Perplexity Comet Bridge
hanziliLABSCO SUMMARY
One capability, and a model dial.
This is a thin bridge, and the useful knob is PERPLEXITY_MODEL — the difference between sonar and sonar-reasoning-pro is a real difference in what you get back and what it costs. Since search is invoked at the model's discretion, keep the "Search the web" prefix in mind for when it decides it already knows.
What it is
A small MCP server that hands web search to Perplexity's API. Ask a question that needs current information and the assistant calls out to Perplexity and brings the answer back into the conversation.
What you get
- Web search results returned in the conversation, so questions about recent events or specific places get answered from the live web
- Model selection through
PERPLEXITY_MODEL:sonar-reasoning-profor the most capable reasoning,sonar-reasoningfor enhanced reasoning,sonar-profor faster responses, andsonaras the default - A manual trigger — prefix a prompt with "Search the web" when the assistant does not reach for it on its own
Requirements
A Perplexity API key from your Perplexity account settings, set as PERPLEXITY_API_KEY. Node.js v14 or higher. Clone the repository, npm install, npm run build, and point the config at build/index.js. The package is perplexity-server 1.0.0, MIT licensed. Perplexity bills you for usage at its own published rates.
Setup effort
Build from source
USE CASES
01
Answering a question about something recent
Ask normally and let the assistant search rather than answering from training data.
02
Paying for reasoning only when it is worth it
Leave the default sonar in place for routine lookups and switch the environment variable up when a question needs the reasoning models.
03
Forcing a lookup the model skipped
Start the prompt with "Search the web" so it goes out instead of relying on what it already has.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Requires
- Node.js
- PERPLEXITY_API_KEY in your environment
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
MCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/jaacob/perplexity-mcp
cd perplexity-mcp
npm install
npm run buildCLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"perplexity-server": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_PERPLEXITY_MCP>/build/index.js"
],
"env": {
"PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "<YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY>",
"PERPLEXITY_MODEL": "sonar"
}
}
}
}<YOUR_PATH_TO_PERPLEXITY_MCP> is the full path of the perplexity-mcp folder you cloned, and <YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY> your Perplexity API key from https://www.perplexity.ai/settings/api. The file is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json; restart Claude afterwards.
