Exa MCP

Exa MCP Server

Install in Cursor

Install in VS Code

npm version

Connect AI assistants to Exa's search capabilities: web search, code search, and company research.

Full Documentation | npm Package | Get Your Exa API Key

Installation

Connect to Exa's hosted MCP server:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Get your API key

<details>

<summary><b>Cursor</b></summary>

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>VS Code</b></summary>

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "exa": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Claude Code</b></summary>

claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Claude Desktop</b></summary>

Exa is available as a native Claude Connector — no config files or terminal commands needed.

1. Open Claude Desktop Settings (or Customize) and go to Connectors
2. Search for Exa in the directory
3. Click + to add it

That's it! Claude will now have access to Exa's search tools.

<details>

<summary>Alternative: manual config</summary>

Add to your config file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

</details>

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Codex</b></summary>

codex mcp add exa --url https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>OpenCode</b></summary>

Add to your opencode.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "exa": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Antigravity</b></summary>

Open the MCP Store panel (from the "..." dropdown in the side panel), then add a custom server with:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Windsurf</b></summary>

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Zed</b></summary>

Add to your Zed settings:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "exa": {
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Gemini CLI</b></summary>

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "httpUrl": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>v0 by Vercel</b></summary>

In v0, select Prompt Tools > Add MCP and enter:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Warp</b></summary>

Go to Settings > MCP Servers > Add MCP Server and add:

{
  "exa": {
    "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Kiro</b></summary>

Add to ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Roo Code</b></summary>

Add to your Roo Code MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>LM Studio</b></summary>

<a href="https://lmstudio.ai/install-mcp?name=exa&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL21jcC5leGEuYWkvbWNwIn0%3D">

<img src="https://files.lmstudio.ai/deeplink/mcp-install-light.svg" alt="Add Exa MCP to LM Studio" />

</a>

Or add manually: open LM Studio, go to the Program tab, click Install > Edit mcp.json, and add:

{
  "exa": {
    "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
  }
}

Exa's tools will appear in the chat. Ask your model to search the web, fetch a page, or research a topic.

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Replit</b></summary>

Go to Integrations > MCP Servers > Add MCP Server, then enter:

• Name: Exa
• URL: https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Or click here to install automatically.

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Other Clients</b></summary>

For clients that support remote MCP:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For clients that need mcp-remote:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Via npm Package</b></summary>

Use the npm package with your API key. Get your API key.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "exa-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

Available Tools

Enabled by Default:

| Tool | Description |

| ---- | ----------- |

| web_search_exa | Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content |

| web_fetch_exa | Get the full content of a specific webpage from a known URL |

Off by Default:

| Tool | Description |

| ---- | ----------- |

| web_search_advanced_exa | Advanced web search with full control over filters, domains, dates, and content options |

Exa Agent Tools (optional, OAuth or API key required):

| Tool | Description |

| ---- | ----------- |

| agent_run | Run an Exa Agent for multi-step research, list-building, enrichment, or structured output |

Enable additional tools with the tools parameter:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey=YOUR_KEY&tools=web_search_exa,web_search_advanced_exa,web_fetch_exa

If you want to use Exa Agent, enable the optional toolset like so:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=agent_tools

If you want both search and Exa Agent tools enabled:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa,agent_tools

Force OAuth login

To force the OAuth handshake so users sign in with their own Exa account (useful for shared Connectors, Skills, and Plugins), add the login parameter:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login

Or use the /mcp/oauth endpoint:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp/oauth

Both can be combined with the tools parameter:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa,agent_tools&login
https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp/oauth?tools=web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa,agent_tools

Agent Skills (Claude Skills)

Ready-to-use skills for Claude Code. Each skill teaches Claude how to use Exa search for a specific task. Copy the content inside a dropdown and paste it into Claude Code — it handles the rest.

<details>

<summary><b>Company Research</b></summary>

Copy the content below and paste it into Claude Code. It will set up the MCP connection and skill for you.

Step 1: Install or update Exa MCP

If Exa MCP already exists in your MCP configuration, either uninstall it first and install the new one, or update your existing MCP config with this endpoint. Run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http exa "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_advanced_exa"


Step 2: Add this Claude skill

---
name: company-research
description: Company research using Exa search. Finds company info, competitors, news, financials, LinkedIn profiles, builds company lists. Use when researching companies, doing competitor analysis, market research, or building company lists.
context: fork
---

# Company Research

## Tool Restriction (Critical)

ONLY use `web_search_advanced_exa`. Do NOT use `web_search_exa` or any other Exa tools.

