| name | brave-api-search |
| description | Real-time web search, autosuggest, and AI-powered answers using the official Brave Search API. Use for searching documentation, facts, current events, or any web content. Supports AI grounded answers with citations and query autosuggest. Requires BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY and BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY. |
Brave API Search
Real-time web search, autosuggest, and AI-powered answers using the official Brave Search API. Three tools:
brave_search — web results with titles, URLs, descriptions, optional AI summarybrave_suggest — query autosuggestions as users type with optional rich metadatabrave_answers — AI-grounded answers with inline citations powered by live web search
Setup
Set your Brave API keys in a local .env file (recommended):
BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY=your_key_here
BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY=your_key_here
Or export them in your shell session if needed.
Get your keys at: https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com
Both keys can be the same if your plan supports both Search and AI Answers endpoints.
Note: brave_search and brave_suggest use BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY. brave_answers requires BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY.
Note: This skill explicitly requires BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY and BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY. It does not use a generic BRAVE_API_KEY fallback.
When to Use This Skill
Use brave_search when:
- Searching for current information, news, or recent events
- Looking up documentation or technical references
- Need ranked results with URLs to follow up on
- Want an AI summary of search results
Use brave_suggest when:
- Power autocomplete in search interfaces
- Help users formulate better queries faster
- Need query completions as users type
- Want rich metadata (titles, descriptions, images) for suggestions
Use brave_answers when:
- Need a synthesized answer with cited sources
- Researching topics that benefit from multiple sources
- Want AI-grounded responses with inline citations
- Deep research mode needed (multi-search)
Don't use this skill for:
- Questions already answered from context or memory
- Tasks that don't require external information
Tools
brave_search
Web search returning ranked results with titles, URLs, and descriptions.
brave_search(query="latest Node.js release", count=5)
brave_search(query="TypeScript generics", extra_snippets=true)
brave_search(query="current weather Copenhagen", freshness="pd")
brave_search(query="React Server Components", summary=true)
Parameters:
query (required) — Search query, supports operators: site:, "exact phrase", -excludecount — Results to return (1-20, default: 10)country — 2-letter country code (default: us)freshness — Date filter: pd (24h), pw (7 days), pm (31 days), py (1 year)extra_snippets — Include up to 5 extra text excerpts per result (default: false)summary — Fetch Brave AI summarizer result (default: false)
Returns: Formatted list of results with title, URL, description, and optional AI summary.
brave_suggest
Query autosuggest API providing intelligent query autocompletion as users type.
brave_suggest(query="hello")
brave_suggest(query="pyt", count=5, country="US")
brave_suggest(query="einstein", rich=true)
Parameters:
query (required) — Partial query to get suggestions forcount — Number of suggestions (1-10, default: 5)country — 2-letter country code (default: US)rich — Include enhanced metadata: titles, descriptions, images, entity detection (default: false, requires paid plan)
Returns: List of query suggestions, optionally with rich metadata.
Best Practices:
- Implement debouncing (150-300ms) to avoid excessive API calls as users type
- Load suggestions asynchronously without blocking the UI
brave_answers
AI-powered answers grounded in live web search with inline citations.
brave_answers(query="How does React Server Components work?")
brave_answers(query="Compare Postgres vs MySQL for OLAP", enable_research=true)
brave_answers(query="Latest Python release notes", enable_citations=true)
Parameters:
query (required) — Question or topic to researchenable_citations — Include inline source citations (default: true)enable_research — Multi-search deep research mode (default: false)country — Target country for search context (default: us)
Returns: AI answer with cited sources extracted from the response, plus token usage.
Pricing & Limits
Brave pricing is credit-based and can change. Do not assume a fixed free request count.
Current public guidance (verify in Brave dashboard/docs before production use):
- Monthly trial credits may be offered (e.g.
$5 in monthly credits)
- Search and Answers consume credits differently
- Rich suggestions require a paid Autosuggest plan
- Answers may also include token-based costs
- QPS limits depend on your plan tier
Always check your live limits and usage in:
Security & Packaging Notes
- This skill only calls Brave official endpoints under
https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1.
- It requires exactly two env vars:
BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY and BRAVE_ANSWERS_API_KEY (keep them in .env, not inline in commands/chats).
- It does not request persistent/system privileges and does not modify system config.
- It is source-file based (three local Node scripts), with no external install/download step.
API vs Web Scraping
This skill uses the official Brave Search API — not web scraping. Benefits:
- Reliable, structured JSON responses
- Rate limit headers and proper error messages
- Access to AI summarizer, AI answers, and autosuggest endpoints
- Terms of service compliant
