ExaNot published by vendorVerified 2026-10-18

Exa MCP server: keyless web search for agents

Point any MCP client at https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp and the agent gets Exa web search and page fetch with no key or sign-in. Free keyless use is rate-limited; sign in or add a key for your own plan’s limits.

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Verified factsChecked 2026-10-18

PriceThe keyless tier is free and rate-limited. With an account, the Free plan gives $10 of credits a month (plus a one-time $10 bonus); usage beyond that is pay as you go at Exa’s published rates.3 [Verified 2026-10-18]
API key / authNone needed: our tools/list and web_search_exa calls on 2026-10-18 returned HTTP 200 without credentials. Optional OAuth via https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login, or an x-api-key header, puts usage on your Exa team.1 [Verified 2026-10-18]
Rate limitExa does not publish the keyless MCP limit; its docs say a 429 means you hit the free limits and should sign in or add a key. Account plans (Free and pay-as-you-go) get 10 QPS on search.3 [Verified 2026-10-18]
TermsExa Labs Terms of Service: no reselling or sublicensing the service without consent and no using it or its output to build a competing product. Exa may use queries and results to improve its services.4 [Verified 2026-10-18]
ToolsKeyless tools/list returned web_search_exa and web_fetch_exa. web_search_advanced_exa is opt-in via ?tools=…; agent_run needs OAuth or a key.1 [Verified 2026-10-18]
Source codeThe MCP server is open source (exa-labs/exa-mcp-server, MIT license) and also runs locally with npx exa-mcp-server and your key.5 [Verified 2026-10-18]

FeaturesChecked 2026-10-18

YesNoN/ANot published
CapabilityValueNote
StatusThe MCP docs give no beta, preview or GA label.Not published1 [Not published by vendor: checked 2026-10-18 on https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp]The MCP docs give no beta, preview or GA label.
API key requiredNo key, no sign-in. tools/list and web_search_exa returned HTTP 200 without credentials.No2 [Verified 2026-10-18 by test request to https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp]No key, no sign-in. tools/list and web_search_exa returned HTTP 200 without credentials.
Free tierFree, rate-limited (keyless). Accounts also get $10 of free credits a month on the Free plan.Yes1 [Verified 2026-10-18 on https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp]Free, rate-limited (keyless). Accounts also get $10 of free credits a month on the Free plan.
Rate limitThe keyless limit is not published; a 429 means you hit it. Signed-in Free and pay-as-you-go plans get 10 QPS on search.Not published3 [Not published by vendor: checked 2026-10-18 on https://exa.ai/docs/admin/billing.md]The keyless limit is not published; a 429 means you hit it. Signed-in Free and pay-as-you-go plans get 10 QPS on search.
Official MCP serverHosted, mcp.exa.ai/mcp. Streamable HTTP; open source (MIT) and runnable locally with a key.Yes1 [Verified 2026-10-18 on https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp]Hosted, mcp.exa.ai/mcp. Streamable HTTP; open source (MIT) and runnable locally with a key.
Official SDKexa-py and exa-js. Official SDKs for the underlying Exa API (they need a key).Yes1 [Verified 2026-10-18 on https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp]exa-py and exa-js. Official SDKs for the underlying Exa API (they need a key).
Data license / termsNo resale or sublicensing without consent; no building a competing product; Exa may use inputs and outputs to improve its services.Exa Labs Terms of Service4 [Verified 2026-10-18 on https://exa.ai/assets/Exa_Labs_Terms_of_Service.pdf]No resale or sublicensing without consent; no building a competing product; Exa may use inputs and outputs to improve its services.
Commercial use allowedAllowed, no resale. The terms restrict resale and competing products, not commercial use in general.Yes4 [Verified 2026-10-18 on https://exa.ai/assets/Exa_Labs_Terms_of_Service.pdf]Allowed, no resale. The terms restrict resale and competing products, not commercial use in general.
CORS / browser useAccess-Control-Allow-Origin: *. Preflight returned 204 with *.Yes2 [Verified 2026-10-18 by test request to https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp]Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *. Preflight returned 204 with *.
Freshness / coverageResults include each page’s published date; the advanced tool adds freshness controls.Live web index1 [Verified 2026-10-18 on https://docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcp]Results include each page’s published date; the advanced tool adds freshness controls.

