# mcp-bright-data

Bright Data MCP — Bright Data Web Unlocker + SERP API (brightdata.com)

Part of [Pipeworx](https://pipeworx.io) — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1856+ live data sources. This is an independent, unofficial integration — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the upstream provider.

## Tools

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `brightdata_unlock` | Fetch any URL through Bright Data Web Unlocker — rotating residential proxies with automatic anti-bot bypass and CAPTCHA solving, built for the hardest-to-scrape sites (Cloudflare, PerimeterX, Akamai fronted). Returns the page content with status and length; large pages are truncated. Calls proxy the fetch synchronously and can take 10-30 seconds. BYOK: Bright Data API token via _apiKey + a Web Unlocker zone configured in your dashboard (first zone is auto-named "web_unlocker1"); pay-per-request pricing on the Bright Data side. Example: brightdata_unlock({ url: "https://example.com", _apiKey: "your-brightdata-token" }) |
| `brightdata_serp` | Run a Google search through the Bright Data SERP API and return parsed organic results (rank, title, link, description) with geo-targeting. Uses the same Bright Data request API with a SERP-type zone — create a SERP API zone in your Bright Data dashboard and pass its name as `zone` (Web Unlocker zones return raw HTML for Google). BYOK: Bright Data API token via _apiKey; pay-per-request pricing on the Bright Data side. Example: brightdata_serp({ query: "best espresso machine", zone: "serp_api1", country: "us", _apiKey: "your-brightdata-token" }) |

## Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bright-data": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/bright-data/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### What this endpoint actually serves

`tools/list` at `https://gateway.pipeworx.io/bright-data/mcp` returns the tools in the table
above **plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools** — `ask_pipeworx`,
`discover_tools`, `search_within`, `remember`/`recall` and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's `initialize` response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
`ask_pipeworx`, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed
directly, instead of just this one's:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1856+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed **directly**; `ask_pipeworx`
reaches all of them from either one.

## No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

This pack takes your own API key (`_apiKey`) — we don't front one for it, so there's no curl here that would run without it. Inspect any tool: `GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/brightdata_unlock`. Find one: `POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs` with `{"query":"..."}`.

## Run it from npm

`@pipeworx/mcp-bright-data` is a local stdio bridge to the Pipeworx gateway: your MCP client
starts it with `npx`, and it forwards every call to the same
`https://gateway.pipeworx.io/bright-data/mcp` endpoint shown above. It needs network access;
there is no offline mode.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bright-data": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-bright-data"]
    }
  }
}
```

Without a key it calls anonymously, capped at 50 calls a day. A free account
raises that to 200 a day: get a key at https://pipeworx.io/signup and add
`"env": { "PIPEWORX_API_KEY": "<your key>" }` to the server entry.
The key is sent as a Bearer token, the same way a hosted connection sends it,
so calls are metered and billed exactly as they are there.

It lists **only** this pack's tools by default. Set `PIPEWORX_META_TOOLS=1` to
also list `ask_pipeworx` and the other gateway-wide tools.

Behind an HTTPS proxy: Node's built-in `fetch` does not read `HTTPS_PROXY` by
default. Newer Node releases honour it when `NODE_USE_ENV_PROXY=1` is set; check
your Node version's documentation.

## Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English —
this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

```
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Bright Data data" })
```

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

## More

- [Docs and guides](https://pipeworx.io/docs)
- [pipeworx.io](https://pipeworx.io)

## License

MIT