Exa MCP

Use Exa MCP to improve the built-in web search in ChatGPT, Claude, and MCP-compatible tools with Exa’s search capabilities, including web search, code search, Exa Agent, and Exa Connect. Exa offers a hosted server that works in any MCP client:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

No API key is needed to try search and fetch, at a free rate limit. Sign in or add an API key to use Exa Agent. Agents: see exa.ai/auth.md for every way to get access. Exa MCP is open source and available on GitHub.

Install

Exa is an official plugin in OpenAI’s plugin directory, which includes the hosted MCP server plus Exa’s search and exa-agent skills.

Open the plugin

Go to chatgpt.com/plugins/exa. It opens Exa in OpenAI’s plugin directory, which is the same directory for ChatGPT and for Codex.

Install it

Select the plus button to install. Sign in to Exa when prompted, either during install or the first time Codex or ChatGPT uses it.

Opening Plugins in Codex, viewing the Exa plugin, and authorizing access — Opening Plugins in Codex, adding Exa, and authorizing access

Start a new session

Skills load in chats and CLI sessions started after the install, so open a fresh one and ask for something that needs the web.

That’s it. The plugin includes both Exa’s MCP integration and skills, so there’s no separate MCP or skill setup required.See Exa in Codex and ChatGPT for the full setup and workflow guide.

Claude Code CLI

Install the plugin

Install Exa from the terminal:

claude plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

You can also type /plugin in Claude Code, search for Exa, and install it.

Use Exa

Start a new Claude Code session and ask for something that needs the web.

Desktop, Web & Cowork

Claude Desktop, Web, and Cowork all use Exa’s official connector.

Open the connector directory

Select the plus button in a new chat, choose Add connector, and search for Exa.

Connect Exa

Open Exa, select Connect to Claude, and authorize access when prompted.

Opening the connector directory in Claude, finding Exa, connecting it, and authorizing access

Use Exa

Start a new chat and ask for something that needs current information from the web.

See Exa in Claude Code, Web, and Desktop for the full setup and workflow guide.Claude Team and Enterprise admins can provision the connector for everyone through their identity provider instead: see Enterprise Managed Auth.

Exa is available on the Grok Build marketplace.

Open the marketplace

In Grok Build, run /marketplace.

Install Exa

Find exa in the list and press i.

Run /mcp, select exa, and press i to sign in to your Exa account in the browser.

New accounts get free credits at signup.

Install Exa MCP from the Cursor marketplace, or add it to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

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

Use the one-click install, or add it to .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

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

Most clients use the standard mcpServers shape:

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

Where the config lives and what the URL key is called varies by client:

Client	Where to add it	URL key
fx by Vercel	`/mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` in the fx shell (saved to `~/.fx/mcp.json`)	`url`
OpenCode	`opencode.json` (under `mcp`, with `"type": "remote"`)	`url`
Kiro	`~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json` (under `mcpServers`)	`url`
Windsurf	`~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json` (under `mcpServers`)	`serverUrl`
Google Antigravity	Agent panel → `…` → MCP Servers, search for Exa in the MCP Store and click Install (no config needed)	—
Zed	Zed `settings.json` (under `context_servers`)	`url`
Gemini CLI	`~/.gemini/settings.json` (under `mcpServers`)	`httpUrl`
Warp	Settings → MCP Servers → Add MCP Server (top-level `exa`)	`url`
v0 by Vercel	Prompt Tools → Add MCP	paste the URL directly

If your client doesn’t support remote MCP servers, use the mcp-remote bridge:

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

Or run the local npm package with your Exa API key:

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

Authentication

Exa MCP supports three authentication modes:

Mode	Use it for	Setup
Keyless	Trying search and fetch at a free rate limit, without sign-in or API key. `agent_run` is unavailable.	Connect to `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp`
OAuth	Interactive clients, marketplace installs, production usage	Connect to `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login` to sign in to Exa in the browser. Usage belongs to your Exa team.
API key	Clients without MCP OAuth	Connect to `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` with the `x-api-key` header set to your API key

ChatGPT, Claude, and other marketplace installs prompt you to sign in when needed. In any client that supports MCP OAuth, you can request the same flow by connecting to:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login

Your client discovers Exa’s authorization server, opens the browser sign-in, and manages access.

Use an API key

Get your Exa API key

Create a key in the dashboard. New accounts start with free credits.

Add the x-api-key header to the MCP server configuration:

x-api-key: YOUR_EXA_API_KEY

Available Tools

Tool	Availability	Use it for
`web_search_exa`	Enabled by default	Search the web and return relevant, ready-to-use content
`web_fetch_exa`	Enabled by default	Read clean content from one or more known URLs
`web_search_advanced_exa`	Available when opted in	Configure web search with advanced filters and controls
`agent_run`	Enabled by default with OAuth or API key	Run multi-step research, list-building, enrichment, and structured output

Use the tools URL parameter to choose what your client sees. For example, to enable all tools:

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

An explicit tools list replaces the defaults, so include every tool you want enabled including web search and fetch.

