This is a fork of https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server.

Exa MCP Server 🔍

Exa Code: fast, efficient web context for coding agents

Vibe coding should never have a bad vibe. exa-code is a huge step towards coding agents that never hallucinate.

When your coding agent makes a search query, exa-code searches over billions of Github repos, docs pages, Stackoverflow posts, and more, to find the perfect, token-efficient context that the agent needs to code correctly. It's powered by the Exa search engine.

Examples of queries you can make with exa-code:

use Exa search in python and make sure content is always livecrawled
use correct syntax for vercel ai sdk to call gpt-5 nano asking it how are you
how to set up a reproducible Nix Rust development environment

✨ Works with Cursor and Claude Code! Use the HTTP-based configuration format:

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

You can enable specific tool(s) using the tools parameter (if multiple, then with a comma-separated list):

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa,get_code_context_exa

Or enable all tools:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?tools=web_search_exa,deep_search_exa,get_code_context_exa,crawling_exa,company_research_exa,linkedin_search_exa,deep_researcher_start,deep_researcher_check

You may include your exa api key in the url like this:

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey=YOUREXAKEY

Note: By default, only web_search_exa and get_code_context_exa are enabled. Add other tools as needed using the tools parameter.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI assistants like Claude to Exa AI's search capabilities, including web search, research tools, and our new code search feature.

Remote Exa MCP 🌐

Connect directly to Exa's hosted MCP server (instead of running it locally).

Remote Exa MCP URL

https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp

Claude Desktop Configuration for Remote MCP

Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor and Claude Code Configuration for Remote MCP

For Cursor and Claude Code, use this HTTP-based configuration format:

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

Codex Configuration for Remote MCP

Open your Codex configuration file:

code ~/.codex/config.toml

Add this configuration:

[mcp_servers.exa]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"]
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.

Claude Code Plugin

The easiest way to get started with Exa in Claude Code, using plugins:

# Add the Exa marketplace
/plugin marketplace add exa-labs/exa-mcp-server

# Install the plugin
/plugin install exa-mcp-server

Then set your API key:

export EXA_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

Get your API key from dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys.

NPM Installation

npm install -g jordy-exa-mcp-server

Using Claude Code

claude mcp add exa -e EXA_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY -- npx -y jordy-exa-mcp-server

Configuration ⚙️

1. Configure Claude Desktop to recognize the Exa MCP server

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)

For macOS:

Open your Claude Desktop configuration:

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

For Windows:

Open your Claude Desktop configuration:

code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the Exa server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "jordy-exa-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
        "TOOLS": "web_search_exa,get_code_context_exa"
      }
    }
  }
}

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

The TOOLS environment variable (or ENABLED_TOOLS) is optional. If not specified, only web_search_exa and get_code_context_exa are enabled by default. Use a comma-separated list to enable specific tools.

3. Available Tools & Tool Selection

The Exa MCP server includes powerful tools for developers and researchers:

🌐 Tools

get_code_context_exa: Search and get relevant code snippets, examples, and documentation from open source libraries, GitHub repositories, and programming frameworks. Perfect for finding up-to-date code documentation, implementation examples, API usage patterns, and best practices from real codebases.
web_search_exa: Performs real-time web searches with optimized results and content extraction.
deep_search_exa: Deep web search with smart query expansion and high-quality summaries for each result.
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.
linkedin_search: Search LinkedIn for companies and people using Exa AI. Simply include company names, person names, or specific LinkedIn URLs in your query.
deep_researcher_start: Start a smart AI researcher for complex questions. The AI will search the web, read many sources, and think deeply about your question to create a detailed research report.
deep_researcher_check: Check if your research is ready and get the results. Use this after starting a research task to see if it's done and get your comprehensive report.

Note: By default, only web_search_exa and get_code_context_exa are enabled. You can enable additional tools using the TOOLS or ENABLED_TOOLS environment variable (see examples below).

