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MiniMax Web Search MCP Server Setup for OpenClaw

MiniMax Web Search MCP Server Setup for OpenClaw

Prerequisites

  1. MiniMax API key — Get from https://platform.minimax.io/
  2. uv/uvx installed — Python package runner from Astral
  3. bun installed — Fast JavaScript runtime

Step 1: Install uv (if not already installed)

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Verify:

which uvx
# Should output: /root/.local/bin/uvx (or similar)

Step 2: Install mcporter (MCP CLI tool)

bun install -g mcporter

Verify:

mcporter --help

Step 3: Add MiniMax MCP server to mcporter config

mcporter config add minimax-coding-plan-mcp \
  --command uvx \
  --arg minimax-coding-plan-mcp \
  --env MINIMAX_API_KEY="YOUR_MINIMAX_API_KEY_HERE" \
  --env MINIMAX_API_HOST="https://api.minimax.io" \
  --description "MiniMax Coding Plan MCP Server for web search"

Replace YOUR_MINIMAX_API_KEY_HERE with your actual MiniMax API key.

Step 4: Verify the MCP server works

mcporter list minimax-coding-plan-mcp --schema

Should show:

minimax-coding-plan-mcp - MiniMax Coding Plan MCP Server for web search

  /**
   * You MUST use this tool whenever you need to search for real-time...
   */
mcporter call minimax-coding-plan-mcp.web_search query="openclaw ai agent"

Should return JSON with organic results array.

Step 6: Add to agent’s TOOLS.md

Add this to your agent’s workspace TOOLS.md so it knows to use web search:

## Web Search (MiniMax via MCP)

Use MiniMax web search for real-time information, current events, or anything requiring up-to-date data.

**Command:**
\`\`\`bash
mcporter call minimax-coding-plan-mcp.web_search query="your search"
\`\`\`

**Parameters (optional):**
- `count` — number of results
- `freshness` — `day`, `week`, `month`, `year`
- `date_after` — YYYY-MM-DD format
- `date_before` — YYYY-MM-DD format
- `country` — 2-letter code (e.g., "US")
- `language` — ISO 639-1 code (e.g., "en")

**When to use:**
- Current events, news, recent developments
- Product comparisons, reviews, pricing
- Looking up documentation or APIs
- Research tasks requiring fresh data

**Return format:**
Each result includes:
- `title` — Page title
- `link` — Full URL
- `snippet` — Brief excerpt
- `date` — Publication date (when available)

Config File Location

The mcporter config is stored at:

<workspace>/config/mcporter.json

Example contents:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "minimax-coding-plan-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["minimax-coding-plan-mcp"],
      "description": "MiniMax Coding Plan MCP Server for web search",
      "env": {
        "MINIMAX_API_KEY": "sk-cp-xxx...",
        "MINIMAX_API_HOST": "https://api.minimax.io"
      }
    }
  },
  "imports": []
}

Quick One-Liner Setup

For a fresh OpenClaw agent workspace:

# Install uv
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Install mcporter
bun install -g mcporter

# Add MiniMax MCP server (replace API key)
mcporter config add minimax-coding-plan-mcp \
  --command uvx \
  --arg minimax-coding-plan-mcp \
  --env MINIMAX_API_KEY="YOUR_KEY" \
  --env MINIMAX_API_HOST="https://api.minimax.io"

# Test
mcporter call minimax-coding-plan-mcp.web_search query="test"

Example Usage

# Basic search
mcporter call minimax-coding-plan-mcp.web_search query="ai personal assistants"

# With date filter (last week)
mcporter call minimax-coding-plan-mcp.web_search query="openai news" freshness="week"

# With country filter
mcporter call minimax-coding-plan-mcp.web_search query="weather" country="US"

Troubleshooting

Error: MINIMAX_API_KEY environment variable is required

  • Make sure you passed --env MINIMAX_API_KEY="..." when adding the server
  • Or re-add with: mcporter config add ... (it will update existing)

Error: MINIMAX_API_HOST environment variable is required

  • Make sure you passed --env MINIMAX_API_HOST="https://api.minimax.io"

No results returned