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Exa MCP Server

Updated Jul 7, 2026

The official Exa MCP server giving Claude Code access to Exa's semantic search and crawling API. Core tools: web_search_exa for general queries and web_fetch_exa for specific URLs; web_search_advanced_exa (off by default) adds domain/date filters and category targeting. Available as a hosted HTTP endpoint — no local install needed.

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What it does

claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp
Register the hosted Exa MCP HTTP endpoint in Claude Code — no local process or install needed.
web_search_exa
MCP tool (enabled by default) that runs a semantic web search and returns clean, ready-to-use content.
web_fetch_exa
MCP tool (enabled by default) that fetches and extracts the full text content of a specific URL.
web_search_advanced_exa
MCP tool (off by default) that adds domain filters, date ranges, and category targeting (company, news, research paper, people) to web search.

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OVERVIEW.mdprimary · markdown · 1.9 KB

## What it does

The Exa MCP server wraps Exa's semantic search and crawling API as MCP tools Claude Code can call mid-session. The primary interface is the hosted HTTP endpoint — no local install required. An Exa API key is optional for low-volume use; get one free at dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys for higher rate limits.

## Active tools (enabled by default)

web_search_exa — semantic web search returning clean, ready-to-use content for any topic

web_fetch_exa — retrieve the full content of a specific URL

## Optional tools (enable via query parameter)

web_search_advanced_exa — advanced web search with domain filters (includeDomains/excludeDomains), date ranges (startPublishedDate/endPublishedDate), category targeting (company, news, research paper, people, personal site, financial report), and result count tuning. Enable via: https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_advanced_exa

Exa Agent tools (agent_create_run, agent_wait_for_run, agent_get_run_output, agent_cancel_run) — async multi-step research runs. Enable via: https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=agent_tools

Note: older tools (company_research_exa, crawling_exa, people_search_exa, research_paper_search, get_code_context_exa) are deprecated — use web_search_exa or web_search_advanced_exa with the matching category instead.

## Install

Claude Code (hosted endpoint, no API key required for basic use):
claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Pass API key via the exaApiKey query param to the URL if needed, or set it in the Authorization header.

Via npm package (with API key in environment):
add to mcpServers: command npx, args [-y, exa-mcp-server], env EXA_API_KEY

## When to use

Add Exa MCP when you want Claude to search the live web, fetch specific pages, or do company/people/academic research during a session — without switching to a browser. Use web_search_advanced_exa with category: "research paper" for academic literature, category: "company" for business intelligence.