Exa Agent

Use Exa Agent for research that takes more than one search—for example, building a list, checking each item against criteria, or returning structured results. Agent runs are usage-based, so agent_run requires OAuth or an API key. Once authenticated, it is enabled by default alongside the search tools, with no tools parameter needed. This URL starts OAuth:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login

If you use an API key, omit login and add the key as described in Authentication. If you set an explicit tools list, include agent_run in it.

Describe what you need

Ask for the research in plain language. Your assistant passes the request to agent_run with a query, and Exa Agent works out what to search, reads the sources, and checks what it finds against the request.Ask your Agent to provide an outputSchema only when your application needs the findings in a consistent JSON format. You can share one with your assistant in the system prompt, or have it generate one for you.

Get the result

When the research completes, the tool call hands your assistant the full research package:

The written findings
The sources behind them
Validated JSON if you provided outputSchema
Usage and cost

Your assistant writes its reply from this package, so tell it what you want done with the output. You can ask it to summarize the findings, compare them, save them to a file, or anything else.

Continue if it needs more time

Research that outlasts a single MCP call doesn’t fail: the tool reports status: "running" with an id while the run continues on Exa. Your assistant calls agent_run again with that id as runId to pick the same run back up.

Optional controls

Field	Use it to
`systemPrompt`	Give Agent extra guidance for researching or judging results
`outputSchema`	Return the answer in a specific JSON format
`input.data`	Enrich rows or entities you already have
`input.exclusion`	Skip results you already know about
`dataSources`	Add up to five Exa Connect providers
`previousRunId`	Build a new request on completed research
`effort`	Choose how much research Agent should do

Use runId to keep waiting on current work. Use previousRunId to ask a new follow-up based on finished work.

See the Exa Agent guide for output schema patterns, effort modes, data sources, and pricing.

Advanced search

Use web_search_advanced_exa when the request needs explicit category or domain filters, date ranges, text constraints, geo-targeting, query expansion, summaries, highlights, freshness control, or subpage crawling. For ordinary searches, keep web_search_exa; it gives the model a smaller tool surface and requires less configuration. Advanced Search does not require authentication, although authenticated connections use your own plan and rate limits. Enable it alongside the default tools with:

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

The MCP tool presents common Search API controls as tool-friendly fields such as includeDomains, startPublishedDate, enableHighlights, and maxAgeHours. Read the tool schema in your client for the exact field names.

Troubleshooting

Rate limit error (429)

The connection is using Exa’s free rate limits. Sign in with OAuth or add your own API key, then reconnect so requests use your team’s plan and limits.

Get your Exa API key

Create a key in the dashboard. New accounts start with free credits.

Agent is missing or asks for authentication

agent_run cannot use the free rate limits, so it only appears once you connect with ?login or configure an API key. If you set an explicit tools list, make sure it includes agent_run. See Exa Agent.

Forbidden error (403) without an API key

Keyless access requires an IPv4 connection made directly to https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp. From IPv6 or a proxied network path, sign in with OAuth or add an API key.

Get your Exa API key

Create a key in the dashboard. New accounts start with free credits.

Tools not appearing

An explicit tools parameter replaces the default tool list. Check that every tool you want is present in the URL, then restart your MCP client so it fetches the tool list again.

Claude desktop not connecting

Use the built-in connector: select + (or Add connectors) → Connectors tab → search for Exa → select +.

Config file not found

Common config locations:

Cursor: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
fx: ~/.fx/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

Resources

GitHub

Exa MCP source code.

npm

Run Exa MCP locally with the npm package.

Agent skills

Portable skills that pair with Exa MCP.

Exa in Codex and ChatGPT

Full setup and workflow guide for the Exa plugin.

Get Started

Search

Agent

Other APIs

SDKs

Integrations

Admin

Websets

Install

Claude Code CLI

Desktop, Web & Cowork

Authentication

Use an API key

Get your Exa API key

Available Tools

Exa Agent

Advanced search

Troubleshooting

Get your Exa API key

Get your Exa API key

Resources

GitHub

npm

Agent skills

Exa in Codex and ChatGPT

​Install

​Claude Code CLI

​Desktop, Web & Cowork

​Authentication

​Sign in with OAuth

​Use an API key

Get your Exa API key

​Available Tools

​Exa Agent

​Advanced search

​Troubleshooting

Get your Exa API key

Get your Exa API key

​Resources

GitHub

npm

Agent skills

Exa in Codex and ChatGPT

Install

Claude Code CLI

Desktop, Web & Cowork

Authentication

Sign in with OAuth

Use an API key

Available Tools

Exa Agent

Advanced search

Troubleshooting

Resources