exa — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
Connects AI assistants to Exa for web searches, markdown content extraction, and multi-step online research.
claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcpWhat exa does
The server runs as a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp without needing a local build. By default, it exposes two tools: web_search_exa for general search and web_fetch_exa to pull clean markdown directly from specified URLs.
You can enable advanced options like web_search_advanced_exa and agent_run by appending a tools query parameter to the URL. Note that setting this parameter overwrites default tools completely, so you must include all required handlers explicitly. Running agent_run requires OAuth or an Exa API key.
What it helps with
- find current web sources and documentation inside agent sessions
- fetch full webpage content converted into clean markdown
- run multi-step web investigations and list enrichment
- filter search results by domains, dates, and summaries
Example prompts for the agent
- Search the web for recent library changes using
web_search_exa - Fetch this documentation URL as clean markdown
- Run a research task with
agent_runto gather structured company data
How to install exa
Platform CLI: remote server
claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcpPlatform CLI: remote server
codex mcp add exa --url https://mcp.exa.ai/mcpConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa": {
"url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"exa": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
}
}
}Platform CLI: remote server
gemini mcp add -t http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcpStep by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about exa
How do I install exa in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp in your terminal.
What does the exa MCP server do?
It connects your coding agent to Exa, allowing it to search online, scrape web pages into clean markdown, and execute multi-step research workflows.
Do I need an API key to use exa?
The hosted endpoint connects directly for basic searches, but multi-step research via agent_run requires OAuth authentication or an Exa API key.
