Official

Exa MCP Server

Web search, code search, and company research capabilities for AI assistants.

Data last scanned today · Reviewed yesterday

714 tools★ 4,743TypeScriptMIT

Overview

Exa MCP Server integrates Exa's specialized search engine directly into AI-powered development environments. It allows models to perform web-based research, locate specific code, and retrieve company data through structured API queries.

Our verdict

With a security score of 38/100, this server is classified as high risk. The most critical vulnerability is the lack of any authentication method, meaning anyone with access to your configuration can use it. It is also community-maintained and lacks OAuth support, making it unsuitable for environments where strict access control and identity verification are required.

Integrates web, code, and company search directly
Small dependency footprint with only 7 direct dependencies
Widely adopted with over 4,700 GitHub stars
Frequent updates with recent commits

High security risk due to no authentication
Community-maintained rather than official vendor support
Lacks OAuth support for secure identity management

Setup

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa-mcp-server": {
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows), then restart Claude Desktop. Some servers require API keys or tokens as environment variables — check the project's README and add an "env" object if needed.

No read-only mode — running this grants full read/write access.
No built-in authentication — anyone with access to this config can invoke every tool it exposes.

Tools

Tool	Description	Risk
web_search_exa	Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content	low
web_fetch_exa	Get the full content of a specific webpage from a known URL	low
web_search_advanced_exa	Advanced web search with full control over filters, domains, dates, and content options	low
agent_run	Run an Exa Agent for multi-step research, list-building, enrichment, or structured output	medium

Compatibility

Client	Local	Docker	Remote	Read-only
Claude Desktop
Cursor
VS Code
Windsurf
ChatGPT

Frequently asked questions

›What do I need to get started with the Exa MCP server?

You will need an Exa API key, which can be obtained from the Exa dashboard.

›How can I configure the server if my client requires an API key?

You can provide your API key by setting the EXA_API_KEY environment variable within your MCP server configuration.

›Is the Exa MCP server available as a native connector?

Yes, Exa is available as a native Claude Connector within the Claude Desktop app, where you can simply search for it in the Connectors directory and add it.

›What capabilities does the Exa MCP server provide to AI assistants?

It provides search capabilities including web search, code search, and company research.

›How do I install the server if my client supports remote MCP?

You can configure remote clients by providing the endpoint URL https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp directly in your configuration file.