Claude can perform Web Search | Exa with MCP (Model Context Protocol)

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server lets AI assistants like Claude use the Exa AI Search API for web searches. This setup allows AI models to get real-time web information in a safe and controlled way.

Demo video https://www.loom.com/share/ac676f29664e4c6cb33a2f0a63772038?sid=0e72619f-5bfc-415d-a705-63d326373f60

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a system that lets AI apps, like Claude Desktop, connect to external tools and data sources. It gives a clear and safe way for AI assistants to work with local services and APIs while keeping the user in control.

The Exa MCP server:

• Enables AI assistants to perform web searches using Exa's powerful search API
• Provides structured search results including titles, URLs, and content snippets
• Caches recent searches as resources for reference
• Handles rate limiting and error cases gracefully
• Supports real-time web crawling for fresh content

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• Claude Desktop installed
• An Exa API key
• Git installed

You can verify your Node.js installation by running:

node --version  # Should show v18.0.0 or higher

npm install -g exa-mcp-server

To install the Exa MCP server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install exa --client claude

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server.git
cd exa-mcp-server

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the project:

npm run build

4. Create a global link (this makes the server executable from anywhere):

npm link

You can find claude_desktop_config.json inside the settings of Claude Desktop app:

Open the Claude Desktop app and enable Developer Mode from the top-left menu bar.

Once enabled, open Settings (also from the top-left menu bar) and navigate to the Developer Option, where you'll find the Edit Config button. Clicking it will open the claude_desktop_config.json file, allowing you to make the necessary edits.

OR (if you want to open claude_desktop_config.json from terminal)

1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration:

code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

1. Open your Claude Desktop configuration:

code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["/path/to/exa-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace your-api-key-here with your actual Exa API key from dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys.

The Exa MCP server includes the following tools:

• web_search_exa: Performs real-time web searches with optimized results and content extraction.
• research_paper_search: Specialized search focused on academic papers and research content.
• twitter_search: Dedicated Twitter/X.com search that finds tweets, profiles, and conversations.
• company_research: Comprehensive company research tool that crawls company websites to gather detailed information about businesses.
• crawling: Extracts content from specific URLs, useful for reading articles, PDFs, or any web page when you have the exact URL.
• competitor_finder: Identifies competitors of a company by searching for businesses offering similar products or services.
• linkedin_search: Search LinkedIn for companies and people using Exa AI. Simply include company names, person names, or specific LinkedIn URLs in your query.

You can choose which tools to enable by adding the --tools parameter to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/exa-mcp-server/build/index.js",
        "--tools=web_search_exa,research_paper_search,twitter_search,company_research,crawling,competitor_finder,linkedin_search"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

For enabling multiple tools, use a comma-separated list:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "/path/to/exa-mcp-server/build/index.js",
        "--tools=web_search_exa,research_paper_search,twitter_search,company_research,crawling,competitor_finder,linkedin_search"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

If you don't specify any tools, all tools enabled by default will be used.

For the changes to take effect:

1. Completely quit Claude Desktop (not just close the window)
2. Start Claude Desktop again
3. Look for the 🔌 icon to verify the Exa server is connected

If you prefer to run the server directly, you can use npx:

# Run with all tools enabled by default
npx exa-mcp-server

# Enable specific tools only
npx exa-mcp-server --tools=web_search_exa

# Enable multiple tools
npx exa-mcp-server --tools=web_search_exa,research_paper_search

# List all available tools
npx exa-mcp-server --list-tools

Once configured, you can ask Claude to perform web searches. Here are some example prompts:

Can you search for recent developments in quantum computing?

Find and analyze recent research papers about climate change solutions.

Search Twitter for posts from @elonmusk about SpaceX.

Find tweets from @samaltman that were published in the last week about AI safety.

Research the company exa.ai and find information about their pricing and features.

Extract the content from this research paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1706.03762

Find competitors for a company that provides web search API services, excluding exa.ai from the results.

Find the LinkedIn profile for Anthropic company.

Search for data scientists at OpenAI on LinkedIn.

The server will:

1. Process the search request
2. Query the Exa API with optimal settings (including live crawling)
3. Return formatted results to Claude
4. Cache the search for future reference

You can test the server directly using the MCP Inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node ./build/index.js

This opens an interactive interface where you can explore the server's capabilities, execute search queries, and view cached search results.

1. Server Not Found

   • Verify the npm link is correctly set up
   • Check Claude Desktop configuration syntax
   • Ensure Node.js is properly installed

2. API Key Issues

   • Confirm your EXA_API_KEY is valid
   • Check the EXA_API_KEY is correctly set in the Claude Desktop config
   • Verify no spaces or quotes around the API key

3. Connection Issues

   • Restart Claude Desktop completely
   • Check Claude Desktop logs:

   # macOS
   tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log
   
   # Windows
   type "%APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp*.log"

• Exa AI for their powerful search API
• Model Context Protocol for the MCP specification
• Anthropic for Claude Desktop