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Exa MCP server

The Exa MCP server gives AI agents web search and page reading through Exa's search engine, plus optional advanced filters and Exa Agent runs for multi-step research with structured output.

By Exa Official · Updated

Connect Exa

Claude Code, as a plugin

Terminal
claude plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

Codex

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

Any MCP client with a JSON config

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

Turn on extra tools by listing them in the URL (this replaces the defaults)

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

In ChatGPT and in Claude Desktop or Claude.ai, add Exa from the app's plugin or connector directory and sign in. To force sign-in on any client, connect to https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login. An API key from the Exa dashboard can go in an Authorization: Bearer or x-api-key header.

What the Exa MCP server does

The Exa MCP server connects an AI agent to Exa, a search engine built to return results for machines rather than people. By default it adds two tools: one searches the web and returns clean page content for each hit, the other reads one or more URLs and returns their full text as Markdown. That covers the usual need of an agent that has to look something up and then read the source.

Two more tools turn on when you name them in the connection URL. Advanced search adds filters for domains, dates and categories, plus highlights, summaries and subpage crawling. The agent_run tool hands a task to Exa Agent, which does multi-step research, builds lists or enriches records and can return the findings in a JSON shape you define; it needs a signed-in account or API key.

Exa runs the server itself at mcp.exa.ai, so setup is a URL or a plugin rather than a local install. It works anonymously at rate limits, and OAuth sign-in or an API key moves calls onto your own plan. The GitHub repo had 5,070 stars on 2026-10-01 and also ships agent skills that load with the plugin installs.

Tools it gives your agent

  • web_search_exa
  • web_fetch_exa
  • web_search_advanced_exa
  • agent_run

When to use Exa

  • Your coding agent needs current docs, release notes or error reports from the web.
  • You want search results that already include page text, so the agent skips a fetch step.
  • You are building a list of companies or people that match criteria and want it as JSON.
  • You want web search in ChatGPT, Codex, Claude or Grok Build through one provider.

When to pick something else

  • Heavy anonymous use: keyless calls hit Exa's free rate limits quickly (HTTP 429), and agent_run never runs without an account.

What Exa needs

  • Nothing for keyless search; an Exa account or API key for higher limits and Exa Agent

What the Exa MCP server costs

The hosted server works without sign-in at free rate limits; signed-in use is pay as you go, with monthly free credits for new accounts.

Current prices: exa.ai . We do not list prices: vendors change them often, so check the publisher's own page.

Questions people ask

Is the Exa MCP server free?

It can be used free: the hosted endpoint answers without an account at rate limits, and new accounts get monthly free credits. Past that, Exa bills per request (pricing page, 2026-10-01).

Does the Exa MCP server work with ChatGPT?

Yes. Exa publishes a plugin in OpenAI's directory that works in both ChatGPT and Codex, and its docs also cover Claude, Grok Build, Cursor, Gemini CLI and a dozen other clients.

What is the difference between Exa and Firecrawl MCP servers?

Exa is mainly a search engine that returns page text with results. Firecrawl is mainly a scraper and crawler for sites you already know, with page interaction. Many agents use one for finding and the other for extracting.

  • Apify: The Apify MCP server gives AI agents thousands of ready-made scrapers and automation tools from Apify Store, such as Google Maps, Instagram and search result scrapers, which the agent can find and run on demand.
  • Brave Search: The Brave Search MCP server gives AI agents Brave's independent search index: web, news, image, video, local and place search, plus pre-extracted page text for grounding and AI summaries.
  • Firecrawl: The Firecrawl MCP server gives AI agents live web access through Firecrawl: search the web, scrape a URL into Markdown or JSON, map and crawl whole sites, and click through pages.
  • Jina AI: The Jina AI MCP server gives AI agents Jina's Reader, Search, Embeddings and Reranker APIs: read any web page or PDF as Markdown, search the web, arXiv and SSRN, and rerank results.