Best for
- Q&A and research scenarios that need real-time, clean web content
- Users with an existing Exa account who want a zero-deployment remote option
E
Exa MCP Server
Official
Exa's official MCP server for web search and crawling built for AI applications
GitHub source repository ↗
73FMRS · B
Officially maintained by Exa; the README clearly distinguishes default-enabled tools from ones requiring manual opt-in, with clear permission boundaries. Both local and remote paths are documented. This review is a static check of source and docs, not an actual call test.
Officially maintained by Exa, this MCP server exposes Exa's search engine (purpose-built for AI applications) — web search, page fetching, and advanced filtering — to AI assistants. Runs locally via an npm package, or connects directly to Exa's hosted SSE remote endpoint with tools selected via URL parameters.
Tools
web_search_exa
Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content (enabled by default)
web_fetch_exa
Get the full content of a specific webpage from a known URL (enabled by default)
web_search_advanced_exa
Advanced search with filters for domains, dates, and content options (off by default)
agent_run
Run an Exa Agent for multi-step research, list-building, or structured extraction (requires OAuth or API key)
Setup
1) Local: npx -y exa-mcp-server, after getting an EXA_API_KEY from https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys and setting it as an env var.
2) Remote: point your client at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp, select enabled tools via the URL's tools parameter (e.g. ?tools=web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa), or add ?login to trigger an OAuth login.
claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "exa-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"EXA_API_KEY": "<YOUR_EXA_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}
Fit and risk
Not for
- Scenarios requiring a strict allowlist of search sources that can't use a third-party search service
- Budget-sensitive, high-volume search scenarios (remote/API calls may incur cost)
Required permissions
- Requires an Exa API key for full functionality; OAuth login is optional in remote mode
- web_fetch_exa retrieves content from a specified URL; agent_run performs multi-step autonomous actions and needs the user to have clear expectations of Agent behavior
Risks and side effects
- The API key should be stored carefully — avoid leaving it in plaintext in client config files on untrusted machines
- agent_run is a multi-step autonomous tool with a longer action chain — try it on low-risk tasks first
Troubleshooting
- No search results: check that EXA_API_KEY is set correctly and the account has remaining quota
- Remote endpoint connection fails: confirm network access to mcp.exa.ai and that the URL's tools parameter is spelled correctly
- Local npm install fails: confirm the Node.js version meets requirements
Use cases
Have an AI assistant search the live web for current information
Fetch the full content of a specific URL for summarization or analysis
Filter search results by domain or date range for research
Enable Exa Agent for multi-step information-gathering tasks
Supported clients
Claude DesktopFull support
Claude CodeFull support
VS CodeFull support
CursorFull support
WindsurfFull support
ZedFull support
AmpFull support
KiroFull support
LM StudioFull support
AntigravityFull support