mcp-server-rag-web-browser

MCP.Pizza Chef: apify

Apify has retired this one and points people to its hosted service at mcp.apify.com instead; the repository is archived and read-only. What remains is straightforward: a single search tool that either runs a Google query and returns the top results as clean readable text, or fetches one web address you name. It only reads. It cannot fill in forms, sign into sites, or change anything. You need an Apify account token, and heavy use draws down that account's monthly credit balance.

Archived ยท Apify archived it, recommends its hosted mcp.apify.com service
Web/Research

Use This MCP server To

Search Google and get the top results as readable text Pull the full text of a news article I link Gather background on a company before a meeting Compare what several sites say about a product Read a documentation page my assistant cannot otherwise open

README

MCP Server for the RAG Web Browser Actor ๐ŸŒ

Implementation of an MCP server for the RAG Web Browser Actor. This Actor serves as a web browser for large language models (LLMs) and RAG pipelines, similar to a web search in ChatGPT.

This MCP server is deprecated in favor of mcp.apify.com

For the same functionality and much more, please use one of these alternatives:

๐Ÿš€ Recommended: use mcp.apify.com

The easiest way to get the same web browsing capabilities is to use mcp.apify.com with default settings.

Benefits:

  • โœ… No local setup required
  • โœ… Always up-to-date
  • โœ… Access to 6,000+ Apify Actors (including RAG Web Browser)
  • โœ… OAuth support for easy connection
  • โœ… Dynamic tool discovery

Quick Setup:

  1. Go to https://mcp.apify.com
  2. Authorize the client (Claude, VS Code, etc.)
  3. Copy the generated MCP server configuration (or use OAuth flow if supported)
  4. Start using browsing & other tools immediately

๐ŸŒ Alternative: direct RAG Web Browser integration

You can also call the RAG Web Browser Actor directly via its HTTP/SSE interface.

Benefits:

  • โœ… Direct integration without mcp.apify.com
  • โœ… Real-time streaming via Server-Sent Events
  • โœ… Full control over the integration
  • โœ… No additional dependencies

Docs: Actor Documentation


๐ŸŽฏ What does this MCP server do?

This server is specifically designed to provide fast responses to AI agents and LLMs, allowing them to interact with the web and extract information from web pages. It runs locally and communicates with the RAG Web Browser Actor in Standby mode, sending search queries and receiving extracted web content in response.

  • Web Search: Query Google Search, scrape top N URLs, and return cleaned content as Markdown
  • Single URL Fetching: Fetch a specific URL and return its content as Markdown
  • Local MCP Integration: Standard input/output (stdio) communication with AI clients

๐Ÿงฑ Components

Tools

  • name: search description: Query Google Search OR fetch a direct URL and return cleaned page contents. arguments:
    • query (string, required): Search keywords or a full URL. Advanced Google operators supported.
    • maxResults (number, optional, default: 1): Max organic results to fetch (ignored when query is a URL).
    • scrapingTool (string, optional, default: raw-http): One of browser-playwright | raw-http.
      • raw-http: Fast (no JS execution) โ€“ good for static pages.
      • browser-playwright: Handles JS-heavy sites โ€“ slower, more robust.
    • outputFormats (array of strings, optional, default: [markdown]): One or more of text, markdown, html.
    • requestTimeoutSecs (number, optional, default: 40, min 1 max 300): Total server-side AND client wait budget. A local abort is enforced.

๐Ÿ”„ Migration Guide

From Local MCP Server to mcp.apify.com

Before (Deprecated local server):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rag-web-browser": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@apify/mcp-server-rag-web-browser"],
      "env": {
        "APIFY_TOKEN": "your-apify-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

After (Recommended Apify server):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@apify/actors-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "APIFY_TOKEN": "your-apify-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or use the hosted endpoint: https://mcp.apify.com (when your client supports HTTP transport / remote MCP).

MCP clients

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Development

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (v18 or higher)
  • Apify API Token (APIFY_TOKEN)

Clone & install:

git clone https://github.com/apify/mcp-server-rag-web-browser.git
cd mcp-server-rag-web-browser
npm install

Build

npm install
npm run build

Debugging

Since MCP servers operate over standard input/output (stdio), debugging can be challenging. For the best debugging experience, use the MCP Inspector.

You can launch the MCP Inspector via npm with this command:

export APIFY_TOKEN=your-apify-api-token
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js

Upon launching, the Inspector will display a URL that you can access in your browser to begin debugging.

๐Ÿ“– Learn more

This repository is maintained for archival purposes only. Please use the recommended alternatives above for active development.

mcp-server-rag-web-browser FAQ

Is this project still maintained?
No. Apify archived the repository and now recommends its hosted service at mcp.apify.com, which covers the same web browsing and a great deal more.
Do I need an account or a token?
Yes, an Apify account token. Apify is a paid platform with a free monthly credit allowance, so a lot of searching can start costing money.
Can I use this to research a topic and get sources?
Yes. It searches Google and hands back the cleaned-up text of the top pages, so your assistant can quote and cite them.
Can it sign into sites or fill in forms for me?
No. Its one tool only reads public pages. It cannot click, type, or change anything on a website.
Which apps does it work in?
Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other tools that read a small config file. Setup means pasting a few lines and adding your Apify token.
How much can it actually do?
One thing. There is a single search tool that accepts either search words or a web address, and nothing else.