Exa MCP Server

What is Exa MCP Server?

Exa MCP is the official Model Context Protocol server from Exa that connects AI agents to Exa's web search, page fetching and multi-step research through a hosted endpoint, https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp, with no local install required.

It is maintained by Exa Labs in the exa-labs/exa-mcp-server repository. The hosted server works anonymously with rate limits; signing in with OAuth or adding an Exa API key raises those limits and unlocks Exa Agent. A local npm package, exa-mcp-server, is still available for clients that can't connect to remote servers.

How to use Exa MCP Server?

For most clients, all you need is the server URL. No key is required to start; get one from https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys when you need higher limits.

Claude Code

Install the plugin from the Claude marketplace:

claude plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

You can also type /plugin in Claude Code and search for Exa. To add only the MCP server, use the hosted URL:

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

Claude Desktop

Add Exa from Claude's connector directory, then connect and authorize it. The docs describe the path as + (or Add connectors) > Connectors tab > search for Exa > +.

Cursor

Install from the Cursor marketplace, or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

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

VS Code

Use the one-click install, or add to .vscode/mcp.json:

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

Codex

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

Windsurf and other clients

Point the client at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp. For Windsurf, add it to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json. The README also lists Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Zed, Kiro, LM Studio, Warp, Google Antigravity, Replit and v0.

Local package

If your client doesn't support remote MCP servers, run the npm package with your key:

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

Key features of Exa MCP Server

• Hosted Streamable HTTP endpoint: no install, works anonymously with rate limits
• Web search that returns clean, ready-to-use page content rather than just links
• Full-page fetching as Markdown for one or more URLs in a single call
• Optional advanced search with domain filters, date ranges, highlights, summaries and subpage crawling
• Exa Agent for multi-step research, list-building, enrichment and structured output
• OAuth sign-in or API key via URL parameter, Authorization: Bearer or x-api-key header
• Bundled Agent Skills (search, exa-agent) when installed as a Claude or Agent Plugin

Exa MCP Server tools

By default the server exposes two tools:

• web_search_exa: searches the web and returns clean content from top results. Exa's guidance is to describe the ideal page rather than type keywords, and category:people or category:company narrows results to profiles or companies.
• web_fetch_exa: reads the full content of known URLs as Markdown, and can batch several URLs in one call.

Two more tools are available:

• web_search_advanced_exa: opt-in search with filters for domains, dates, highlights, summaries and subpage crawling.
• agent_run: runs an Exa Agent for multi-step research and structured output. It requires OAuth or an API key.

You choose tools with the tools URL parameter, for example https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa,agent_run. An explicit list replaces the defaults, so include every tool you want.

Use cases of Exa MCP Server

• Fresh answers in a coding session: "Search for the latest release notes of React and summarize breaking changes."
• Reading a known source: "Fetch these three URLs and compare their recommendations."
• Company and people research: "Find companies building vector databases in Europe using category:company."
• Filtered research with the advanced tool: "Find articles from the last 30 days on example.com about pricing changes."
• List-building and enrichment with Exa Agent: "Build a table of 20 open-source observability tools with license and GitHub stars."

Exa MCP Server vs alternatives

Tavily MCP is another search API built for agents, with a similar search-then-extract workflow. Firecrawl MCP Server is stronger when you need to crawl whole sites, interact with pages or extract structured data from pages you already know. The Exa search MCP server is the simplest option if you want hosted search and fetch with no install and an anonymous free tier.

Troubleshooting Exa MCP Server

• 429 rate limit errors: you are on Exa's free anonymous limits. Sign in with OAuth or add your own API key to move requests to your team's plan.
• Exa Agent is missing or asks for authentication: agent_run needs OAuth or an API key. To force the login flow, use https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login or https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp/oauth.
• Expected tools don't appear: an explicit tools parameter replaces the default list. Add web_search_exa and web_fetch_exa back if you still want them.
• Claude Desktop not connecting: use the official connector from the connector directory rather than a config file entry.
• Config file not found: on macOS, Claude Desktop's file is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; on Windows, it is %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json.