Hosted web search and page fetching built for AI agents

Exa MCP Server

by exa-labs · MIT license · ★ 5,037 on GitHub · updated Aug 21

Hosted web search and page fetching built for AI agents, no install needed.

<h1 align="center">
  <img src="assets/Exa.svg" alt="Exa" width="64" />
  <br>
  Exa MCP Server
</h1>

<p align="center">Connect AI agents to Exa for web search, content fetching, and multi-step research.</p>

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=exa&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL21jcC5leGEuYWkvbWNwIn0="><img src="https://custom-icon-badges.demolab.com/badge/Install_in_Cursor-000000?style=for-the-badge&logo=cursor-ai-white" alt="Install in Cursor" /></a>
  <a href="https://vscode.dev/redirect/mcp/install?name=exa&config=%7B%22type%22%3A%22http%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fmcp.exa.ai%2Fmcp%22%7D"><img src="https://custom-icon-badges.demolab.com/badge/Install_in_VS_Code-007ACC?style=for-the-badge&logo=vsc&logoColor=white" alt="Install in VS Code" /></a>
  <a href="https://claude.com/plugins/exa"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude_Plugin-C66140?style=for-the-badge&logo=claude&logoColor=white" alt="Install Claude Plugin" /></a>
  <a href="https://chatgpt.com/plugins/exa?open_in_app"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Codex%2FChatGPT_Plugin-4A5BFE?style=for-the-badge&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="Install Codex/ChatGPT Plugin" /></a>
</p>

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp"><b>Documentation</b></a>
  &nbsp;·&nbsp;

Overview

This repository is an Agent Plugin. Install it with any compatible client.

Manual install (npx, ZIP)

Claude Code

mkdir -p ~/.claude/agents && curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server/f3d71fb6b0ff4b4683f108f05bc2bae61a9f7e97/README.md \
  -o ~/.claude/agents/README.md

Windows (PowerShell)

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$HOME\.claude\agents" | Out-Null; Invoke-WebRequest "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server/f3d71fb6b0ff4b4683f108f05bc2bae61a9f7e97/README.md" -OutFile "$HOME\.claude\agents\README.md"

Connects with Agent Alley MCP · agentalley.io/mcp

Files included

README.md7.5 KB

Read the files here

exa-labs/f3d71fb1 file

README.md7.5 KB

Shared references15SKILL.md reads these from elsewhere in the repo. Not in the ZIP.

Get them on GitHub ↗

README.md

Show the full text134 lines

exa/README.md134 lines · 7.5 KB

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Exa MCP Server

Connect AI agents to Exa for web search, content fetching, and multi-step research.

Documentation · NPM Package · Get your API key

Installation

Connect to Exa's hosted MCP server:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Or use a plugin when your client supports one.

Agent Plugin

This repository is an Agent Plugin. Install it with any compatible client.

Claude

Install from the Claude Plugin Marketplace, or run:

claude plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

Codex / ChatGPT

Install via Plugins in ChatGPT, or run:

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

Other MCP Clients

Most clients can be configured manually with the standard mcpServers shape:

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

Client-specific configs

Exa MCP works with most other clients, point them at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp.

Client	Where to add it
Kiro	Use the Kiro power, or add manually to `~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json`
LM Studio	Add to LM Studio, or add manually to `mcp.json`
Replit	Add to Replit
Grok Build	`/marketplace` → install Exa, then `/mcp` to sign in
Gemini CLI	Add manually to `~/.gemini/settings.json`
OpenCode	Add manually to `opencode.json`
Windsurf	Add manually to `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`
Google Antigravity	Add manually to `mcp_config.json`
Zed	Add manually to `settings.json` under `context_servers`
Warp	Settings → Agents → MCP servers
v0 by Vercel	Settings → MCP connections

Available Tools

Default Tools

Tool	Description
`web_search_exa`	Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content
`web_fetch_exa`	Read a webpage's full content as clean markdown from one or more URLs

Optional Tools (enable via the `tools` parameter)

Tool	Description
`agent_run`	Run an Exa Agent for multi-step research, list-building, enrichment, and structured output
`web_search_advanced_exa`	Advanced search with filters, domains, dates, highlights, summaries, and subpage crawling

Enable tools by appending them to the MCP URL (this will replace the defaults, so include all you want):

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

Exa Agent requires authentication (OAuth or an API key).

