---
title: "Exa: setup for Claude, Cursor, Codex · DotsAgent"
description: "Neural web search, page contents and code-context search for agents, hosted by Exa or run locally with an API key. Set up Exa in 13 MCP clients."
url: https://dotsagent.io/mcp/servers/exa
---

Search and docs · Exa

# Set up Exa

Neural web search, page contents and code-context search for agents, hosted by Exa or run locally with an API key.

- **Publisher**: Exa Official
- **Hosted endpoint**: `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp`
- **Run locally**: `npx -y exa-mcp-server`
- **Transports**: streamable-http, stdio
- **Authentication**: OAuth or an API key as query parameter, bearer or x-api-key header; EXA_API_KEY when local.
- **Environment**: `EXA_API_KEY`
- **What it can touch**: Read-only.
- **Licence**: MIT
- **Source**: [github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server](https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server)
- **Status**: Active

## Install

The vendor hosts this server, so you only add its URL and nothing runs on your machine. If it needs authentication, the row above says how; OAuth servers prompt you on first connection.

### Claude Code

`shell`

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

### Cursor

`.cursor/mcp.json`

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

### Codex

`~/.codex/config.toml`

```
[mcp_servers.exa]
url = "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
```

### Run it locally instead (Cursor)

`.cursor/mcp.json`

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

[Config for other clients →](https://dotsagent.io/mcp/config#add=exa)

## Other servers in search and docs

- [Fetch](https://dotsagent.io/mcp/servers/fetch): Fetches a web page and converts it to Markdown so the model can read it. Part of the MCP project's reference set.

- [AWS Knowledge](https://dotsagent.io/mcp/servers/aws-knowledge): AWS-hosted search over AWS documentation, blog posts, What's New entries and regional availability.

- [Microsoft Learn](https://dotsagent.io/mcp/servers/microsoft-learn): Search and fetch official Microsoft and Azure documentation and code samples.

- [Brave Search](https://dotsagent.io/mcp/servers/brave-search): Brave's own server for web, news, image, video and local search through the Brave Search API.

- [Tavily](https://dotsagent.io/mcp/servers/tavily): Search, extract, crawl and map websites through Tavily's agent-oriented search API, hosted or run locally.

- [Firecrawl](https://dotsagent.io/mcp/servers/firecrawl): Scrape, crawl, search and extract structured data from websites as Markdown or JSON.

## Sources

1. [github.com](https://github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server)/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server

Independent reference for people who build AI agents. Not affiliated with any vendor named here.

© 2026 DotsAgent · Facts checked October 1, 2026