How to add Exa Search to Claude Desktop

Exa's neural web search and crawling MCP server — runs locally via npx or as a hosted remote endpoint. Paste the config into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.

Last updated June 15, 2026 · 4.6k★ · stdio · apikey · official

Claude Desktop config for Exa Search

npx -y exa-mcp-server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "exa-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "<your-exa-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Setup steps

1Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (this opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json).
2Paste the Exa Search config below under the top-level "mcpServers" key.
3Fill in any placeholder secrets (API keys, paths) in the snippet.
4Save the file, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
5Open a chat and confirm Exa Search's tools appear under the 🔌 tools menu.

Before you start

Node.js with npx available (for the local stdio install)
An Exa API key from the Exa dashboard at https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys (set as EXA_API_KEY)
Alternatively, no local runtime is needed if you use the hosted remote endpoint at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

What Exa Search can do in Claude Desktop

web_search_exa

Search the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use page content (enabled by default).

web_fetch_exa

Retrieve the full content of a specific webpage from a known URL (enabled by default).

web_search_advanced_exa

Advanced web search with full control over filters, domains, dates, and content options (off by default).

get_code_context_exa

Search code/technical context (deprecated, kept for backward compatibility).

company_research_exa

Research companies from web sources (deprecated).

deep_researcher_start / deep_researcher_check

Kick off and poll a long-running deep research task (deprecated).

Security

Requires an EXA_API_KEY that gates billable usage; keep it secret. The fetch/search tools retrieve arbitrary remote content, so treat returned page text as untrusted input to your model.

Exa Search + Claude Desktop FAQ

Where is the Claude Desktop config file?

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the Exa Search config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.

Is Exa Search safe to use with Claude Desktop?

Requires an EXA_API_KEY that gates billable usage; keep it secret. The fetch/search tools retrieve arbitrary remote content, so treat returned page text as untrusted input to your model.

Do I need an API key to use the hosted endpoint?

Exa documents the remote endpoint at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp as usable without separate auth, while the local npx install requires your own EXA_API_KEY. Usage is still billed against your Exa account.

What tools does it enable by default?

Only web_search_exa and web_fetch_exa are on by default. web_search_advanced_exa is available but off unless you opt in, and several older tools are deprecated.

Local npx vs hosted remote — which should I use?

Use the hosted endpoint for fast, zero-install setup; use the local npx install when you want to manage your own key and run everything over stdio.

View repo Full Exa Search page