--- title: "Perplexity MCP Server: Perplexity's Official Search and Research" url: "https://mcpshelf.co/servers/perplexity" description: "Perplexity's own server gives an assistant web search, quick answers, reasoning and deep research through the Perplexity API. Hosted and npx setup." updated: "2026-10-27" site: "MCP Shelf" --- # Perplexity MCP > Perplexity's search, answers and deep research, from Perplexity itself. ## At a glance This is the official server from Perplexity. It has four tools: a plain web search that returns ranked results with dates, a quick answer tool, a reasoning tool for harder questions, and a research tool that can work for several minutes and write a detailed, cited report. The three answer tools run on Perplexity presets that the company tunes over time. Every call goes through the Perplexity API, which has its own pay-as-you-go billing, so you need an API key with credit on it. You can run it locally with npx or point your client at the hosted copy Perplexity runs at api.perplexity.ai/mcp. | | | | --- | --- | | Made by | Perplexity AI | | GitHub | https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol | | Licence | MIT | | npm package | [@perplexity-ai/mcp-server](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@perplexity-ai/mcp-server) 1.3.0 (25 Sept 2026) | | GitHub stars | 2.6K | | Last commit | 21 Oct 2026 | | Tools | 4 | | Runs on | Your computer or hosted | | Install check | Started in our test | | Category | [Browser and web data](https://mcpshelf.co/categories/browser-and-web) | **Our check:** We ran this exact config on 27 Oct 2026: it started and answered with 4 tools. The shared database gave "@chatmcp/server-perplexity-ask", a package by someone else. Perplexity publishes @perplexity-ai/mcp-server, and the repository has moved to perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol. ## Tools We listed 4 tools on 27 Oct 2026. Every one of them only reads. | Tool | Kind | What it is for | | --- | --- | --- | | `perplexity_ask` | reads | Answers a question with live web search, using Perplexity's fast preset. | | `perplexity_research` | reads | Researches a topic in depth and writes a cited report. Can take several minutes. | | `perplexity_reason` | reads | Works through a harder question step by step, using the medium preset. | | `perplexity_search` | reads | Runs a web search and returns ranked results with titles, links, snippets and dates. | ### How clearly it describes its tools 4 of 4 tools have a description and 4 of 4 say whether they change things. The tool list takes at least ~600 tokens of context. Every tool says whether it only reads or can change things, so a client can ask before the risky ones. ## Set it up ### Claude Desktop Where: claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config) ```json { "mcpServers": { "perplexity": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server" ], "env": { "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY" } } } } ``` ### Claude Code Where: Your terminal, in the project folder ```bash claude mcp add-json perplexity '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"],"env":{"PERPLEXITY_API_KEY":"YOUR_API_KEY"}}' ``` ### Cursor Where: ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or .cursor/mcp.json in a project ```json { "mcpServers": { "perplexity": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server" ], "env": { "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY" } } } } ``` ### VS Code Where: .vscode/mcp.json in your project ```json { "servers": { "perplexity": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server" ], "env": { "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY" } } } } ``` ### Windsurf Where: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json ```json { "mcpServers": { "perplexity": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server" ], "env": { "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY" } } } } ``` ### ChatGPT Where: Not supported ChatGPT only connects to remote servers by URL. This one runs on your computer, so use Claude, Cursor or VS Code. If your client fails to start it with an initialize or EOF error, use "-yq" instead of "-y" so npx stays quiet. Long research calls may need PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS raised above the 5-minute default. ### Remote option Hosted by Perplexity with the same tools. Send your API key as an "Authorization: Bearer" header. ``` https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp ``` ## Settings | Setting | Kind | Required | What it does | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` | env | yes | Your key from the Perplexity API console. Example: `pplx-...` | | `PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS` | env | no | How long a call may run before it gives up. Defaults to five minutes. Example: `600000` | | `PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL` | env | no | Sends requests to a different API address. Example: `https://api.perplexity.ai` | | `PERPLEXITY_LOG_LEVEL` | env | no | DEBUG, INFO, WARN or ERROR. Defaults to ERROR. Example: `INFO` | | `PERPLEXITY_PROXY` | env | no | An HTTPS proxy for corporate networks. HTTPS_PROXY and HTTP_PROXY work too. Example: `https://proxy.example.com:8080` | ## What it can touch **It can read** - The public web, through Perplexity's search **It can change** - Your Perplexity API balance: each call is billed **Safer setup:** Nothing it does changes your files or accounts. Set a spending limit in the API console, since research calls cost more than plain searches. ## Before you start - A Perplexity API key with credit - Node.js, for the local version ## Good for - Current facts and news the model was not trained on - Cited research reports on a topic - Search with recency or domain filters ## If it does not work **The client reports an initialize or EOF error** npx can print install messages that confuse strict clients. Use -yq instead of -y in the args. **Research calls time out** Raise PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS, for example to 600000 for ten minutes. **Requests fail at work** Set PERPLEXITY_PROXY to your company proxy and check that api.perplexity.ai is allowed. **Authentication errors** Check that PERPLEXITY_API_KEY is set where the client starts the server and that the account has API credit. ## Similar servers | Server | Tools | Runs on | Stars | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Tavily MCP](https://mcpshelf.co/servers/tavily) | 5 | Your computer or hosted | 2.5K | | [DuckDuckGo Search MCP](https://mcpshelf.co/servers/duckduckgo) | 3 | Your computer | 1.6K | | [Brave Search MCP](https://mcpshelf.co/servers/brave-search) | 8 | Your computer | 1.5K | | [Playwright MCP](https://mcpshelf.co/servers/playwright) | 25 | Your computer | 38.7K | ## Questions ### Is this the official Perplexity server? Yes. Perplexity publishes it as @perplexity-ai/mcp-server under the MIT licence. ### Does a Perplexity Pro subscription cover it? It uses the Perplexity API, which is billed on its own, so you need API credit. ### Local or hosted? Both have the same tools. The hosted server at api.perplexity.ai/mcp needs no install; send your key as a bearer token. ### Which tool should the model use? perplexity_search for links, perplexity_ask for quick answers, perplexity_reason for tricky questions and perplexity_research for a full report. Full docs on GitHub: https://github.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol --- From [MCP Shelf](https://mcpshelf.co/): A short shelf of MCP servers that are worth installing. Index for agents: https://mcpshelf.co/llms.txt