perplexica-mcp-server

tianmu/perplexica-mcp-server

3.3

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The Perplexica MCP Server provides AI-powered search engine capabilities through a Model Context Protocol server.

Perplexica MCP Server

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A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to Perplexica's AI-powered search engine capabilities.

Features

  • Web Search: General web search using AI
  • Academic Search: Search academic sources and papers
  • YouTube Search: Find and summarize YouTube videos
  • Reddit Search: Search Reddit discussions
  • Writing Assistant: Get help with writing and research
  • Multi-model Support: Use different chat and embedding models
  • Health Monitoring: Check service status and availability

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.10+
  • A running Perplexica instance (default: http://localhost:3000)
  • Optional: OpenAI API key for enhanced search capabilities

Installation

  1. Clone this repository
  2. Install dependencies: 
    pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install .
    or 
    uv tool install .

Configuration

cline

Configure the server to cline:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexica": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "-m", "perplexica_mcp_server.server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_CHAT_PROVIDER":"custom_openai",
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_CHAT_MODEL":"gpt-4.1",
        "PERPLEXICA_CUSTOM_OPENAI_BASE_URL":"https://api.poe.com/v1",
        "PERPLEXICA_CUSTOM_OPENAI_KEY":"your_api_key",
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_PROVIDER":"transformers",
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_MODEL":"xenova-bge-small-en-v1.5",
        "PERPLEXICA_OPTIMIZATION_MODE":"balanced",
        "PERPLEXICA_BASE_URL":"http://localhost:3000"
      },
      "timeout": 60,
      "transport": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

or

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexica": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "perplexica-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_CHAT_PROVIDER":"custom_openai",
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_CHAT_MODEL":"gpt-4.1",
        "PERPLEXICA_CUSTOM_OPENAI_BASE_URL":"https://api.poe.com/v1",
        "PERPLEXICA_CUSTOM_OPENAI_KEY":"your_api_key",
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_PROVIDER":"transformers",
        "PERPLEXICA_DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_MODEL":"xenova-bge-small-en-v1.5",
        "PERPLEXICA_OPTIMIZATION_MODE":"balanced",
        "PERPLEXICA_BASE_URL":"http://localhost:3000"
      },
      "timeout": 60,
      "transport": "stdio"
    }
  }
}

Development

Copy env.example to .env and modify as needed:

cp env.example .env
# Edit .env file to set your configuration

Starting the Server

Run the MCP server with stdio transport:

python -m perplexica_mcp_server.server

Testing

Test the server functionality:

python test/test_client.py

Run test for you perplexica:

python test/test_official_api.py

Output Formats

Supports two output formats:

  • json: Raw JSON data (default)
  • formatted: Human-readable formatted text

License

MIT License