Exa Cli MCP Server

by laishglenberg

CLI for Exa web search, fetching, and deep research via the Exa MCP server and API.

0Node.jsstdio

context tax

pending

security

97/100

cold start

pending

freshness

Active23d ago

Our reading of Exa Cli, from the data

Exa Cli is a web search MCP server from laishglenberg.

We haven't measured its tool list yet, so its token cost is unknown.

Maintenance is active: the last public signal was 23 days ago (2026-09-25). For comparison, 70% of web search servers are active or maintained.

With 0 GitHub stars it ranks #403 of 738 web search servers we index.

It runs locally on your machine over stdio.

Install Exa Cli MCP server

claude mcp add exa-cli -- npx -y @lglen/exa-cli

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa-cli": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@lglen/exa-cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (project).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa-cli": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@lglen/exa-cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Settings → Developer → Edit Config (claude_desktop_config.json), then restart.

{
  "servers": {
    "exa-cli": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@lglen/exa-cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exa-cli": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@lglen/exa-cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json.

Security signals

97/100 — no known issues found as of 2026-10-19, from the checks below. This is not a guarantee of safety; review what a server can do before connecting it.

Deductions

No security policy (SECURITY.md)-3

Checks

✓Repository hygiene (archived, activity, license, security policy)
○Package metadata (install scripts, provenance) — pending
○Tool descriptions (prompt-injection and hidden-text heuristics) — pending
○Source scan (secrets, CVEs, risky code) by vectra-guard — pending

Scan it yourself before installing with vectra-guard, the open-source agent security CLI. Scoring rules

Freshness

Active — last maintenance signal 23d ago. The newest of the signals below sets the band.

Last commit (default branch)
2026-09-25 · 23d ago · GitHub
Latest release
2026-09-25 · 23d ago · GitHub · v1.0.0
Package published
no data · npm/PyPI
Registry entry updated
no data · official registry

How it compares in Web Search

Against the most-starred web search servers we index. Token cost is per model turn, measured from each server's live tool list.

Server	Stars	Tools	Tokens / turn	Freshness	Runs
Exa Cli (this)	0	—	not measured	Active	local
Fetch	91,356	—	not measured	Active	local
Wigolo	5,486	—	not measured	Active	local
Exa	5,138	2	564	Active	local + hosted
Arxiv	3,224	—	not measured	Active	local
Devflowinc	2,720	—	not measured	Stale	—

All web search MCP servers

FAQ

›How do I install the Exa Cli MCP server in Claude Code?

Run: claude mcp add exa-cli -- npx -y @lglen/exa-cli. For Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop and Windsurf, use the install tabs above.

›Does Exa Cli require an API key?

No required environment variables are declared in its published metadata.

›Can I use Exa Cli as a remote (hosted) MCP server?

No hosted endpoint is published; it runs locally over stdio.

›Is Exa Cli in the official MCP registry?

No. It was indexed from npm.

Sources and method

GitHub repository: fetched 2026-10-19
Package registry (npm / PyPI): listed
Security signals, computed by us: 2026-10-19
Last checked against all sources: 2026-10-19

The description, packages and links come from the maintainer's own published metadata. Token cost, security signals, freshness and the reading above are MCPSkillHub's own measurements; see the methodology. Spot an error? Request a correction or claim the listing.