How to Add Free Web Search to Claude Desktop with MCP (No API Key)

Description and use

Add free web search to Claude Desktop via a local AgentSearch MCP server without an API key.

Problem

Add a free web search capability to Claude Desktop without requiring an API key or signup.

Outcome

The setup enables free web searches in Claude Desktop with up to 25 searches/day per IP, no API key, and no signup, while also providing extract and render capabilities for paid usage.

Workflow

• Open claude_desktop_config.json via Settings > Developer > Edit Config or directly at the OS‑specific path.
• Add an mcpServers entry for agentsearch with command "npx" and args ["-y","@agentsearchhq/agentsearch-mcp"].
• Validate the JSON with python3 -m json.tool.
• Restart Claude Desktop fully.
• Verify the server and tools appear under Connectors in the chat UI.
• Use the agentsearch_web_search tool in a chat to perform searches, then optionally use agentsearch_extract or agentsearch_render for full page content.

Evidence

Claude Desktop can work with your files and apps through MCP servers, but a local server is what gives it a web search tool you control.

Source

Free tier: up to 25 searches/day per IP, no key needed (shared daily capacity; paid calls have no cap).

Source

We ran @agentsearchhq/agentsearch-mcp 1.3.6 (npm latest) on Linux with Node.js 24 over raw stdio to list its tools, then loaded the exact config above with the official MCP TypeScript SDK client, which started the server through npx and ran a real free search.

Source

You should see five tools under agentsearch: agentsearch_web_search, agentsearch_extract, agentsearch_render, agentsearch_review_lookup, agentsearch_review_submit.

Source