---
name: exa-search
description: Neural search via Exa MCP for web, code, and company research. Use when the user needs web search, code examples, company intel, people lookup, or AI-powered deep research with Exa's neural search engine.
origin: ECC
---

# Exa Search

Neural search for web content, code, companies, and people via the Exa MCP server.

## When to Activate

- User needs current web information or news
- Searching for code examples, API docs, or technical references
- Researching companies, competitors, or market players
- Finding professional profiles or people in a domain
- Running background research for any development task
- User says "search for", "look up", "find", or "what's the latest on"

## MCP Requirement

Exa MCP server must be configured. Add to `~/.claude.json`:

```json
"exa-web-search": {
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "exa-mcp-server"],
  "env": { "EXA_API_KEY": "YOUR_EXA_API_KEY_HERE" }
}
```

Get an API key at [exa.ai](https://exa.ai).

## Core Tools

### web_search_exa
General web search for current information, news, or facts.

```
web_search_exa(query: "latest AI developments 2026", numResults: 5)
```

**Parameters:**

| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|-------|------|---------|-------|
| `query` | string | required | Search query |
| `numResults` | number | 8 | Number of results |

### web_search_advanced_exa
Filtered search with domain and date constraints.

```
web_search_advanced_exa(
  query: "React Server Components best practices",
  numResults: 5,
  includeDomains: ["github.com", "react.dev"],
  startPublishedDate: "2025-01-01"
)
```

**Parameters:**

| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|-------|------|---------|-------|
| `query` | string | required | Search query |
| `numResults` | number | 8 | Number of results |
| `includeDomains` | string[] | none | Limit to specific domains |
| `excludeDomains` | string[] | none | Exclude specific domains |
| `startPublishedDate` | string | none | ISO date filter (start) |
| `endPublishedDate` | string | none | ISO date filter (end) |

### get_code_context_exa
Find code examples and documentation from GitHub, Stack Overflow, and docs sites.

```
get_code_context_exa(query: "Python asyncio patterns", tokensNum: 3000)
```

**Parameters:**

| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|-------|------|---------|-------|
| `query` | string | required | Code or API search query |
| `tokensNum` | number | 5000 | Content tokens (1000-50000) |

### company_research_exa
Research companies for business intelligence and news.

```
company_research_exa(companyName: "Anthropic", numResults: 5)
```

**Parameters:**

| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|-------|------|---------|-------|
| `companyName` | string | required | Company name |
| `numResults` | number | 5 | Number of results |

### people_search_exa
Find professional profiles and bios.

```
people_search_exa(query: "AI safety researchers at Anthropic", numResults: 5)
```

### crawling_exa
Extract full page content from a URL.

```
crawling_exa(url: "https://example.com/article", tokensNum: 5000)
```

**Parameters:**

| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|-------|------|---------|-------|
| `url` | string | required | URL to extract |
| `tokensNum` | number | 5000 | Content tokens |

### deep_researcher_start / deep_researcher_check
Start an AI research agent that runs asynchronously.

```
# Start research
deep_researcher_start(query: "comprehensive analysis of AI code editors in 2026")

# Check status (returns results when complete)
deep_researcher_check(researchId: "<id from start>")
```

## Usage Patterns

### Quick Lookup
```
web_search_exa(query: "Node.js 22 new features", numResults: 3)
```

### Code Research
```
get_code_context_exa(query: "Rust error handling patterns Result type", tokensNum: 3000)
```

### Company Due Diligence
```
company_research_exa(companyName: "Vercel", numResults: 5)
web_search_advanced_exa(query: "Vercel funding valuation 2026", numResults: 3)
```

### Technical Deep Dive
```
# Start async research
deep_researcher_start(query: "WebAssembly component model status and adoption")
# ... do other work ...
deep_researcher_check(researchId: "<id>")
```

## Tips

- Use `web_search_exa` for broad queries, `web_search_advanced_exa` for filtered results
- Lower `tokensNum` (1000-2000) for focused code snippets, higher (5000+) for comprehensive context
- Combine `company_research_exa` with `web_search_advanced_exa` for thorough company analysis
- Use `crawling_exa` to get full content from specific URLs found in search results
- `deep_researcher_start` is best for comprehensive topics that benefit from AI synthesis

## Related Skills

- `deep-research` — Full research workflow using firecrawl + exa together
- `market-research` — Business-oriented research with decision frameworks
