Claude Desktop web search MCP setup

Where the config file lives

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Or open it from the app: Settings → Developer → Edit Config.

The JSON

Install the annolux-mcp binary first (see the MCP overview below), then add this block. Replace the key placeholder with a real key.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "annolux": {
      "command": "annolux-mcp",
      "env": {
        "ANNOLUX_API_URL": "https://api.annolux.com",
        "ANNOLUX_API_KEY": "ann_live_REPLACE_ME"
      }
    }
  }
}

MCP overview and server install

Use an absolute command path

GUI apps on macOS do not inherit your shell PATH. If the tool never appears, replace "annolux-mcp" in the command field with the absolute path — run `which annolux-mcp` in your terminal to find it, typically $HOME/go/bin/annolux-mcp.

Restart completely

Claude Desktop reads the config at startup. Quit the app fully — Quit from the menu bar on macOS or the tray icon on Windows, not just closing the window — then reopen it. search_web should appear in the tools menu of a new conversation.

If it does not show up

macOS logs: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/ — look at the mcp*.log files.
Windows logs: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs.
Test the server standalone: set the two env vars in a terminal and run annolux-mcp — it should start and wait on stdio.
JSON syntax errors make the whole file silently ignored — validate after editing.

Update or remove

To update, rerun go install with @latest — the config file needs no change. To remove, delete the annolux entry from mcpServers and restart fully. Other MCP servers in the same file are unaffected; the file stays valid as long as the JSON does.

Boundaries and credits

search_web queries a curated English and Chinese index — not realtime, not the whole web; an empty result is a normal outcome. Only a successful 2xx search costs one credit; errors and timeouts cost zero. New accounts start with 1,000 free credits.