io.github.zoharbabin/google-researcher

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# Google Researcher MCP Server

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> Professional research tools for AI assistants - Google Search, web scraping, academic papers, patents, and more

## Features

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `google_search` | Web search with site, date, and language filters |
| `google_news_search` | News search with freshness controls |
| `google_image_search` | Image search with type, size, color filters |
| `scrape_page` | Extract content from web pages, PDFs, DOCX |
| `search_and_scrape` | Combined search + content extraction |
| `academic_search` | Papers from arXiv, PubMed, IEEE, Springer |
| `patent_search` | Patent search with assignee/inventor filters |
| YouTube | Automatic transcript extraction |
| `sequential_search` | Multi-step research tracking |

## Use Cases

- **Research Assistants**: Enable Claude to search the web and synthesize information
- **Content Creation**: Gather sources, citations, and supporting evidence
- **Academic Research**: Find papers, extract citations, track research progress
- **Competitive Intelligence**: Patent searches, company research, market analysis
- **News Monitoring**: Track breaking news, industry updates, specific sources
- **Technical Documentation**: Extract content from docs, tutorials, and references

## Comparison with Alternatives

| Feature | Google Researcher | Basic Web Search | Manual Research |
|---------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|
| Web Search | Yes | Yes | No |
| News Search | Yes | No | No |
| Image Search | Yes | No | No |
| Academic Papers | Yes | No | Yes |
| Patent Search | Yes | No | Yes |
| YouTube Transcripts | Yes | No | No |
| PDF Extraction | Yes | No | No |
| Citation Generation | Yes | No | Yes |
| Response Caching | Yes (30min) | No | N/A |
| Rate Limiting | Yes | No | N/A |

---

This is a [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) server that enables AI assistants like Claude, GPT, and other LLMs to:

- **Search the web** via Google (general, images, news)
- **Read any webpage** including JavaScript-rendered sites
- **Extract YouTube transcripts** automatically
- **Parse documents** (PDF, DOCX, PPTX)

Built for production use with caching, quality scoring, and enterprise security.

## Quick Start

### Claude Desktop (macOS)

Add to `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-researcher": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "google-researcher-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ID": "YOUR_SEARCH_ID_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Claude Desktop (Windows)

Add to `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-researcher": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "google-researcher-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ID": "YOUR_SEARCH_ID_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### One-Click Install (MCPB)

Download the latest `.mcpb` bundle from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/zoharbabin/google-researcher-mcp/releases) and double-click to install in Claude Desktop. You'll be prompted to enter your Google API credentials.

### Claude Code

Add to `~/.claude.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "google-researcher": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "google-researcher-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "GOOGLE_CUSTOM_SEARCH_ID": "YOUR_SEARCH_ID_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Cline / Roo Code

Use the same JSON configuration above in your MCP settings.

**Need API keys?** See the [API Setup Guide](docs/API_SETUP.md) for step-by-step instructions to get your Google API credentials.

### Local Development

```bash
git clone https://github.com/zoharbabin/google-researcher-mcp.git && cd google-researcher-mcp
npm install && npx playwright install chromium
cp .env.example .env   # Then add your Google API keys to .env
npm run dev            # Server is now running on STDIO transport
```

> **Note:** This starts the server in STDIO mo