spring-ai-examples/model-context-protocol/brave-chatbot/README.md

Spring AI - Model Context Protocol (MCP) Brave Search Chatbot

This example demonstrates how to build an interactive chatbot that combines Spring AI's Model Context Protocol (MCP) with the Brave Search MCP Server. The application creates a conversational interface powered by Anthropic's Claude AI model that can perform internet searches through Brave Search, enabling natural language interactions with real-time web data.

Prerequisites

• Java 17 or higher
• Maven 3.6+
• npx package manager
• Anthropic API key (Claude)
• Brave Search API key (Get one at https://brave.com/search/api/)

Setup

1. Install npx (Node Package eXecute): First, make sure to install npm and then run:

   npm install -g npx
   

2. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai-examples.git
   cd model-context-protocol/brave-chatbot
   

3. Set up your API keys:

   export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='your-anthropic-api-key-here'
   export BRAVE_API_KEY='your-brave-api-key-here'
   

4. Build the application:

   ./mvnw clean install
   

Running the Application

Run the application using Maven:

./mvnw spring-boot:run

The application will start an interactive chat session where you can ask questions. The chatbot will use Brave Search when it needs to find information from the internet to answer your queries.

How it Works

The application integrates Spring AI with the Brave Search MCP server through several components:

MCP Client Configuration

1. Required dependencies in pom.xml:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.ai</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-ai-mcp-spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.ai</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-ai-anthropic-spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
</dependency>

2. Application properties (application.properties):

spring.ai.mcp.client.stdio.enabled=true
spring.ai.mcp.client.stdio.servers-configuration=classpath:/mcp-servers-config.json
spring.ai.anthropic.api-key=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}

3. MCP Server Configuration (mcp-servers-config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"
      ],
      "env": {
        "BRAVE_API_KEY": "${BRAVE_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Chat Implementation

The chatbot is implemented using Spring AI's ChatClient with MCP tool integration:

var chatClient = chatClientBuilder
    .defaultSystem("You are a useful assistant, expert in AI and Java.")
    .defaultTools((Object[]) mcpToolAdapter.toolCallbacks())
    .defaultAdvisors(new MessageChatMemoryAdvisor(new InMemoryChatMemory()))
    .build();

Key features:

• Uses Claude AI model for natural language understanding
• Integrates Brave Search through MCP for real-time web search capabilities
• Maintains conversation memory using InMemoryChatMemory
• Runs as an interactive command-line application

The chatbot can:

• Answer questions using its built-in knowledge
• Perform web searches when needed using Brave Search
• Remember context from previous messages in the conversation
• Combine information from multiple sources to provide comprehensive answers