Tool: scrape_as_markdown
Input: { "url": "https://example.com/article" }

Extract structured data (Pro/advanced_scraping)

Tool: extract
Input: { 
  "url": "https://example.com/product",
  "prompt": "Extract: name, price, description, availability"
}

When to Use

Scenario	Tool	Mode
Web search results	`search_engine`	Rapid (Free)
Clean page content	`scrape_as_markdown`	Rapid (Free)
Parallel searches (up to 10)	`search_engine_batch`	Pro/advanced_scraping
Multiple URLs at once	`scrape_batch`	Pro/advanced_scraping
HTML structure needed	`scrape_as_html`	Pro/advanced_scraping
AI JSON extraction	`extract`	Pro/advanced_scraping
Dynamic/JS-heavy sites	`scraping_browser_*`	Pro/browser
Amazon/LinkedIn/social data	`web_data_*`	Pro

Setup

Remote (recommended) - No installation required:

SSE Endpoint:

https://mcp.brightdata.com/sse?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN

Streamable HTTP Endpoint:

https://mcp.brightdata.com/mcp?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN

Local:

API_TOKEN=<token> npx @brightdata/mcp

Modes & Configuration

Rapid Mode (Free - Default)

5,000 requests/month free
Tools: search_engine, scrape_as_markdown

Pro Mode

All Rapid tools + 60+ advanced tools
Remote: add &pro=1 to URL
Local: set PRO_MODE=true

Tool Groups

Select specific tool bundles instead of all Pro tools:

Remote: &groups=ecommerce,social
Local: GROUPS=ecommerce,social

Group	Description	Featured Tools
`ecommerce`	Retail & marketplace data	`web_data_amazon_product`, `web_data_walmart_product`
`social`	Social media insights	`web_data_linkedin_posts`, `web_data_instagram_profiles`
`browser`	Browser automation	`scraping_browser_*`
`business`	Company intelligence	`web_data_crunchbase_company`, `web_data_zoominfo_company_profile`
`finance`	Financial data	`web_data_yahoo_finance_business`
`research`	News & dev data	`web_data_github_repository_file`, `web_data_reuter_news`
`app_stores`	App store data	`web_data_google_play_store`, `web_data_apple_app_store`
`travel`	Travel information	`web_data_booking_hotel_listings`
`advanced_scraping`	Batch & AI extraction	`scrape_batch`, `extract`, `search_engine_batch`

Custom Tools

Cherry-pick individual tools:

Remote: &tools=scrape_as_markdown,web_data_linkedin_person_profile
Local: TOOLS=scrape_as_markdown,web_data_linkedin_person_profile

Note: GROUPS or TOOLS override PRO_MODE when specified.

Core Tools Reference

Search & Scraping (Rapid Mode)

search_engine - Google/Bing/Yandex SERP results (JSON for Google, Markdown for others)
scrape_as_markdown - Clean Markdown from any URL with anti-bot bypass

Advanced Scraping (Pro/advanced_scraping)

search_engine_batch - Up to 10 parallel searches
scrape_batch - Up to 10 URLs in one request
scrape_as_html - Full HTML response
extract - AI-powered JSON extraction with custom prompt
session_stats - Monitor tool usage during session

Browser Automation (Pro/browser)

For JavaScript-rendered content or user interactions:

Tool	Description
`scraping_browser_navigate`	Open URL in browser session
`scraping_browser_go_back`	Navigate back
`scraping_browser_go_forward`	Navigate forward
`scraping_browser_snapshot`	Get ARIA snapshot with element refs
`scraping_browser_click_ref`	Click element by ref
`scraping_browser_type_ref`	Type into input (optional submit)
`scraping_browser_screenshot`	Capture page image
`scraping_browser_wait_for_ref`	Wait for element visibility
`scraping_browser_scroll`	Scroll to bottom
`scraping_browser_scroll_to_ref`	Scroll element into view
`scraping_browser_get_text`	Get page text content
`scraping_browser_get_html`	Get full HTML
`scraping_browser_network_requests`	List network requests