💻 Setup for Code Search Only (Recommended for Developers)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "jordy-exa-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
        "TOOLS": "get_code_context_exa"
      }
    }
  }
}

Enable All Tools:

You can either enable all tools or any specific tools. Use a comma-separated list in the TOOLS or ENABLED_TOOLS environment variable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "jordy-exa-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
        "TOOLS": "web_search_exa,get_code_context_exa,crawling_exa,company_research_exa,linkedin_search_exa,deep_researcher_start,deep_researcher_check"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

The server supports the following environment variables:

EXA_API_KEY (required): Your Exa API key from dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys
TOOLS or ENABLED_TOOLS (optional): Comma-separated list of tool IDs to enable. If not specified, only web_search_exa and get_code_context_exa are enabled by default.
DEBUG (optional): Set to true or 1 to enable debug logging

Available tool IDs:

web_search_exa
get_code_context_exa
deep_search_exa
crawling_exa
company_research_exa
linkedin_search_exa
deep_researcher_start
deep_researcher_check

Using via NPX

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

# Run with default tools only (web_search_exa and get_code_context_exa)
EXA_API_KEY=your-api-key-here npx jordy-exa-mcp-server

# Enable specific tools only
EXA_API_KEY=your-api-key-here TOOLS=web_search_exa npx jordy-exa-mcp-server

# Enable multiple tools
EXA_API_KEY=your-api-key-here TOOLS=web_search_exa,get_code_context_exa,crawling_exa npx jordy-exa-mcp-server

# Enable all tools
EXA_API_KEY=your-api-key-here TOOLS=web_search_exa,get_code_context_exa,deep_search_exa,crawling_exa,company_research_exa,linkedin_search_exa,deep_researcher_start,deep_researcher_check npx jordy-exa-mcp-server

# With debug logging enabled
EXA_API_KEY=your-api-key-here TOOLS=web_search_exa DEBUG=true npx jordy-exa-mcp-server

Fork Changes

This fork contains the following changes from the original exa-labs/exa-mcp-server repository (all changes made after commit 75e902e0b495d94a025f68ab9c79d6e986316cf2):

Package Rename and Publishing

Package renamed: Changed from exa-mcp-server to jordy-exa-mcp-server for npm publishing
Version bump: Updated to version 3.1.4
NPM package: Published as jordy-exa-mcp-server on npm
Updated all references in package.json, server.json, gemini-extension.json, and documentation

Build System Migration

Migrated from Smithery to Bun: Replaced Smithery CLI build system with Bun's native build system
Build scripts updated:
- Removed @smithery/cli dependency
- Changed build command from smithery build to bun build
- Updated output directory from .smithery/stdio/ to dist/
- Removed smithery.yaml configuration file
Entry point changes:
- Modified src/index.ts to use StdioServerTransport directly instead of Smithery's transport abstraction
- Added direct stdio transport initialization in the main entry point
- Changed from default export function to named createServer function with separate main() entry point
Dockerfile updated: Migrated to use Bun runtime instead of Node.js
- Changed base image to oven/bun:1-alpine
- Updated build and runtime commands to use bun instead of node
- Updated dependency installation to use bun install

Development Tooling

Added Beads issue tracking: Integrated beads (bd) for issue tracking and project management
- Added .beads/ directory with configuration files
- Created AGENTS.md with agent instructions and workflow guidelines
- Added .beads/.gitignore for beads-specific files
- Configured beads metadata and interactions tracking
Added .gitattributes: Added Git attributes configuration file

Documentation Updates

README improvements:
- Added fork notice at the top
- Updated all package references from exa-mcp-server to jordy-exa-mcp-server
- Enhanced environment variable documentation for tool configuration
- Updated installation instructions to reflect new package name
- Clarified tool selection and configuration options

Code Changes

Server initialization refactoring:
- Separated server creation logic from transport initialization
- Added parseConfig() function to handle environment variable parsing
- Added main() async function for direct execution
- Improved error handling and logging
Removed Smithery-specific code: Cleaned up all Smithery CLI dependencies and abstractions

Files Changed

Added: .beads/ directory (config, README, metadata, interactions)
Added: AGENTS.md, .gitattributes, bun.lock, dist/index.js
Modified: package.json, package-lock.json, src/index.ts, README.md, Dockerfile, server.json, gemini-extension.json
Removed: smithery.yaml

Summary Statistics

17 files changed: 653 insertions(+), 70 deletions(-)
6 commits after the base commit

Built with ❤️ by team Exa

exa-mcp-server