Exa

Search built for AI: web results, page contents and code examples.

Started in our test
★ 5.2K GitHub stars
11.5K downloads a week
Last commit 19 Oct 2026

At a glance

Exa is a search engine designed to be called by models. Its server returns results with the page text already attached, so the assistant can answer from sources without a second fetch step. A code-search tool finds working examples from GitHub and documentation.

The hosted version needs no install, which makes it one of the easiest search tools to add to ChatGPT.

Made by: Exa Labs
Latest version: 3.4.2 (6 Oct 2026)
npm package: exa-mcp-server
GitHub stars: 5.2K
Downloads: 11.5K a week
Last commit: 19 Oct 2026
Tools: 2
Runs on: Your computer or hosted

Our check: We ran this exact config on 26 Oct 2026: it started and answered with 2 tools.

What's in the pod: its tools

We found 2 tools when we started it on 26 Oct 2026. Every one of them only reads, so nothing changes unless you act on what it finds.

Only reads2 tools · Looks things up and changes nothing.

Tool	What it is for
`web_fetch_exa`	Reads one or more web pages and hands back their main text as tidy Markdown.
`web_search_exa`	Searches the web with Exa's neural index and returns cleaned content from the best matches, not just links.

Tool groups

web_search_advanced_exa: Optional. Search with filters for domains, dates, highlights, summaries and subpages.
agent_run: Optional. Hands a multi-step research or list-building job to Exa's own agent and returns structured results.

Grouped and described by us. The README on GitHub lists the inputs each tool takes.

Set it up

Pick your app for the exact snippet and where it goes.

Where it goes: claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config)

Claude Desktop

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

Where it goes: Your terminal, in the project folder

Claude Code

claude mcp add-json exa '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","exa-mcp-server"],"env":{"EXA_API_KEY":"your-exa-key"}}'

Where it goes: ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or .cursor/mcp.json in a project

Cursor

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

Where it goes: .vscode/mcp.json in your project

VS Code

{
  "servers": {
    "exa": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-exa-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Where it goes: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

Windsurf

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

Remote option

Exa runs the same tools at this URL for clients that connect to remote servers.

Server URL

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

New to this? See the setup guides for Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop and ChatGPT.

Settings

Names are exactly as the project spells them. Required ones are marked.

Setting	What it does
`https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp`Config · required	The hosted server address. It works without signing in, with lower rate limits.
`tools`Config	Choose which tools load by adding them to the URL. This replaces the defaults, so list every tool you want.`?tools=web_search_exa,web_fetch_exa,agent_run`
`exaApiKey`Config	Your Exa API key passed on the URL, for higher limits. A Bearer or x-api-key header also works.`?exaApiKey=your-key`
`login`Config	Add ?login to the URL to force the Exa sign-in screen, handy for shared connectors.`https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login`

What it can touch

It can read

The public web, through Exa's search index and page fetcher

It can change

Nothing on your machine. Agent runs use your Exa credit if you are signed in.

Safer setup: It only reads public pages. Leave agent_run off unless you want it spending credit on long research jobs.

Before you start

An Exa API key for the local server

If it does not work

Hitting rate limits: Sign in with OAuth when your client asks, or add an API key from the Exa dashboard.
agent_run or advanced search is missing: They are off by default. Add them to the tools list in the URL, and remember to keep the defaults in that list too.
Search snippets are too short: Follow up with web_fetch_exa on the URL to get the whole page.

Peas in a pod: similar servers

How Exa lines up against other browser and web data servers on the shelf.

Server	Tools	Runs on	Licence	Stars
Exa	2	Your computer or hosted	–	5.2K
Bright Data	32	Your computer	MIT	2.7K
SearXNG	4	Your computer	MIT	1.3K
Playwright MCP	25	Your computer	Apache-2.0	38.7K
Firecrawl	28	Your computer	MIT	7.7K