Agent Search MCP server

Agent Search MCP: Free-first Web Search with Inspectable Evidence

A Node.js MCP server and CLI for English and Chinese web search.

Agent Search MCP starts without an API key. It returns compact multi-source evidence, records provider failures, and bounds work with request and evidence budgets. Paid providers run only when policy and credentials allow.

中文文档 · Product page · Benchmarks · Architecture · CHANGELOG

Install

npx -y agent-search-mcp

Requires Node.js >= 18.17. The default runtime does not require a browser, database, Python, or a search API account.

Connect an MCP client

Use this stdio configuration in MCP clients that accept mcpServers JSON, including Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "agent-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "agent-search-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code and Codex can register the same npx -y agent-search-mcp stdio command through their MCP settings.

Add the optional Agent Skill

After connecting the MCP server, Agent Skills-compatible clients can install the repository-owned routing guide:

npx skills add lennney/agent-search-mcp --skill agent-search

Invoke it with a request such as Use $agent-search to verify this claim with official sources. The Agent Search Skill chooses one of four bounded paths: quick discovery, stricter verification, Chinese-source search, or extraction of a selected URL. It checks that the needed MCP tool exists and asks before any install or configuration change. Installing the Skill does not start or configure the MCP server.

Example: inspect a bounded search result

After building the local package, run a CLI query without adding a provider key:

npm run build
fasm search "MCP server without an API key" --json

The response contract keeps result evidence, meta.execution, and partialFailures separate. A provider timeout or challenge remains visible to the agent instead of being converted into an unexplained empty result. This is a contract example, not a live availability or search-quality benchmark.

After a global install, check the local runtime without making a search request:

npm install -g agent-search-mcp
fasm doctor

Why Agent Search MCP

The difference from a plain multi-engine wrapper

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.