Exa MCP server

Remote MCP server exposing Exa's web search, code search, crawling, and research tools, including web_search_exa and web_fetch_exa. The docs state the server is free to use and requires no API key.

Endpoint and access

No sign-in: your client connects and lists tools immediately, with no account or key.

No sign-inEndpoint checked 2026-10-05Operated by Exa Labs

MCP endpoint (Streamable HTTP)

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Vendor documentation

What you can do with it

Search the web and get clean, ready-to-use content.
Fetch the full content of a webpage as clean markdown.
Find working code examples from GitHub, Stack Overflow, and official docs.
Research companies, funding history, and recent news.
Search arXiv and research blogs for academic papers with citations.

Tools advertised by the last live check:

web_search_exa
web_fetch_exa

Connect from your client

Each snippet registers the same endpoint; pick the client you use.

This server is operated by the named third party. Listing and endpoint checks are not an endorsement or a security audit. Review the operator's permissions, terms, and data handling before connecting. How listings are checked and corrected.

Claude Code

Run this once in a terminal. It registers a Streamable HTTP server. Use --scope project to write .mcp.json for the repo.

Claude Code configuration

claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Codex

Run this once. Codex stores MCP servers in ~/.codex/config.toml (or .codex/config.toml in a trusted project).

Codex configuration

codex mcp add exa --url https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Cursor

Merge this server into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, then enable exa in your MCP settings.

Cursor configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cline

Merge this into cline_mcp_settings.json (Cline → MCP Servers → Configure). The type must be streamableHttp for a remote HTTP server.

Cline configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp",
      "disabled": false
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Merge this server into .vscode/mcp.json. Use MCP: List Servers to start exa and inspect its tools.

VS Code configuration

{
  "servers": {
    "exa": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

Run this once. It writes .gemini/settings.json in the current project; pass --scope user for ~/.gemini/settings.json.

Gemini CLI configuration

gemini mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Claude Desktop

Merge this into claude_desktop_config.json (macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\), then restart Claude Desktop.

Claude Desktop configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Merge this into ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json, then refresh MCP in Cascade. Windsurf remote servers use serverUrl, not url.

Windsurf configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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