Web Researcher MCP

Name: Web Researcher MCP
Author: zoharbabin

@zoharbabin

About Web Researcher MCP

Your AI research assistant that cites real sources and stays honest. Search the entire web or narrow it down to just the sites you trust; medical journals, court databases, news outlets, academic papers. Analyze the full source, not just snippets. Links that work, citations you c

#web-search #research #citations #academic #patents #news #scraping #privacy

Basic information

Config

Add this server to your MCP-compatible client using the configuration below.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web-researcher": {
      "command": "web-researcher-mcp",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY": "<YOUR_KEY>",
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ID": "<YOUR_CX>",
        "SEARCH_PROVIDER": "google"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

General web search with optional search lenses for domain-focused results

Extract content from any URL -- web pages, PDFs, DOCX, PPTX, YouTube transcripts (3-strategy fallback)

Combined search + extraction pipeline with quality scoring and deduplication

Search for images with size, type, color, and file format filters

Search news sources with freshness controls and source filtering

Search peer-reviewed papers across arXiv, PubMed, IEEE, Nature, Springer, and other scholarly databases

Search patent databases with CPC classification, strict office filtering (US/EP/WO/JP/CN/KR)

Multi-step research tracking with session state for iterative investigation

Overview

What is Web Researcher MCP?

Web Researcher MCP is a production-grade MCP server that gives AI assistants the ability to search the web, extract content, and conduct multi-source research. It works with any MCP-compatible client such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Cursor.

How to use Web Researcher MCP?

Install via Go (go install github.com/zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp/cmd/web-researcher-mcp@latest), download a prebuilt binary, run a Docker container, or build from source. Then configure search provider credentials (e.g., Google, Brave) in environment variables and add the server to your MCP client configuration (e.g., ~/.claude/settings.json).

Key features of Web Researcher MCP

Multiple specialized research tools in a single server
Pluggable search backends with multi-provider routing and automatic fallback
4-tier content extraction (markdown, stealth HTTP, HTML, headless browser)
Search lenses for domain-focused research (programming, news, legal, medical)
Single static binary with optional Chromium for JS rendering
Enterprise-ready: OAuth 2.1, multi-tenancy, rate limiting, audit logging

Use cases of Web Researcher MCP

General web search with domain-focused search lenses
Extract content from URLs including PDFs, DOCX, PPTX, and YouTube transcripts
Combined search and extraction pipeline with quality scoring and deduplication
Image and news search with filters and freshness controls
Academic and patent search across scholarly databases and patent offices

FAQ from Web Researcher MCP

Which search providers are supported?

Google, Brave, Serper, SearXNG, and SearchAPI.io. Multi-provider routing with automatic fallback is available.

Do I need a Google API key?

Only if Google is your search provider. You can set SEARCH_ROUTING to use Brave, Serper, or other providers without Google keys.

Does it work with any MCP client?

Yes, it works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client over STDIO or HTTP/SSE transport.

What are the runtime requirements?

The server is a single static Go binary. For JavaScript-rendered pages, Chromium is auto-downloaded on first use.

Is there a Docker image?

Yes, available on Docker Hub (docker.io/zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp) and GitHub Container Registry (ghcr.io/zoharbabin/web-researcher-mcp).

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