exa-mcp-server

quanticsoul4772/exa-mcp-server

3.2

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The Exa MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server that allows AI assistants to perform web searches using the Exa AI Search API.

Tools
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Resources
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Prompts
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Exa MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants like Claude to use the Exa AI Search API for web searches.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a system that lets AI applications like Claude Desktop connect to external tools and data sources.

What does this server do?

The Exa MCP server:

  • Enables AI assistants to perform web searches using Exa's search API
  • Provides search results including titles, URLs, and content snippets
  • Caches recent searches as resources for reference
  • Handles rate limiting and error cases
  • Supports real-time web crawling

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

You can verify your Node.js installation by running:

node --version  # Should show v18.0.0 or higher

Installation

NPM Installation

npm install -g exa-mcp-server

Using Smithery

To install the Exa MCP server for Claude Desktop via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install exa --client claude

Manual Installation

  1. Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/quanticsoul4772/exa-mcp-server.git
cd exa-mcp-server
  1. Install dependencies:
npm install
  1. Build the project:
npm run build
  1. Create a global link (this makes the server executable from anywhere):
npm link

Configuration

1. Configure Claude Desktop to recognize the Exa MCP server

You can find claude_desktop_config.json inside the settings of Claude Desktop app:

Open the Claude Desktop app and enable Developer Mode from the top-left menu bar.

Once enabled, open Settings (also from the top-left menu bar) and navigate to the Developer Option, where you'll find the Edit Config button. Clicking it will open the claude_desktop_config.json file.

OR (if you want to open claude_desktop_config.json from terminal)

For macOS:
  1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration:
code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
For Windows:
  1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration:
code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the Exa server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["/path/to/exa-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace your-api-key-here with your actual Exa API key from dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys.

3. Available Tools & Tool Selection

The Exa MCP server includes the following tools:

  • exa_search: Performs web searches with content extraction. (Note: Named exa_search to avoid conflict with Claude's built-in web_search tool)
  • research_paper_search: Search for academic papers and research content.
  • twitter_search: Search Twitter/X.com for tweets, profiles, and conversations.
  • company_research: Research companies by crawling their websites to gather information about the business.
  • crawling: Extracts content from specific URLs, including articles, PDFs, or web pages.
  • competitor_finder: Identifies competitors of a company by searching for businesses offering similar products or services.

You can choose which tools to enable by adding the --tools parameter to your Claude Desktop configuration:

Specify which tools to enable:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/exa-mcp-server/build/index.js",
        "--tools=exa_search,research_paper_search,twitter_search,company_research,crawling,competitor_finder"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

For enabling multiple tools, use a comma-separated list:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/exa-mcp-server/build/index.js",
        "--tools=exa_search,research_paper_search,twitter_search,company_research,crawling,competitor_finder"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

If you don't specify any tools, all tools enabled by default will be used.

4. Restart Claude Desktop

For the changes to take effect:

  1. Quit Claude Desktop (not just close the window)
  2. Start Claude Desktop again
  3. Look for the connection icon to verify the Exa server is connected

Using via NPX

If you prefer to run the server directly, you can use npx:

# Run with all tools enabled by default
npx exa-mcp-server

# Enable specific tools only
npx exa-mcp-server --tools=exa_search

# Enable multiple tools
npx exa-mcp-server --tools=exa_search,research_paper_search

# List all available tools
npx exa-mcp-server --list-tools

Usage

Once configured, you can ask Claude to perform web searches. Here are some example prompts:

Can you search for recent developments in quantum computing?

Search for and summarize the latest news about artificial intelligence startups in new york.

Find and analyze recent research papers about climate change solutions.

Search Twitter for posts from @elonmusk about SpaceX.

Find tweets from @samaltman that were published in the last week about AI safety.

Research the company exa.ai and find information about their pricing and features.

Extract the content from this research paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1706.03762

Find competitors for a company that provides web search API services, excluding exa.ai from the results.

The server will:

  1. Process the search request
  2. Query the Exa API (including live crawling)
  3. Return formatted results to Claude
  4. Cache the search for future reference

Testing with MCP Inspector

You can test the server directly using the MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node ./build/index.js

This opens an interface where you can test the server's functionality, execute search queries, and view cached search results.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Server Not Found

    • Verify the npm link is correctly set up
    • Check Claude Desktop configuration syntax
    • Ensure Node.js is properly installed

  2. API Key Issues

    • Confirm your EXA_API_KEY is valid
    • Check the EXA_API_KEY is correctly set in the Claude Desktop config
    • Verify no spaces or quotes around the API key

  3. Connection Issues

    • Restart Claude Desktop
    • Check Claude Desktop logs:
    # macOS
tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log

# Windows
type "%APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp*.log"

Documentation

  • - API reference with examples
  • - Guide for extending and contributing
  • - Tool configuration reference
  • - Claude-specific integration notes

Acknowledgments