Exa MCP Server

What is Exa MCP Server about?

Enables AI models (e.g., Claude) to query the Exa web‑search service through a local or remote MCP server, delivering up‑to‑date information while keeping the interaction sandboxed and controllable.

How to use Exa MCP Server?

1. Install

   npm install -g exa-mcp-server   # global install (optional)
   

   or run directly with npx (recommended):

   npx -y exa-mcp-server
   

2. Add to Claude Desktop (or any MCP‑compatible client) by editing claude_desktop_config.json:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "exa": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "exa-mcp-server"],
         "env": { "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here" }
       }
     }
   }
   

   Replace your-api-key-here with the key from the Exa dashboard.
3. Enable specific tools (optional) by adding --tools= to the args list, e.g.:

   "args": ["-y", "exa-mcp-server", "--tools=web_search_exa,company_research,linkedin_search"]
   

4. Run the server locally with npx exa-mcp-server or connect to the hosted endpoint:

   https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey=YOUR_API_KEY
   

5. Restart Claude Desktop to apply changes.

Key Features

• web_search_exa: Real‑time web search with result optimization and content extraction.
• company_research: Crawls corporate sites for detailed business information.
• crawling: Retrieves raw content from any URL (articles, PDFs, etc.).
• linkedin_search: Searches LinkedIn for companies or individuals.
• deep_researcher_start: Starts a multi‑step AI researcher that aggregates many sources.
• deep_researcher_check: polls for completion and returns the full research report.
• All tools are enabled by default; selective activation via --tools flag.

Use Cases

• AI assistants needing current news, facts, or market data during conversations.
• Business intelligence workflows that require up‑to‑date company profiles and LinkedIn insights.
• Content generation where the model must cite recent articles or extract specific web excerpts.
• Research‑intensive queries that benefit from the deep researcher’s multi‑source synthesis.

FAQ

Q: The server cannot be reached. A: Verify the command/args syntax, ensure npx is installed, and restart the client application.

Q: My API key is rejected. A: Confirm the key is active in the Exa dashboard, has no surrounding quotes or spaces, and is set in the EXA_API_KEY environment variable.

Q: How do I limit the tools that are loaded? A: Use the --tools= flag with a comma‑separated list in the args array.

Q: Where can I see server logs? A: Claude Desktop logs are accessible via the app’s Developer menu; for local runs, output appears in the terminal.

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:

1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration:

code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

For Windows:

1. 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:

1. Completely quit Claude Desktop (not just close the window)
2. Start Claude Desktop again
3. 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

1. Server Not Found

   • Verify the npm link is correctly set up
   • Check Claude Desktop configuration syntax (json file)

2. 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

3. Connection Issues

   • Restart Claude Desktop completely
   • Check Claude Desktop logs:

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Built with ❤️ by team Exa