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Exa Search MCP

Exa Search MCP

Exa MCP (opens in a new tab) provides real-time web search capabilities for AI models. Instead of relying on training data, models can access current web content through Exa's search API.

Available Tools

Exa MCP includes eight search functions:

  • web_search_exa: General web search with content extraction
  • research_paper_search: Academic papers and research content
  • company_research: Company analysis and business intelligence
  • crawling: Extract content from specific URLs
  • competitor_finder: Find business competitors
  • linkedin_search: Search LinkedIn profiles and companies
  • wikipedia_search_exa: Wikipedia content retrieval
  • github_search: Repository and code search

Prerequisites

Tool calling support varies by model. Jan Nano 32k and 128k, Claude, Gemini, GPT-4o and above models work reliably. For both local and remote models, verify tool calling is enabled in model parameters.

Setup

Enable MCP

  1. Go to Settings > MCP Servers
  2. Toggle Allow All MCP Tool Permission ON

MCP settings page with toggle enabled

Get API Key

  1. Visit dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys (opens in a new tab)
  2. Create account or sign in
  3. Generate API key
  4. Save the key

Exa API Key

Configure MCP Server

Click + in MCP Servers section:

Configuration:

  • Server Name: exa
  • Command: npx
  • Arguments: -y exa-mcp-server
  • Environment Variables:
    • Key: EXA_API_KEY
    • Value: your-api-key

Exa Jan MCP Server

Verify Setup

Check server status in the MCP Servers list.

Exa Jan MCP Server

Model Configuration

Use a compatible model provider:

  • Jan Nano 32k
  • Anthropic
  • OpenAI
  • OpenRouter

E2B MCP Server

Usage

Start a new chat with a tool-enabled model. Exa tools will appear in the available tools list.

Exa Tools Available

Example Queries

Current Events & Activities:


What is happening this week, mid July 2025, in Sydney, Australia?

Exa Tools Available

Investment Research:


Find recent research papers about quantum computing startups that received Series A funding in 2024-2025

Tech Discovery:


Find GitHub repositories for WebAssembly runtime engines written in Rust with active development

Career Intelligence:


Search LinkedIn for AI safety researchers at major tech companies who published papers in the last 6 months

Competitive Analysis:


Research emerging competitors to OpenAI in the large language model space, focusing on companies founded after 2023

Travel & Local Research:


Find authentic local food experiences in Tokyo that aren't in typical tourist guides, mentioned in recent travel blogs

Academic Research:


Find recent papers about carbon capture technology breakthroughs published in Nature or Science during 2025

Creator Economy:


Research successful creators who transitioned from TikTok to longer-form content platforms in 2024-2025

Emerging Tech Trends:


Find startups working on brain-computer interfaces that have raised funding in the past 12 months

Health & Wellness:


Extract information about the latest longevity research findings from Peter Attia's recent podcast episodes

Regulatory Intelligence:


Find recent AI regulation developments in the EU that could impact US companies, focusing on July 2025 updates

Supply Chain Research:


Research companies developing sustainable packaging alternatives that have partnerships with major retailers

Use Cases

Academic Research

Literature reviews, finding recent papers, tracking research trends.

Business Intelligence

Competitor analysis, market research, company information gathering.

Technical Research

Finding libraries, tools, and code repositories. Documentation research.

Content Analysis

Extracting and analyzing content from specific URLs for research.

Professional Search

LinkedIn searches for industry connections and expertise.

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues:

  • Verify API key accuracy
  • Check Node.js installation
  • Restart Jan
  • Make sure you have enough credits in your Exa account

Tool Calling Problems:

  • Confirm tool calling is enabled for your model
  • Try Jan Nano 32k, Claude, Gemini, GPT-4o and above models
  • Check MCP server status

Search Quality:

  • Use specific, descriptive queries
  • Prefer natural language over keywords

API Errors:

⚠️

Exa has API rate limits. Check your plan limits to avoid interruptions.

Next Steps

Exa MCP enables real-time web search within Jan's privacy-focused environment. Models can access current information while maintaining local conversation processing.

E2B Code SandboxSettings