brave · VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
Add the Brave Search MCP server to VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
Web, image, video and news results plus AI summaries from Brave's independent index.
1. Add the server
Run in your terminal
code --add-mcp '{"name":"brave-search","command":"npx","args":["-y","@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"],"env":{"BRAVE_API_KEY":"<your BRAVE_API_KEY>"}}'2. Sign in
VS Code opens the sign-in flow when Copilot first calls a remote OAuth server. Brave Search runs locally and needs BRAVE_API_KEY. Replace the placeholder values above with your own before starting VS Code (GitHub Copilot).
3. Try it
Ask VS Code (GitHub Copilot) for something Brave Search can do. Web, image, video and news results plus AI summaries from Brave's independent index. Approve the first tool call and check the result before allowing write actions automatically.
- · mcp.json uses a top-level servers key, not mcpServers.
- · code --add-mcp installs a server into your user profile from the terminal.
FAQ
- How do I add the Brave Search MCP server to VS Code (GitHub Copilot)?
- Run: code --add-mcp '{"name":"brave-search","command":"npx","args":["-y","@brave/brave-search-mcp-server"],"env":{"BRAVE_API_KEY":"<your BRAVE_API_KEY>"}}'. VS Code opens the sign-in flow when Copilot first calls a remote OAuth server.
- Is this the official Brave Search MCP server?
- Yes. It is published by Brave as io.github.brave/brave-search-mcp-server in the official MCP registry.
- Does the Brave Search MCP server need an API key?
- Yes. It runs locally and requires BRAVE_API_KEY.
Links
Brave Search in other clients
More web search & scraping for VS Code (GitHub Copilot)
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Reviewed Oct 5, 2026. Command generated from the registry record and checked against VS Code (GitHub Copilot)'s documented syntax.