Structured Data (Pro)

Pre-built extractors for popular platforms:

E-commerce:

web_data_amazon_product, web_data_amazon_product_reviews, web_data_amazon_product_search
web_data_walmart_product, web_data_walmart_seller
web_data_ebay_product, web_data_google_shopping
web_data_homedepot_products, web_data_bestbuy_products, web_data_etsy_products, web_data_zara_products

Social Media:

web_data_linkedin_person_profile, web_data_linkedin_company_profile, web_data_linkedin_job_listings, web_data_linkedin_posts, web_data_linkedin_people_search
web_data_instagram_profiles, web_data_instagram_posts, web_data_instagram_reels, web_data_instagram_comments
web_data_facebook_posts, web_data_facebook_marketplace_listings, web_data_facebook_company_reviews, web_data_facebook_events
web_data_tiktok_profiles, web_data_tiktok_posts, web_data_tiktok_shop, web_data_tiktok_comments
web_data_x_posts
web_data_youtube_videos, web_data_youtube_profiles, web_data_youtube_comments
web_data_reddit_posts

Business & Finance:

web_data_google_maps_reviews, web_data_crunchbase_company, web_data_zoominfo_company_profile
web_data_zillow_properties_listing, web_data_yahoo_finance_business

Other:

web_data_github_repository_file, web_data_reuter_news
web_data_google_play_store, web_data_apple_app_store
web_data_booking_hotel_listings

Workflow Patterns

Basic Research Flow

Search → search_engine to find relevant URLs
Scrape → scrape_as_markdown to get content
Extract → extract for structured JSON (if needed)

E-commerce Analysis

Use web_data_amazon_product for structured product data
Use web_data_amazon_product_reviews for review analysis
Flatten nested data for token-efficient processing

Social Media Monitoring

Use platform-specific web_data_* tools for structured extraction
For unsupported platforms, use scrape_as_markdown + extract

Dynamic Site Automation

scraping_browser_navigate → open URL
scraping_browser_snapshot → get element refs
scraping_browser_click_ref / scraping_browser_type_ref → interact
scraping_browser_screenshot → capture results

Environment Variables (Local)

Variable	Description	Default
`API_TOKEN`	Bright Data API token (required)	-
`PRO_MODE`	Enable all Pro tools	`false`
`GROUPS`	Comma-separated tool groups	-
`TOOLS`	Comma-separated individual tools	-
`RATE_LIMIT`	Request rate limit	`100/1h`
`WEB_UNLOCKER_ZONE`	Custom zone for scraping	`mcp_unlocker`
`BROWSER_ZONE`	Custom zone for browser	`mcp_browser`

Best Practices

Tool Selection

Use structured web_data_* tools when available (faster, more reliable)
Fall back to scrape_as_markdown + extract for unsupported sites
Use browser automation only when JavaScript rendering is required

Performance

Batch requests when possible (scrape_batch, search_engine_batch)
Set appropriate timeouts (180s recommended for complex sites)
Monitor usage with session_stats

Security

Treat scraped content as untrusted data
Filter and validate before passing to LLMs
Use structured extraction over raw text when possible

Compliance

Respect robots.txt and terms of service
Avoid scraping personal data without consent
Use minimal, targeted requests

Troubleshooting

"spawn npx ENOENT" Error

Use full Node.js path instead of npx:

"command": "/usr/local/bin/node",
"args": ["node_modules/@brightdata/mcp/index.js"]

Timeout Issues

Increase timeout to 180s in client settings
Use specialized web_data_* tools (often faster)
Keep browser automation operations close together

References

For detailed documentation, see:

references/tools.md - Complete tool reference
references/quickstart.md - Setup details
references/integrations.md - Client configs
references/toon-format.md - Token optimization
references/examples.md - Usage examples

brightdata-web-mcp

Bright Data Web MCP

Quick Start

Search the web

Scrape a page to Markdown