SerpApi MCP Server
Official SerpApi MCP server: the agent gets results from Google, Bing, YouTube, Amazon and other engines as JSON or Markdown
Install
claude mcp add --transport http serpapi https://mcp.serpapi.com/YOUR_SERPAPI_API_KEY/mcpReplace YOUR_SERPAPI_API_KEY with your key.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
The server gives the agent a single search tool that calls any SerpApi engine: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, YouTube, eBay, Google Scholar and more. Each engine's parameters are exposed as MCP resources, so the agent can look up which fields to pass. Results come back as full or compact JSON, or as Markdown that uses fewer tokens. For clients that support MCP Apps there are tools that render results as a table or a dashboard.
Who it is for. For people whose agent needs web search through a stable search results API.
Good fit when
- The agent needs fresh Google or Bing results
- You need results from marketplaces, app stores or Google Scholar
- You want to check where a site or competitors rank
Not a fit when
- You need Yandex results for Russian regions
- You have no paid or trial SerpApi key
Example request
Search Google Scholar for recent papers on retrieval augmented generation and return a Markdown listLimitations
Requires a SerpApi key and each request uses your plan quota. In the hosted setup the key is part of the URL, so the URL must stay private. Self-hosting needs Python 3.13 and uv. Access to SerpApi from Russia without a VPN is not verified.
How to disable. Run claude mcp remove serpapi or delete the serpapi block from the client config.
MCP
- Transport
- http, stdio
- Authentication
- API key
| Environment variables | |
|---|---|
| SERPAPI_API_KEY required, secret | SerpApi key for the local stdio run |
Security check
- Sends queries to an external paid API
- The API key can leak along with the server URL
README in short
The README starts with connecting to the hosted mcp.serpapi.com server and ready commands for Claude Code, Codex and other clients. It then covers self-hosting, the Claude Desktop extension bundle and two ways to pass the key. The search tool section shows sample requests for different engines. MIT licensed.
FAQ
Can I avoid putting the key in the URL?
Yes, the hosted server accepts the key in an Authorization: Bearer header.
Is there a local option?
Yes: run from source with uv, or install the .mcpb bundle for Claude Desktop, which uses stdio.
Related
CLI, skill and Python library for browser control: the agent clicks, fills forms and reads pages over CDP
A skill that gathers the last 30 days of discussion on a topic from Reddit, X, YouTube, HN, Polymarket and GitHub into one brief
The Chrome DevTools team's official MCP server: the agent drives a live Chrome, reads network and console, and records performance traces
A fast Rust CLI for agent browser automation: accessibility snapshots with element refs, an MCP server and skills