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https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server

Claude can perform Web Search | Exa with MCP (Model Context Protocol)
https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server

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Claude can perform Web Search | Exa with MCP (Model Context Protocol)

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README 

          
# Exa MCP Server ๐Ÿ”

[![npm version](https://badge.fury.io/js/exa-mcp-server.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/exa-mcp-server)

[![smithery badge](https://smithery.ai/badge/exa)](https://smithery.ai/server/exa)



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 ๐ŸŒ



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](https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys).



### Claude Desktop Configuration for Remote MCP



Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration file:



```json

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "exa": {

      "command": "npx",

      "args": [

        "-y",

        "mcp-remote",

        "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey=your-exa-api-key"

      ]

    }

  }

}

```



### NPM Installation



```bash

npm install -g exa-mcp-server

```



### Using Claude Code



```bash

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](https://smithery.ai/server/exa):



```bash

npx -y @smithery/cli install exa --client claude

```



## Configuration โš™๏ธ



### 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:



```bash

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

```



#### For Windows:



1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration:



```powershell

code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

```



### 2. Add the Exa server configuration:



```json

{

  "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](https://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.

- **research_paper_search**: Specialized search focused on academic papers and research content.

- **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.

- **competitor_finder**: Identifies competitors of a company by searching for businesses offering similar products or services.

- **linkedin_search**: Search LinkedIn for companies and people using Exa AI. Simply include company names, person names, or specific LinkedIn URLs in your query.

- **wikipedia_search_exa**: Search and retrieve information from Wikipedia articles on specific topics, giving you accurate, structured knowledge from the world's largest encyclopedia.

- **github_search**: Search GitHub repositories using Exa AI - performs real-time searches on GitHub.com to find relevant repositories, issues, and GitHub accounts.

- **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:



```json

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "exa": {

      "command": "npx",

      "args": [

        "-y",

        "exa-mcp-server",

        "--tools=web_search_exa,research_paper_search,company_research,crawling,competitor_finder,linkedin_search,wikipedia_search_exa,github_search,deep_researcher_start,deep_researcher_check"

      ],

      "env": {

        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"

      }

    }

  }

}

```



For enabling multiple tools, use a comma-separated list:



```json

{

  "mcpServers": {

    "exa": {

      "command": "npx",

      "args": [

        "-y",

        "exa-mcp-server",

        "--tools=web_search_exa,research_paper_search,company_research,crawling,competitor_finder,linkedin_search,wikipedia_search_exa,github_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:



```bash

# 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,research_paper_search



# List all available tools

npx exa-mcp-server --list-tools

```



## Troubleshooting ๐Ÿ”ง



### 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:







---



Built with โค๏ธ by team Exa