Exa MCP server: add Exa search to Claude, Cursor & Cline

Install — Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline

Add this to your MCP config. GROUNDROUTE_DEFAULT_ENGINE pins Exa as the preferred engine; the router still switches to a cheaper engine when quality is equivalent.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "groundroute": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@groundroute/mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GROUNDROUTE_API_KEY": "your-key",
        "GROUNDROUTE_DEFAULT_ENGINE": "exa"
      }
    }
  }
}

Get your API key at groundroute.ai/signup. BYOK: bring your own Exa key and route on it for free.

Exa pricing & limits

Why route Exa through GroundRoute?

In practice: GroundRoute sends the queries Exa is best at to Exa, and routes simpler lookups to cheaper engines that clear the quality bar — so you get Exa quality where it matters without paying Exa prices on every call.

Related

FAQ

What is the Exa MCP server?

An MCP server lets AI clients like Claude Desktop and Cursor call Exa search as a tool. GroundRoute wraps Exa (and 5 other engines) behind one MCP endpoint — you can pin Exa as the default or let the router choose the cheapest engine per query.

How do I add Exa search to Claude Desktop?

Add the GroundRoute server block to claude_desktop_config.json (see above) and set GROUNDROUTE_DEFAULT_ENGINE to "exa". Restart Claude Desktop. The search tool appears automatically.

Is Exa MCP free?

BYOK is free — bring your own Exa key. The managed tier has a free credit on signup. With GroundRoute you keep ~half the cache savings, so you never pay more than hitting Exa direct.

Exa vs multi-engine routing — which is better?

Exa is academic, semantic, and page-content retrieval. For queries in those classes it's often the right call. For other query types (plain web/news lookups), cheaper engines match quality at a fraction of the cost. Multi-engine routing lets you get Exa where it matters without paying Exa prices on every call.