Performs comprehensive web, news, and image searches using the Google Custom Search API, offering features like snippet-only lookups, full content extraction from results, and domain-specific filtering.
Integrates with the Google Custom Search JSON API to enable programmatic access to web search results and advanced content retrieval.
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Google Search MCP Serverdeep search for the latest news on generative AI breakthroughs"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Google Search MCP Server
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that performs comprehensive web searches using Google Custom Search JSON API with advanced content extraction using Mozilla's Readability algorithm.
Features
Three Search Modes:
google_search- Fast snippet-only search for quick lookupsdeep_search- Full content extraction with Readability algorithmdeep_search_news- News-optimized deep search
Google Custom Search API - Uses official Google Custom Search JSON API
Advanced Content Extraction - Uses Mozilla's Readability algorithm (same as Firefox Reader View) for clean article extraction
Multiple Search Types - Web search, news search, and image search
Domain Filtering - Include or exclude specific domains from results
Retry Logic - Automatic retries with exponential backoff for reliability
Controlled Concurrency - Fetches pages in batches to avoid overwhelming servers
Prerequisites
Get Google Custom Search API Credentials
Go to Google Cloud Console
Create a new project or select an existing one
Enable the "Custom Search API"
Go to "Credentials" and create an API key
Create a new search engine and get your Search Engine ID (CX)
You'll need:
GOOGLE_API_KEY- Your Google Cloud API keyGOOGLE_CX- Your Programmable Search Engine ID
Installation
Using npx (Recommended)
No installation needed - just configure your MCP client:
Global Installation
Then configure:
Tools
google_search
Simple Google search for quick lookups. Returns snippets only without fetching full page content.
Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
| string | required | The search query |
| number | 10 | Number of results (1-10) |
Example:
deep_search
Comprehensive web search with full content extraction.
Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
| string | required | The search query |
| number | 10 | Number of results (1-10) |
| number | 50000 | Max characters per page (5000-100000) |
| string | "web" | Search type: "web", "news", or "images" |
| string | - | Comma-separated domains to include |
| string | - | Comma-separated domains to exclude |
Examples:
deep_search_news
Convenience wrapper for news search. Equivalent to calling deep_search with search_type: "news" and optimized content limits.
Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
| string | required | The news topic to search |
| number | 10 | Number of articles (1-10) |
| number | 30000 | Max characters per article |
Example:
Configuration
Kiro
Add to ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json:
Claude Desktop
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
How It Works
Search - Queries Google Custom Search API to get top results
Fetch - Downloads each result page with retry logic
Extract - Uses Mozilla Readability to extract clean article content
Format - Returns consolidated markdown with full content from each page
Requirements
Node.js 18+
Google Cloud API key with Custom Search API enabled
Programmable Search Engine ID (CX)
License
MIT
Author
Contributing
Issues and PRs welcome at GitHub