Our grade: 4 checks
Based on public data, not a full audit. See how we grade. Something changed? Request a re-grade.
Community rating
- 5 7
- 4 8
- 3 3
- 2 0
- 1 0
Trust in production
- Trust it - 72%
- With caveats - 22%
- Wouldn't - 6%
94% would recommend this server
How reviewers scored it
- Setup & docs 4.1
- Auth experience 3.7
- Reliability 4.3
- Maintainer responsiveness 4.3
Why it got an A
Official, open source, hosted by Exa over HTTPS and very active, with no advisories on record. OAuth is the preferred sign-in, and an API key can go in a header. Its default fetch tool reads any URL the model gives it on Exa's servers, so page text enters your agent's context. Biggest deduction: it works anonymously by default, and the README also offers putting the key in the URL, where it can leak into logs.
How to connect
// ~/.cursor/mcp.json
{ "mcpServers": { "exa": { "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp" } } }// .vscode/mcp.json
{ "servers": { "exa": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp" } } }Is Exa MCP safe?
Is Exa MCP safe to use?
Exa MCP grades A (strong public trust signals). Login is optional, so check that it is turned on in your setup.
Does Exa MCP have known vulnerabilities?
Not in our current data: it has no open CVEs or advisories. We re-check as new ones are published.
Does Exa MCP support authentication?
Optionally. It can run with a login, but it does not require one, so turn it on.
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Embed this badge
[](https://trustedmcp.io/servers/exa-mcp)<a href="https://trustedmcp.io/servers/exa-mcp"><img src="https://trustedmcp.io/badge/exa-mcp.svg" alt="TrustedMCP grade A" height="80"></a>Community reviews
Clean integration, sensible permissions
I use this almost daily. Filed an issue and got a reply within two days. Auth is optional, which is convenient locally. I turned it on before sharing it with the team.
Used for Finding recent sources for articles
- Setup & docs 4/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Surprisingly polished
Tried it on a side project first, then rolled it out at work. I run it with auth enabled. Without it I would not let it near anything shared.
Used for Technical research while coding
- Setup & docs 4/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 4/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Better than the DIY script it replaced
Set this up for our team after comparing a few options. The API key sits in the config file, so I made a dedicated key with minimal permissions. It is in our production agent and I sleep fine.
Used for Collecting references for reports
- Setup & docs 4/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Mixed feelings after two weeks
Some tools are great, a couple feel half finished. Out of the box it runs without sign-in, so remember to enable auth before exposing it anywhere. Updates land regularly, and nothing broke when I upgraded. Recommended, with sensible guardrails.
Used for Competitive research
- Setup & docs 3/5
- Auth experience 3/5
- Reliability 3/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
The Exa integration I wanted
Our agents call this dozens of times a day. Updates land regularly, and nothing broke when I upgraded. Auth is optional, which is convenient locally. I turned it on before sharing it with the team. Would recommend without hesitation.
Used for Grounding answers with live results
- Setup & docs 5/5
- Auth experience 5/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 5/5
Saves me a context switch every hour
Of the Exa integrations I tried, this one is the most predictable. The API key sits in the config file, so I made a dedicated key with minimal permissions. You can tell it is actively maintained, the rough edges keep getting fixed. Auth is optional, which is convenient locally. I turned it on before sharing it with the team.
Used for Research agent for market questions
- Setup & docs 5/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 5/5
Recommended it to two teams already
Been running this for about a month now. Releases come often and the changelog is clear. Out of the box it runs without sign-in, so remember to enable auth before exposing it anywhere. Happy to run it in production.
Used for Collecting references for reports
- Setup & docs 5/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 5/5
Good defaults, good docs
Hooked Exa MCP into Claude Code and it worked on the first try. Out of the box it runs without sign-in, so remember to enable auth before exposing it anywhere.
Used for Competitive research
- Setup & docs 5/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 5/5
Exactly what I needed from Exa
Installed it on a Friday, it was part of my workflow by Monday. Nice that it supports both stdio and HTTP, I use stdio locally and HTTP for the shared agent. Good choice if you need Exa in your agent.
Used for Fact-checking drafts
- Setup & docs 5/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Does the job, docs could be better
It does the job, but it took some tweaking. Releases come often and the changelog is clear. Worth it, just do not skip the hardening steps.
Used for Technical research while coding
- Setup & docs 3/5
- Auth experience 3/5
- Reliability 3/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 5/5
Easy win for our agent setup
Simple to set up in Cursor, simple to reason about. Filed an issue and got a reply within two days. I run it with auth enabled. Without it I would not let it near anything shared. Nice to use something maintained by Exa rather than a random fork. Good choice if you need Exa in your agent.
Used for Finding recent sources for articles
- Setup & docs 5/5
- Auth experience 3/5
- Reliability 4/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 5/5
Set it up once, forgot about it
Set this up for our team after comparing a few options. Being official from Exa counts for a lot when I pitch it to security. Filed an issue and got a reply within two days. Easy recommendation.
Used for Grounding answers with live results
- Setup & docs 3/5
- Auth experience 3/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 3/5
Does what it says, no drama
Clear tool names, sensible outputs, very few surprises. Gave it its own API key so I can revoke it without breaking anything else. Nice that it supports both stdio and HTTP, I use stdio locally and HTTP for the shared agent. Would recommend without hesitation.
Used for Collecting references for reports
- Setup & docs 4/5
- Auth experience 3/5
- Reliability 4/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
No complaints after a month
Been running this for about a month now. Nice to use something maintained by Exa rather than a random fork. You can tell it is actively maintained, the rough edges keep getting fixed. I would use it in prod, but only with a human approving writes.
Used for Finding recent sources for articles
- Setup & docs 4/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 4/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Useful, with a few rough edges
Good for experimenting, still deciding about production. The OAuth flow worked first time in Claude Code. Keeping it to local experiments for now.
Used for Fact-checking drafts
- Setup & docs 3/5
- Auth experience 2/5
- Reliability 3/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Worth the five minutes to set up
Our agents call this dozens of times a day. I run it with auth enabled. Without it I would not let it near anything shared. Happy to run it in production.
Used for Research agent for market questions
- Setup & docs 4/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 3/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 5/5
Quietly reliable
Replaced a homegrown script with Exa MCP and have not looked back. I run it with auth enabled. Without it I would not let it near anything shared. Nice that it supports both stdio and HTTP, I use stdio locally and HTTP for the shared agent.
Used for Grounding answers with live results
- Setup & docs 5/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 4/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
Earned a permanent spot in my config
Started with it as an experiment, now it is a fixture. Auth is optional, which is convenient locally. I turned it on before sharing it with the team. Nice that it supports both stdio and HTTP, I use stdio locally and HTTP for the shared agent. You can tell it is actively maintained, the rough edges keep getting fixed. It is in our production agent and I sleep fine.
Used for Research agent for market questions
- Setup & docs 3/5
- Auth experience 4/5
- Reliability 5/5
- Maintainer responsiveness 4/5
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