What it does

Exa runs a hosted Model Context Protocol server in front of its search engine. Connected with no credentials, it exposes two tools: web_search_exa, which takes a natural-language description of the page you want and returns cleaned text and highlights from the top results, and web_fetch_exa, which reads one or more known URLs as clean text. Signing in with OAuth (append ?login) or sending an x-api-key header moves usage onto your own Exa team, adds the paid agent_run research tool, and uses your plan’s rate limits. An advanced search tool with domain, date and category filters can be switched on with the tools URL parameter.

Working exampleRun 2026-10-18

curl -sS -X POST https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"web_search_exa","arguments":{"query":"official documentation for the SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts API","objective":"Find the SEC page that documents data.sec.gov endpoints","numResults":2}}}'

Response (trimmed)

HTTP 200 (text/event-stream), run 2026-10-18 with no key
event: message
data: {"result":{"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Title: SEC.gov | EDGAR Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
  URL: https://www.sec.gov/search-filings/edgar-application-programming-interfaces
  Published: 2024-06-06T00:00:00.000Z
  Highlights: ... \"data.sec.gov\" was created to host RESTful data APIs ..."}, ...]}}

Agent setup

Prompt to give your agent

You have the Exa MCP server. Describe the page you want in web_search_exa (what it is and who publishes it), not just keywords, and fill in objective. Then read the best one or two results in full with web_fetch_exa before answering. Cite URLs. If you get a rate-limit error, stop and tell me rather than retrying in a loop.

Agent / MCP-style tool snippet

// Cursor .cursor/mcp.json (keyless)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa": { "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp" }
  }
}
// VS Code .vscode/mcp.json: { "servers": { "exa": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp" } } }
// Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http exa https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp
// Higher limits: use https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login (OAuth) or send x-api-key

Fit and safety

Good for

  • Adding web search to Claude Code, Cursor or Codex in one line with no key
  • Reading a known URL as clean text inside an agent loop
  • Quick research tasks before committing to a paid search API

Watch out

  • Do not build a production service on the keyless tier. Its limit is unpublished and shared; sign in or use a key for predictable limits.
  • Do not expect agent_run (multi-step research) without signing in. It is usage-billed and hidden on keyless connections.
  • Do not use it to resell search results or power a competing search product. Exa’s terms forbid both.
  • Do not send confidential queries if that is a concern. Exa’s terms let it use inputs and outputs to improve its services.

Alternatives

You.com MCP (free)Another keyless hosted search MCP, with a published 100-requests-a-day allowance.
TinyFish Search & FetchFree daily allowances that are published (12,000 searches, 1,000 fetches) but need a free account.
GitBook docs MCPWhen the question is about one product’s docs rather than the open web.

FAQ

Does Exa MCP need an API key?

No. https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp works without a key or sign-in at free, rate-limited levels. A key or OAuth sign-in uses your own Exa plan instead.

What tools does Exa MCP have?

Keyless: web_search_exa and web_fetch_exa. Optional: web_search_advanced_exa (opt in with ?tools=) and agent_run (needs sign-in or a key).

What is the Exa MCP rate limit?

Exa does not publish the keyless limit. A 429 error means you hit it; signed-in Free and pay-as-you-go plans get 10 QPS on search.

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SourcesFootnotes

  1. 1docs.exa.ai/reference/exa-mcpVerified 2026-10-18
  2. 2mcp.exa.ai/mcpTested 2026-10-18
  3. 3exa.ai/docs/admin/billing.mdVerified 2026-10-18
  4. 4exa.ai/assets/Exa_Labs_Terms_of_Service.pdfVerified 2026-10-18
  5. 5github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-serverVerified 2026-10-18