MCP SERVER · OFFICIAL PROJECTSearch the web and get clean content back, read full pages as markdown, or hand a research agent a multi-step question.
LABSCO SUMMARY
Most search APIs give an agent ten URLs and leave it to fetch each one, burning turns and context. Exa returns usable text from the search itself, and only when that is insufficient do you spend a call on the full page. The order between search and page reading is obvious, which is why this is one of the easiest connections to justify leaving in place.
Exa's hosted web search for agents, with a page reader and a research agent beside it.
Paste a URL — add the endpoint to your client
USE CASES
Search and read the returned content directly rather than fetching every result.
Fetch it as clean markdown when the search highlights are not enough.
Hand agent_run a research question or a list to build, and get written findings back with the sources behind them.
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
web_fetch_exaRead a webpage's full content as clean markdown. Use after web_search_exa when highlights are insufficient or to read any URL.
Best for: Extracting full content from known URLs. Batch multiple URLs in one call. Returns: Clean text content and metadata from the page(s).
web_search_exaSearch the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content.
Best for: Finding current information, news, facts, people, companies, or answering questions about any topic. Returns: Clean text content from top search results.
Query tips: describe the ideal page, not keywords. "blog post comparing React and Vue performance" not "React vs Vue". Use category:people / category:company to search through Linkedin profiles / companies respectively. If highlights are insufficient, follow up with web_fetch_exa on the best URLs.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
2 tools when we connected; the project documents 4.
Extra tools, depending on your plan:
an MCP client that can reach a remote endpoint
Of the 2 documented setups, 1 runs the server on your machine and 1 connects to a hosted endpoint.
CONTEXT COST
2 tool definitions ride along on every turn. Flag-gated tools cost nothing until you turn them on, so the standing cost is lower than the full set suggests
INSTALLATION
Add the endpoint to your client.
https://mcp.exa.ai/mcpRun the local npm package with your Exa API key:
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"exa-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"EXA_API_KEY": "your_api_key"
}
}
}
}To sign in to Exa, connect your client to this address instead of https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp:
https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?loginYour client opens Exa's sign-in in your browser and handles access from there.
If your client cannot sign in, connect it to https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp with this header in the server's entry:
x-api-key: YOUR_EXA_API_KEYPut your key from the Exa dashboard in place of YOUR_EXA_API_KEY.
MCP servers
