OpenAI WebSearch MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides web search capabilities using OpenAI's web search tool.

Features

This MCP server provides three specialized search tools:

🔍 General Web Search (web_search)

• For non-technical queries, current events, and general knowledge
• Optimizes for relevance and timeliness across diverse sources
• Balances authoritative information with emerging perspectives

💻 Developer Web Search (dev_web_search)

• Specialized for software development, debugging, and technical research
• Optimized for finding programming solutions and technical documentation
• Covers API docs, best practices, security fixes, and implementation guides

🔧 Error Investigation Search (debug_error_search)

• Specialized for debugging errors and exceptions in code
• Intelligently processes error messages to find relevant solutions
• Handles build failures, dependency conflicts, runtime errors, and more

Installation

Claude Code Local Server Connection

• Understanding MCP server scopes

$ claude mcp add openai-websearch \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY=<OPENAI API KEY> \
  -- npx -y @garamon/openai-websearch-mcp openai-websearch

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openai-websearch": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "openai-websearch"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-openai-api-key-here",
        "OPENAI_MODEL": "o4-mini",
        "SEARCH_CONTEXT_SIZE": "medium",
        "REASONING_EFFORT": "medium",
        "REASONING_SUMMARY": "auto"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration

Required Environment Variables

• OPENAI_API_KEY - Your OpenAI API key (required)

Optional Environment Variables

• OPENAI_MODEL - The OpenAI model to use (default: o4-mini)
  • Note: As of July 2025, using the o3 model requires your organization to be verified. Please ensure your organization has completed verification before using this model.
• SEARCH_CONTEXT_SIZE - Default search context size: low, medium, or high (default: medium)
  • If not specified, default value will be used or appropriate context size will be determined based on the request
• REASONING_EFFORT - Default reasoning effort level: low, medium, or high (default: medium)
  • Note: As of July 2025, when using the o3 model, setting this to high may result in rate limit errors due to increased token usage.
• REASONING_SUMMARY - Default summary style: auto, concise, or detailed (default: auto)