Agent Skills

Skills live in skills/ and load with Agent Plugin / Claude plugin installs.

Skill	Path	Use when
`search`	`skills/search/`	Deep research, lead gen, competitive analysis, multi-step web investigation
`exa-agent`	`skills/exa-agent/`	Exa Agent runs, enrichment, structured output, Connect providers

Invoke from your client's skill UI (or /skill-name where supported). MCP-only setups still get the tools; skills add orchestration on top.

Authentication

The hosted MCP server works anonymously with rate limits. For higher limits and access to Exa Agent, use either OAuth or an API key.

OAuth is preferred: most clients prompt you to sign in to Exa. To force the login flow (useful for shared connectors and plugins), use https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login or https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp/oauth.

If you prefer, you can get an API key from the dashboard and pass it on the URL as ?exaApiKey=…. You can also send it as a Authorization: Bearer … header or an x-api-key header.

Built with ❤️ by Exa

1	<h1 align="center">
2	<img src="assets/Exa.svg" alt="Exa" width="64" />
3	<br>
4	Exa MCP Server
5	</h1>
6
7	<p align="center">Connect AI agents to Exa for web search, content fetching, and multi-step research.</p>
8
9	<p align="center">
10	<a href="https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=exa&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL21jcC5leGEuYWkvbWNwIn0="><img src="https://custom-icon-badges.demolab.com/badge/Install_in_Cursor-000000?style=for-the-badge&logo=cursor-ai-white" alt="Install in Cursor" /></a>
11	<a href="https://vscode.dev/redirect/mcp/install?name=exa&config=%7B%22type%22%3A%22http%22%2C%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fmcp.exa.ai%2Fmcp%22%7D"><img src="https://custom-icon-badges.demolab.com/badge/Install_in_VS_Code-007ACC?style=for-the-badge&logo=vsc&logoColor=white" alt="Install in VS Code" /></a>
12	<a href="https://claude.com/plugins/exa"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude_Plugin-C66140?style=for-the-badge&logo=claude&logoColor=white" alt="Install Claude Plugin" /></a>
13	<a href="https://chatgpt.com/plugins/exa?open_in_app"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Codex%2FChatGPT_Plugin-4A5BFE?style=for-the-badge&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyNCAyNCIgZmlsbD0id2hpdGUiPjxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0yMi4yODE5IDkuODIxMWE1Ljk4NDcgNS45ODQ3IDAgMCAwLS41MTU3LTQuOTEwOCA2LjA0NjIgNi4wNDYyIDAgMCAwLTYuNTA5OC0yLjlBNi4wNjUxIDYuMDY1MSAwIDAgMCA0Ljk4MDcgNC4xODE4YTUuOTg0NyA1Ljk4NDcgMCAwIDAtMy45OTc3IDIuOSA2LjA0NjIgNi4wNDYyIDAgMCAwIC43NDI3IDcuMDk2NiA1Ljk4IDUuOTggMCAwIDAgLjUxMSA0LjkxMDcgNi4wNTEgNi4wNTEgMCAwIDAgNi41MTQ2IDIuOTAwMUE1Ljk4NDcgNS45ODQ3IDAgMCAwIDEzLjI1OTkgMjRhNi4wNTU3IDYuMDU1NyAwIDAgMCA1Ljc3MTgtNC4yMDU4IDUuOTg5NCA1Ljk4OTQgMCAwIDAgMy45OTc3LTIuOTAwMSA2LjA1NTcgNi4wNTU3IDAgMCAwLS43NDc1LTcuMDcyOXptLTkuMDIyIDEyLjYwODFhNC40NzU1IDQuNDc1NSAwIDAgMS0yLjg3NjQtMS4wNDA4bC4xNDE5LS4wODA0IDQuNzc4My0yLjc1ODJhLjc5NDguNzk0OCAwIDAgMCAuMzkyNy0uNjgxM3YtNi43MzY5bDIuMDIgMS4xNjg2YS4wNzEuMDcxIDAgMCAxIC4wMzguMDUydjUuNTgyNmE0LjUwNCA0LjUwNCAwIDAgMS00LjQ5NDUgNC40OTQ0em0tOS42NjA3LTQuMTI1NGE0LjQ3MDggNC40NzA4IDAgMCAxLS41MzQ2LTMuMDEzN2wuMTQyLjA4NTIgNC43ODMgMi43NTgyYS43NzEyLjc3MTIgMCAwIDAgLjc4MDYgMGw1Ljg0MjgtMy4zNjg1djIuMzMyNGEuMDgwNC4wODA0IDAgMCAxLS4wMzMyLjA2MTVMOS43NCAxOS45NTAyYTQuNDk5MiA0LjQ5OTIgMCAwIDEtNi4xNDA4LTEuNjQ2NHpNMi4zNDA4IDcuODk1NmE0LjQ4NSA0LjQ4NSAwIDAgMSAyLjM2NTUtMS45NzI4VjExLjZhLjc2NjQuNzY2NCAwIDAgMCAuMzg3OS42NzY1bDUuODE0NCAzLjM1NDMtMi4wMjAxIDEuMTY4NWEuMDc1Ny4wNzU3IDAgMCAxLS4wNzEgMGwtNC44MzAzLTIuNzg2NUE0LjUwNCA0LjUwNCAwIDAgMSAyLjM0MDggNy44NzJ6bTE2LjU5NjMgMy44NTU4TDEzLjEwMzggOC4zNjQgMTUuMTE5MiA3LjJhLjA3NTcuMDc1NyAwIDAgMSAuMDcxIDBsNC44MzAzIDIuNzkxM2E0LjQ5NDQgNC40OTQ0IDAgMCAxLS42NzY1IDguMTA0MnYtNS42NzcyYS43OS43OSAwIDAgMC0uNDA3LS42Njd6bTIuMDEwNy0zLjAyMzFsLS4xNDItLjA4NTItNC43NzM1LTIuNzgxOGEuNzc1OS43NzU5IDAgMCAwLS43ODU0IDBMOS40MDkgOS4yMjk3VjYuODk3NGEuMDY2Mi4wNjYyIDAgMCAxIC4wMjg0LS4wNjE1bDQuODMwMy0yLjc4NjZhNC40OTkyIDQuNDk5MiAwIDAgMSA2LjY4MDIgNC42NnpNOC4zMDY1IDEyLjg2M2wtMi4wMi0xLjE2MzhhLjA4MDQuMDgwNCAwIDAgMS0uMDM4LS4wNTY3VjYuMDc0MmE0LjQ5OTIgNC40OTkyIDAgMCAxIDcuMzc1Ny0zLjQ1MzdsLS4xNDIuMDgwNUw4LjcwNCA1LjQ1OWEuNzk0OC43OTQ4IDAgMCAwLS4zOTI3LjY4MTN6bTEuMDk3Ni0yLjM2NTRsMi42MDItMS40OTk4IDIuNjA2OSAxLjQ5OTh2Mi45OTk0bC0yLjU5NzQgMS40OTk3LTIuNjA2Ny0xLjQ5OTdaIi8+PC9zdmc+" alt="Install Codex/ChatGPT Plugin" /></a>
14	</p>
15
16	<p align="center">
17	<a href="https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp"><b>Documentation</b></a>
18	·
19	<a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/exa-mcp-server"><b>NPM Package</b></a>
20	·
21	<a href="https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys"><b>Get your API key</b></a>
22	</p>
23
24	## Installation
25
26	Connect to Exa's hosted MCP server:
27
28	```
29	https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp
30	```
31
32	Or use a plugin when your client supports one.
33
34	### Agent Plugin
35
36	This repository is an [Agent Plugin](https://agent-plugins.org). Install it with any [compatible client](https://agent-plugins.org/compatible-clients).
37
38	### Claude
39
40	Install from the [Claude Plugin Marketplace](https://claude.com/plugins/exa), or run:
41
42	```bash
43	claude plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official
44	```
45
46	### Codex / ChatGPT
47
48	Install via [Plugins in ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com/plugins/exa), or run:
49
50	```bash
51	codex mcp add exa --url https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp
52	```
53
54	### Other MCP Clients
55
56	Most clients can be configured manually with the standard `mcpServers` shape:
57
58	```json
59	{
60	"mcpServers": {
61	"exa": {
62	"type": "streamable-http",
63	"url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp",
64	}
65	}
66	}
67	```
68
69	<details>
70	<summary><b>Client-specific configs</b></summary>
71
72	Exa MCP works with most other clients, point them at `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp`.
73
74	\| Client \| Where to add it \|
75	\| --- \| --- \|
76	\| Kiro \| Use the [Kiro power](https://github.com/exa-labs/kiro-power-exa), or add manually to `~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json` \|
77	\| LM Studio \| [Add to LM Studio](https://lmstudio.ai/install-mcp?name=exa&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL21jcC5leGEuYWkvbWNwIn0%3D), or add manually to `mcp.json` \|