## Token Isolation (Critical)

Never run Exa searches in main context. Always spawn Task agents:
- Agent runs Exa search internally
- Agent processes results using LLM intelligence
- Agent returns only distilled output (compact JSON or brief markdown)
- Main context stays clean regardless of search volume

## Dynamic Tuning

No hardcoded numResults. Tune to user intent:
- User says "a few" → 10-20
- User says "comprehensive" → 50-100
- User specifies number → match it
- Ambiguous? Ask: "How many companies would you like?"

## Query Variation

Exa returns different results for different phrasings. For coverage:
- Generate 2-3 query variations
- Run in parallel
- Merge and deduplicate

## Categories

Use appropriate Exa `category` depending on what you need:
- `company` → homepages, rich metadata (headcount, location, funding, revenue)
- `news` → press coverage, announcements
- `people` → LinkedIn profiles (public data)
- No category (`type: "auto"`) → general web results, deep dives, broader context

Start with `category: "company"` for discovery, then use other categories or no category for deeper research.

### Category-Specific Filter Restrictions

When using `category: "company"`, these parameters cause 400 errors:
- `includeDomains` / `excludeDomains`
- `startPublishedDate` / `endPublishedDate`
- `startCrawlDate` / `endCrawlDate`

When searching without a category (or with `news`), domain and date filters work fine.

**Universal restriction:** `includeText` and `excludeText` only support **single-item arrays**. Multi-item arrays cause 400 errors across all categories.

## LinkedIn

Public LinkedIn via Exa: `category: "people"`, no other filters.
Auth-required LinkedIn → use Claude in Chrome browser fallback.

## Browser Fallback

Auto-fallback to Claude in Chrome when:
- Exa returns insufficient results
- Content is auth-gated
- Dynamic pages need JavaScript

## Examples

### Discovery: find companies in a space

web_search_advanced_exa {

"query": "AI infrastructure startups San Francisco",

"category": "company",

"numResults": 20,

"type": "auto"

}

### Deep dive: research a specific company

web_search_advanced_exa {

"query": "Anthropic funding rounds valuation 2024",

"type": "deep",

"numResults": 10,

"includeDomains": ["techcrunch.com", "crunchbase.com", "bloomberg.com"]

}

### News coverage

web_search_advanced_exa {

"query": "Anthropic AI safety",

"category": "news",

"numResults": 15,

"startPublishedDate": "2024-01-01"

}

### LinkedIn profiles

web_search_advanced_exa {

"query": "VP Engineering AI infrastructure",

"category": "people",

"numResults": 20

}

## Output Format

Return:
1) Results (structured list; one company per row)
2) Sources (URLs; 1-line relevance each)
3) Notes (uncertainty/conflicts)


Step 3: Ask User to Restart Claude Code

You should ask the user to restart Claude Code to have the config changes take effect.

</details>

<details>

<summary><b>Code Search</b></summary>

Copy the content below and paste it into Claude Code. It will set up the MCP connection and skill for you.

Step 1: Install or update Exa MCP

If Exa MCP already exists in your MCP configuration, either uninstall it first and install the new one, or update your existing MCP config with this endpoint. Run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http exa "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa"


Step 2: Add this Claude skill

---
name: code-search-exa
description: Code context using Exa. Finds real snippets and docs from GitHub, StackOverflow, and technical docs. Use when searching for code examples, API syntax, library documentation, or debugging help.
context: fork
---

# Code Context (Exa)

## Tool Restriction (Critical)

ONLY use `web_search_exa`. Do NOT use other Exa tools.

## Token Isolation (Critical)

Never run Exa in main context. Always spawn Task agents:
- Agent calls `web_search_exa`
- Agent extracts the minimum viable snippet(s) + constraints
- Agent deduplicates near-identical results (mirrors, forks, repeated StackOverflow answers) before presenting
- Agent returns copyable snippets + brief explanation
- Main context stays clean regardless of search volume

## When to Use

Use this tool for ANY programming-related request:
- API usage and syntax
- SDK/library examples
- config and setup patterns
- framework "how to" questions
- debugging when you need authoritative snippets

## Query Writing Patterns (High Signal)

To reduce irrelevant results and cross-language noise:
- Always include the **programming language** in the query.
  - Example: use **"Go generics"** instead of just **"generics"**.
- When applicable, also include **framework + version** (e.g., "Next.js 14", "React 19", "Python 3.12").
- Include exact identifiers (function/class names, config keys, error messages) when you have them.

## Output Format (Recommended)

Return:
1) Best minimal working snippet(s) (keep it copy/paste friendly)
2) Notes on version / constraints / gotchas
3) Sources (URLs if present in returned context)

Before presenting:
- Deduplicate similar results and keep only the best representative snippet per approach.

## MCP Configuration

{

"servers": {

"exa": {

"type": "http",

"url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa"

}

}

}

Step 3: Ask Us