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securityF
license-
qualityAn MCP server that integrates real-time web search capabilities into AI assistants using the Exa API, providing both basic and advanced search functionality with formatted markdown results.
Last updated -
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Exa MCP Server 🔍
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server lets AI assistants like Claude use the Exa AI Search API for web searches. This setup allows AI models to get real-time web information in a safe and controlled way.
Remote Exa MCP 🌐
Connect directly to Exa's hosted MCP server (instead of running it locally).
Remote Exa MCP URL
https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey=your-exa-api-key
Replace your-api-key-here with your actual Exa API key from dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys.
Claude Desktop Configuration for Remote MCP
Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration file:
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey=your-exa-api-key"
]
}
}
}
NPM Installation
npm install -g exa-mcp-server
Using Claude Code
claude mcp add exa -e EXA_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY -- npx -y exa-mcp-server
Using Smithery
To install the Exa MCP server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install exa --client claude
Configuration ⚙️
1. Configure Claude Desktop to recognize the Exa MCP server
You can find claude_desktop_config.json inside the settings of Claude Desktop app:
Open the Claude Desktop app and enable Developer Mode from the top-left menu bar.
Once enabled, open Settings (also from the top-left menu bar) and navigate to the Developer Option, where you'll find the Edit Config button. Clicking it will open the claude_desktop_config.json file, allowing you to make the necessary edits.
OR (if you want to open claude_desktop_config.json from terminal)
For macOS:
Open your Claude Desktop configuration:
code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
For Windows:
Open your Claude Desktop configuration:
code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
2. Add the Exa server configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "exa-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}
Replace your-api-key-here with your actual Exa API key from dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys.
3. Available Tools & Tool Selection
The Exa MCP server includes the following tools, which can be enabled by adding the --tools:
web_search_exa: Performs real-time web searches with optimized results and content extraction.
company_research: Comprehensive company research tool that crawls company websites to gather detailed information about businesses.
crawling: Extracts content from specific URLs, useful for reading articles, PDFs, or any web page when you have the exact URL.
linkedin_search: Search LinkedIn for companies and people using Exa AI. Simply include company names, person names, or specific LinkedIn URLs in your query.
deep_researcher_start: Start a smart AI researcher for complex questions. The AI will search the web, read many sources, and think deeply about your question to create a detailed research report.
deep_researcher_check: Check if your research is ready and get the results. Use this after starting a research task to see if it's done and get your comprehensive report.
You can choose which tools to enable by adding the --tools parameter to your Claude Desktop configuration:
Specify which tools to enable:
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"exa-mcp-server",
"--tools=web_search_exa,company_research,crawling,linkedin_search,deep_researcher_start,deep_researcher_check"
],
"env": {
"EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}
For enabling multiple tools, use a comma-separated list:
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"exa-mcp-server",
"--tools=web_search_exa,company_research,crawling,linkedin_search,deep_researcher_start,deep_researcher_check"
],
"env": {
"EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}
If you don't specify any tools, all tools enabled by default will be used.
4. Restart Claude Desktop
For the changes to take effect:
Completely quit Claude Desktop (not just close the window)
Start Claude Desktop again
Look for the icon to verify the Exa server is connected
Using via NPX
If you prefer to run the server directly, you can use npx:
# Run with all tools enabled by default
npx exa-mcp-server
# Enable specific tools only
npx exa-mcp-server --tools=web_search_exa
# Enable multiple tools
npx exa-mcp-server --tools=web_search_exa,company_research
# List all available tools
npx exa-mcp-server --list-tools
Troubleshooting 🔧
Common Issues
Server Not Found
Verify the npm link is correctly set up
Check Claude Desktop configuration syntax (json file)
API Key Issues
Confirm your EXA_API_KEY is valid
Check the EXA_API_KEY is correctly set in the Claude Desktop config
Verify no spaces or quotes around the API key
Connection Issues
Restart Claude Desktop completely
Check Claude Desktop logs:
Built with ❤️ by team Exa
hybrid server
The server is able to function both locally and remotely, depending on the configuration or use case.
Tools
Enables AI assistants to perform real-time web searches, company research, content crawling, LinkedIn searches, and deep research using the Exa AI Search API. Provides comprehensive web information retrieval capabilities in a safe and controlled manner.
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