Exa

ai.exaPublished by exa.aiOfficial publisherv3.4.1Updated Oct 24, 2026

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

VerifiedStreamable HTTPWeb executableWeb Search & ScrapingKnowledge & Memory

Overview

AI-generated overview

Exa's hosted MCP server lets an assistant search the web and fetch full page content as clean markdown for research.

What you can do
  • Search the web on any topic and get clean text from top results, with guidance to describe the ideal page rather than keywords
  • Read one or more known URLs in full as clean markdown, with metadata, in a single batched call
  • Optionally enable extra tools through the server URL: advanced search with domain, date, highlight, summary and subpage filters, and an Exa Agent for multi-step research, list-building, enrichment and structured output
When to use it
Useful when an assistant needs current information, news, facts, people or companies from the live web, or needs to read the full content of specific pages. The optional advanced search and agent tools suit deeper research, lead generation and competitive analysis.
Requirements
A remote streamable HTTP endpoint; no local package or runtime. Works anonymously with rate limits. Higher limits and the Exa Agent require OAuth sign-in or an Exa API key, passed on the URL or as an Authorization Bearer or x-api-key header. Optional tools are enabled by appending them to the MCP URL, which replaces the defaults.
Before you install
Anonymous use is rate limited; heavier use needs an Exa account and credentials. An API key placed in the URL query string can leak through logs or shared configs, so prefer OAuth or a header. Search queries and fetched URLs are sent to Exa's hosted service. Enabling optional tools via the URL replaces the default tools, so list every tool you want.

Installation

In SourceWeft

  1. Open Exa in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
  2. Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.

Web executable via Streamable HTTP. Remote servers run from the web runtime once configured in a workspace.

Use with an agent

Paste this prompt into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or another agent — or into SourceWeft chat. The agent reads this server's install guide, shows you its publisher, endpoint and sign-in, and adds it to your client once you agree. Keys never go into a command.

Read https://sourceweft.com/mcp/ai.exa%2Fexa/install.md and connect the MCP server it describes to my client. Before changing any config, show me its publisher, endpoint and sign-in method and wait for my OK. Never put an API key in a command or in a file I would commit; ask me where it should come from.

Read the install guide the agent follows

Other MCP clients

Add this to your client's mcpServers config.

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

README

[Exa]
Exa MCP Server

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

[Install in Cursor] [Install in VS Code] [Install Claude Plugin] [Install Codex/ChatGPT Plugin]

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:

bash
claude plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

Codex / ChatGPT

Install via Plugins in ChatGPT, or run:

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

Other MCP Clients

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

json
{  "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.

ClientWhere to add it
KiroUse the Kiro power, or add manually to ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json
LM StudioAdd to LM Studio, or add manually to mcp.json
ReplitAdd to Replit
Grok Build/marketplace → install Exa, then /mcp to sign in
Gemini CLIAdd manually to ~/.gemini/settings.json
OpenCodeAdd manually to opencode.json
WindsurfAdd manually to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
Google AntigravityAdd manually to mcp_config.json
ZedAdd manually to settings.json under context_servers
WarpSettings → Agents → MCP servers
v0 by VercelSettings → MCP connections

Available Tools

Default Tools

ToolDescription
web_search_exaSearch the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content
web_fetch_exaRead a webpage's full content as clean markdown from one or more URLs

Optional Tools (enable via the tools parameter)

ToolDescription
agent_runRun an Exa Agent for multi-step research, list-building, enrichment, and structured output
web_search_advanced_exaAdvanced 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_exahttps://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 installs. The Claude plugin in plugins/exa/ ships a copy of them; npm test fails when the copy drifts. Each package version bump on main publishes plugins/exa/ to the root of the claude-plugin branch, which Claude's plugin directory reads. To publish a plugin-only change between releases, run the Publish Claude plugin workflow manually.

SkillPathUse when
searchskills/search/Deep research, lead gen, competitive analysis, multi-step web investigation
exa-agentskills/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

Source: README.md at commit 26fbca1

Tools

2

web_search_exa

Web Search

Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content. Best for: Finding current information, news, facts, people, companies, or answering questions about any topic. Returns: Clean text content from top search results. Query tips: describe the ideal page, not keywords. "blog post comparing React and Vue performance" not "React vs Vue". Use category:people / category:company to search through Linkedin profiles / companies respectively. If highlights are insufficient, follow up with web_fetch_exa on the best URLs.

ParametersqueryrequiredobjectiverequirednumResults

web_fetch_exa

Fetch Web Pages

Read a webpage's full content as clean markdown. Use after web_search_exa when highlights are insufficient or to read any URL. Best for: Extracting full content from known URLs. Batch multiple URLs in one call. Returns: Clean text content and metadata from the page(s).

ParametersurlsrequiredmaxCharacters

Version history

2
  1. v3.4.1LatestSep 23, 2026
  2. v3.1.3Sep 16, 2026

Score

100% of the applicable checks met

How complete this listing is, computed from the registry entry, the endpoint and public sources. Not a rating of the server and not a statement that it is safe or working today: reachability is a dated check, and no installs or reviews go into the score.

  • Reached in the last 30 daysRequired25 pts
  • Auth declaredRequired10 pts
  • Tools listedRequired15 pts
  • DescriptionRequired15 pts
  • Logo10 pts
  • Documentation15 pts
  • License10 pts