Best web search & scraping MCP server for Claude Code, tested

Dated results

• Open-WebSearch passed in Claude Code on 2026-10-21 (Claude Code 2.1.296, open-websearch 2.2.0, connected in 7.3s). Full result
• Fetch (reference) passed in Claude Code on 2026-10-19 (Claude Code 2.1.296, mcp-server-fetch 2026.10.19 (pinned in the command we ran), connect time not recorded). Full result
• Reddit MCP Buddy partial in Claude Code on 2026-10-15 (Claude Code 2.1.296, server reported v1.1.14, connect time not recorded). Full result
• MarkItDown MCP (Microsoft) failed in Claude Code on 2026-10-21 (Claude Code 2.1.296, markitdown-mcp 0.0.1a8, connected in 3.0s). Full result
• DuckDuckGo search failed in Claude Code on 2026-10-13 (Claude Code 2.1.296, package version not recorded, connect time not recorded). Full result

Why Open-WebSearch is the candidate

Open-WebSearch passed every step in Claude Code. It is the group’s site-wide candidate (judged 2026-10-21): The only server that passed both standard tasks (a live web search and reading a page) in both Claude Code and Cursor, with no API key. Runner-up Fetch passed page reading in both but has no search. DuckDuckGo passed in Cursor but in Claude Code its page reader dropped the page heading; MarkItDown dropped it in both clients. Keyed servers (Brave, Exa, Firecrawl) aren't tested. On Oct 14 Open-WebSearch also passed both tasks in Claude Desktop and in ChatGPT (Codex) (Codex needed a 60 s server start timeout on a cold npx start). MarkItDown failed again in both. Confirmed Oct 21, 2026: a second run passed both tasks again in all 4 clients (open-websearch 2.2.0).

Provisional: based on one dated run per app (no repeat runs yet), so treat it as a candidate, not a final pick. How we test.

What failed or is partial in Claude Code

• MarkItDown MCP (Microsoft): failed on 2026-10-21. Recorded reason: no tool result containing ['Example Domain']
• DuckDuckGo search: failed on 2026-10-13. Recorded reason: answer missing ['Example Domain']; no tool result containing ['Example Domain']

Partial: Reddit MCP Buddy. Some steps verified; this is not a pass.

Install in Claude Code

The exact snippet we tested is on the Open-WebSearch page (pick the Claude Code tab). Not connecting? Claude Code MCP troubleshooting.

Not tested in Claude Code yet

Apify MCP, Bright Data MCP, Pomerado, SerpApi MCP, Firecrawl MCP, Exa MCP, Tavily MCP, Brave Search MCP, Jina AI MCP, Kagi Search MCP, Xquik, Scrapling, Jevcrawl, Crawl4AI, Xiaohongshu (RedNote) MCP, wigolo, Google Search Console MCP, Open SEO MCP + Skills, designlang (design-extract), FlexQueries, AgentWeb, Awwwards MCP. Listed from their source; no result in Claude Code yet.

Questions

What is the best web search & scraping MCP server for Claude Code?

In ToolPassed's hands-on tests in Claude Code, Open-WebSearch is our provisional candidate for web search & scraping: it passed install, connect, tools and an agent task on 2026-10-21. We ran 5 web search & scraping MCP servers in Claude Code; 2 passed every step; not a pass: Reddit MCP Buddy (partial), MarkItDown MCP (Microsoft) (failed), DuckDuckGo search (failed).

Does Open-WebSearch work with Claude Code?

Open-WebSearch passed in Claude Code on 2026-10-21 (Claude Code 2.1.296, open-websearch 2.2.0, connected in 7.3s).

Does MarkItDown MCP (Microsoft) work with Claude Code?

No, not in our test: MarkItDown MCP (Microsoft) failed in Claude Code on 2026-10-21 (Claude Code 2.1.296, markitdown-mcp 0.0.1a8, connected in 3.0s). Recorded reason: no tool result containing ['Example Domain']

Does DuckDuckGo search work with Claude Code?

No, not in our test: DuckDuckGo search failed in Claude Code on 2026-10-13 (Claude Code 2.1.296, package version not recorded, connect time not recorded). Recorded reason: answer missing ['Example Domain']; no tool result containing ['Example Domain']