Perplexity API Platform MCP Server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| PORT | No | HTTP server port for self-hosted HTTP mode. | 8080 |
| HTTP_PROXY | No | Standard HTTP proxy environment variable. | |
| HTTPS_PROXY | No | Standard HTTPS proxy environment variable. | |
| BIND_ADDRESS | No | Network interface to bind to. Set to 0.0.0.0 to expose on all interfaces. | 127.0.0.1 |
| ALLOWED_HOSTS | No | Additional Host header values to accept (comma-separated). Loopback hosts on PORT are always allowed. Add the public hostname when binding to 0.0.0.0. | |
| ALLOWED_ORIGINS | No | CORS origins (comma-separated). Defaults to empty (no cross-origin browser requests). Set to an explicit allowlist or to * to allow any origin. | |
| PERPLEXITY_PROXY | No | Proxy URL for corporate networks, e.g., https://your-proxy-host:8080. The server checks PERPLEXITY_PROXY, then HTTPS_PROXY, then HTTP_PROXY. | |
| PERPLEXITY_API_KEY | Yes | Your Perplexity API key. | |
| PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL | No | Custom base URL for API requests. | https://api.perplexity.ai |
| PERPLEXITY_LOG_LEVEL | No | Log level: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, or ERROR. | ERROR |
| PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS | No | Timeout in milliseconds for requests. Default is 5 minutes. | 300000 |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| perplexity_askA | Answer a question using web-grounded AI (Perplexity Agent API, fast preset). Best for: quick factual questions, summaries, explanations, and general Q&A. Returns a text response with numbered citations. Fastest and cheapest option. Supports filtering by recency (hour/day/week/month/year), domain restrictions, and search context size. For in-depth multi-source research, use perplexity_research instead. For step-by-step reasoning and analysis, use perplexity_reason instead. |
| perplexity_researchA | Conduct deep, multi-source research on a topic (Perplexity Agent API, high preset). Best for: literature reviews, comprehensive overviews, investigative queries needing many sources. Returns a detailed response with numbered citations. Significantly slower than other tools (can take minutes). For quick factual questions, use perplexity_ask instead. For logical analysis and reasoning, use perplexity_reason instead. |
| perplexity_reasonA | Analyze a question using step-by-step reasoning with web grounding (Perplexity Agent API, medium preset). Best for: math, logic, comparisons, complex arguments, and tasks requiring chain-of-thought. Returns a reasoned response with numbered citations. Supports filtering by recency (hour/day/week/month/year), domain restrictions, and search context size. For quick factual questions, use perplexity_ask instead. For comprehensive multi-source research, use perplexity_research instead. |
| perplexity_searchA | Search the web and return a ranked list of results with titles, URLs, snippets, and dates. Best for: finding specific URLs, checking recent news, verifying facts, discovering sources. Returns formatted results (title, URL, snippet, date) with no AI synthesis. Supports recency filters and domain restrictions. For AI-generated answers with citations, use perplexity_ask instead. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 4 tools
Each tool serves a clearly distinct purpose: ask for quick facts, research for deep multi-source investigation, reason for step-by-step analysis, and search for raw results. Descriptions explicitly cross-reference other tools and define boundaries, eliminating ambiguity.
All tool names follow the consistent pattern `perplexity_<action>` with clear, descriptive verbs (ask, research, reason, search). This creates a predictable and easily navigable API surface.
With exactly 4 tools, the server is tightly scoped to Perplexity's core interaction modes. Each tool adds functional value, and the count feels neither sparse nor bloated.
The tool set covers the full spectrum of Perplexity API use cases: simple queries, deep research, reasoning, and direct search. There are no obvious dead ends or missing operations within the stated purpose of the server.