> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://veryfront.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Brave Search

> Search the web, news, and images with the privacy-focused Brave Search API, including local business and point-of-interest lookups

## At a glance

* **Availability**: Experimental ([how to enable](/cloud/integrations)).
* **Auth**: API key.
* **Connection**: The key from `BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY` is sent as the `X-Subscription-Token` header.
* **Docs**: [https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation)

## Credentials

Set these per environment. See [Connect an integration](/cloud/integrations).

| Variable               | Required | Description                                                                                                         |
| ---------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `BRAVE_SEARCH_API_KEY` | Yes      | Brave Search API subscription token from the API dashboard [Docs](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/keys). |

## Setup

1. **Create an API account**: Go to [https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com) and register (separate from a regular Brave account). Adding a payment method is required to activate a subscription.
2. **Choose a plan and get credits**: Pick a plan in the dashboard. The API is credit-based - you purchase request credits rather than getting a permanent free tier; new accounts may receive a small trial credit.
3. **Create an API key**: Open [https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/keys](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/keys) and generate a subscription token for your plan.
4. **Store the key**: Add it to your .env file as BRAVE\_SEARCH\_API\_KEY=...
5. **Verify access**: Run the Web Search tool with a simple query. A 401 means the token is invalid or sent in the wrong header (it must be X-Subscription-Token, not Authorization); a 429 means you exceeded your plan's rate limit.

* The API is credit/usage-based with no permanent free tier - monitor remaining credits in the dashboard
* The API key goes in the X-Subscription-Token header; Authorization: Bearer will be rejected
* Some endpoints (e.g. Local/POI details) are only available on higher-tier (Pro) plans
* Web Search pagination is limited: count max 20 per request, offset max 9

Provider API reference: [https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation](https://api-dashboard.search.brave.com/app/documentation)

## Tools

| Tool                   | Access | Description                                                                                                                                          |
| ---------------------- | ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Web Search             | Read   | Search the web and get ranked results from Brave's independent index                                                                                 |
| News Search            | Read   | Search recent and historical news articles from trusted outlets worldwide                                                                            |
| Image Search           | Read   | Search Brave's image index and get image URLs with source page metadata                                                                              |
| Video Search           | Read   | Search for videos and get results with titles, creators, durations, and thumbnails                                                                   |
| Get Local Descriptions | Read   | Get AI-generated text descriptions for up to 20 locations using location IDs returned in a Web Search response's locations results                   |
| Get Local Places       | Read   | Get rich details (address, hours, ratings, pictures) for up to 20 locations using location IDs returned in a Web Search response's locations results |

## Example prompts

* Search the web with Brave for a topic I provide and summarize the top results with links.
* Search Brave News for the latest articles on a topic I provide and give me a short briefing.
* Search Brave for a type of business near a location I provide and show details for the top matches.