78	\| Replit \| [Add to Replit](https://replit.com/integrations?mcp=) \|
79	\| Grok Build \| `/marketplace` → install Exa, then `/mcp` to sign in \|
80	\| Gemini CLI \| Add manually to `~/.gemini/settings.json` \|
81	\| OpenCode \| Add manually to `opencode.json` \|
82	\| Windsurf \| Add manually to `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json` \|
83	\| Google Antigravity \| Add manually to `mcp_config.json` \|
84	\| Zed \| Add manually to `settings.json` under `context_servers` \|
85	\| Warp \| [Settings → Agents → MCP servers](warp://settings/mcp) \|
86	\| v0 by Vercel \| [Settings → MCP connections](https://v0.app/settings/mcp-connections) \|
87
88	</details>
89
90	## Available Tools
91
92	### Default Tools
93
94	\| Tool \| Description \|
95	\| --- \| --- \|
96	\| `web_search_exa` \| Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content \|
97	\| `web_fetch_exa` \| Read a webpage's full content as clean markdown from one or more URLs \|
98
99	### Optional Tools (enable via the `tools` parameter)
100
101	\| Tool \| Description \|
102	\| --- \| --- \|
103	\| `agent_run` \| Run an [Exa Agent](https://docs.exa.ai/reference/agent-api-guide) for multi-step research, list-building, enrichment, and structured output \|
104	\| `web_search_advanced_exa` \| Advanced search with filters, domains, dates, highlights, summaries, and subpage crawling \|
105
106	Enable tools by appending them to the MCP URL (this will replace the defaults, so include all you want):
107
108	```
109	https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_advanced_exa
110	https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa,agent_run
111	```
112
113	Exa Agent requires authentication (OAuth or an [API key](https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys)).
114
115	## Agent Skills
116
117	Skills live in [`skills/`](./skills/) and load with Agent Plugin / Claude plugin installs.
118
119	\| Skill \| Path \| Use when \|
120	\| --- \| --- \| --- \|
121	\| `search` \| [`skills/search/`](./skills/search/SKILL.md) \| Deep research, lead gen, competitive analysis, multi-step web investigation \|
122	\| `exa-agent` \| [`skills/exa-agent/`](./skills/exa-agent/SKILL.md) \| Exa Agent runs, enrichment, structured output, Connect providers \|
123
124	Invoke from your client's skill UI (or `/skill-name` where supported). MCP-only setups still get the tools; skills add orchestration on top.
125
126	## Authentication
127
128	The hosted MCP server works anonymously with rate limits. For higher limits and access to Exa Agent, use either OAuth or an API key.
129
130	OAuth is preferred: most clients prompt you to sign in to Exa. To force the login flow (useful for shared connectors and plugins), use `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login` or `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp/oauth`.
131
132	If you prefer, you can get an API key from the [dashboard](https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys) and pass it on the URL as `?exaApiKey=…`. You can also send it as a `Authorization: Bearer …` header or an `x-api-key` header.
133
134	Built with ❤️ by Exa