Exa MCP - The Web Search MCP

Exa MCP connects AI assistants to Exa’s search capabilities, including web search and code search. It is open-source and available on GitHub.

Installation

Or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

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

Or add to .vscode/mcp.json:

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

Run in terminal:

claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Add to your Claude Desktop config file:macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonWindows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Run in terminal:

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

Add to your opencode.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "exa": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add to your Zed settings:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "exa": {
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "httpUrl": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Go to the three-dot menu in the Agent panel, navigate to Manage MCP Servers, then View Raw config and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

In v0, select Prompt Tools > Add MCP and enter:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Go to Settings > MCP Servers > Add MCP Server and add:

{
  "exa": {
    "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
  }
}

Add to ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json:

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

Add to your Roo Code MCP config:

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

Standard mcpServers format with the npm package. Get your Exa API key.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "exa-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

For other MCP clients that support remote MCP:

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

If your client doesn’t support remote MCP servers directly:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Enabled by default:

Tool	Description
`web_search_exa`	Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content
`get_code_context_exa`	Find code examples, documentation, and programming solutions from GitHub, Stack Overflow, and docs
`crawling_exa`	Get the full content of a specific webpage from a known URL

Optional (enable via tools parameter):

Tool	Description
`web_search_advanced_exa`	Advanced web search with full control over filters, domains, dates, and content options

Enable specific tools:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=get_code_context_exa,web_search_advanced_exa

Enable all tools:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey=YOUR_KEY&tools=web_search_exa,web_search_advanced_exa,get_code_context_exa,crawling_exa

API Key

Exa MCP has a generous free plan. To overcome free plan rate limits and enable production use, add your own API key:

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

Get your Exa API key

Resources

GitHub - View Exa MCP source code
npm - Install Exa MCP npm package

Usage Examples

Web Search

Search for recent developments in AI agents and summarize the key trends.

Code Search

Find Python examples for implementing OAuth 2.0 authentication.

Troubleshooting

Rate limit error (429)You’ve hit the free plan rate limit. Add your own API key to continue:

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

Get your API keyTools not appearingRestart your MCP client after updating the config file. Some clients require a full restart to detect new MCP servers.Claude Desktop not connectingClaude Desktop doesn’t support remote MCP directly. Use the mcp-remote wrapper:

{
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"]
}

Config file not foundCommon config locations:

Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
VS Code: .vscode/mcp.json (in project root)
Claude Desktop (macOS): ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (Windows): %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

API

Verticals

MCP

SDKs

Integrations

Admin

Additional Resources

Exa MCP - The Web Search MCP

Installation

Available Tools

API Key

Resources

API

Verticals

MCP

SDKs

Integrations

Admin

Additional Resources

​Installation

​Available Tools

​API Key

​Resources

Installation

Available Tools

API Key

Resources