Serper Search MCP

Serper Search MCP

Serper provides Google search results through a simple API, making it perfect for giving AI models access to current web information. The Serper MCP integration enables Jan models to search the web and retrieve real-time information.

Available Tools

• google_search: Search Google and retrieve results with snippets
• scrape: Extract content from specific web pages

Prerequisites

• Jan with experimental features enabled
• Serper API key from serper.dev
• Model with tool calling support (recommended: Jan v1)

Tip

Serper offers 2,500 free searches upon signup - enough for extensive testing and personal use.

Setup

Enable Experimental Features

1. Go to Settings > General
2. Toggle Experimental Features ON

Enable MCP

1. Go to Settings > MCP Servers
2. Toggle Allow All MCP Tool Permission ON

Get Serper API Key

1. Visit serper.dev
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Copy your API key from the playground

Configure MCP Server

Click + in MCP Servers section:

Configuration:

• Server Name: serper
• Command: npx
• Arguments: -y serper-search-scrape-mcp-server
• Environment Variables:
  • Key: SERPER_API_KEY, Value: your-api-key

Download Jan v1

Jan v1 is optimized for tool calling and works excellently with Serper:

1. Go to the Hub tab
2. Search for Jan v1
3. Choose your preferred quantization
4. Click Download

Enable Tool Calling

1. Go to Settings > Model Providers > Llama.cpp
2. Find Jan v1 in your models list
3. Click the edit icon
4. Toggle Tools ON

Usage

Start a New Chat

With Jan v1 selected, you’ll see the available Serper tools:

Example Queries

Current Information:

What are the latest developments in quantum computing this week?

Comparative Analysis:

What are the main differences between the Rust programming language and C++? Be spicy, hot takes are encouraged. 😌

Research Tasks:

Find the current stock price of NVIDIA and recent news about their AI chips.

Fact-Checking:

Is it true that the James Webb telescope found signs of life on an exoplanet? What's the latest?

Local Information:

What restaurants opened in San Francisco this month? Focus on Japanese cuisine.

How It Works

1. Query Processing: Jan v1 analyzes your question and determines what to search
2. Web Search: Calls Serper API to get Google search results
3. Content Extraction: Can scrape specific pages for detailed information
4. Synthesis: Combines search results into a comprehensive answer

Tips for Best Results

• Be specific: “Tesla Model 3 2024 price Australia” works better than “Tesla price”
• Request recent info: Add “latest”, “current”, or “2024/2025” to get recent results
• Ask follow-ups: Jan v1 maintains context for deeper research
• Combine with analysis: Ask for comparisons, summaries, or insights

Troubleshooting

No search results:

• Verify API key is correct
• Check remaining credits at serper.dev
• Ensure MCP server shows as active

Tools not appearing:

• Confirm experimental features are enabled
• Verify tool calling is enabled for your model
• Restart Jan after configuration changes

Poor search quality:

• Use more specific search terms
• Try rephrasing your question
• Check if Serper service is operational

Caution

Each search query consumes one API credit. Monitor usage at serper.dev dashboard.

API Limits

• Free tier: 2,500 searches
• Paid plans: Starting at $50/month for 50,000 searches
• Rate limits: 100 requests per second

Next Steps

Serper MCP enables Jan v1 to access current web information, making it a powerful research assistant. Combine with other MCP tools for even more capabilities - use Serper for search, then E2B for data analysis, or Jupyter for visualization.