Perplexity MCP server

Perplexity MCP Zerver is a Model Context Protocol server implementation that provides AI-powered research capabilities by interacting with the Perplexity website without requiring an API key. It uses browser automation to access Perplexity's web search, chat features, and specialized research tools.

Features

• Web search integration via Perplexity's web interface
• Persistent chat history for conversational context
• Tools for documentation retrieval, API finding, and code analysis
• No API key required (relies on web interaction)
• TypeScript implementation with Puppeteer for browser automation

Tools Available

Search

Performs a search query on Perplexity.ai with support for different response detail levels:

• Brief
• Normal
• Detailed

Get Documentation

Retrieves documentation and examples for specific technologies or libraries, with optional focus on particular contexts.

Find APIs

Locates and evaluates APIs based on specified requirements and context.

Check Deprecated Code

Analyzes code snippets to identify deprecated features within specific technology contexts.

Extract URL Content

Extracts main article text content from URLs using browser automation and Mozilla's Readability. Handles GitHub repositories via gitingest.com and supports recursive link exploration.

Chat

Maintains ongoing conversations with Perplexity AI, storing chat history locally in a database file.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/wysh3/perplexity-mcp-zerver.git
   cd perplexity-mcp-zerver
   

2. Install dependencies using pnpm:

   pnpm install
   

3. Build the server:

   pnpm run build
   

Important notes:

• Ensure you have Node.js installed
• Puppeteer will download a compatible browser during installation
• Native modules are automatically rebuilt during installation
• Restart your IDE/application after building

Configuration

You need to add the server to your MCP configuration file, which varies depending on the application you're using:

For Cline/RooCode Extension

Add this to your cline_mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/full/path/to/your/perplexity-mcp-zerver/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {},
      "disabled": false,
      "alwaysAllow": [],
      "autoApprove": [],
      "timeout": 300
    }
  }
}

For Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/full/path/to/your/perplexity-mcp-zerver/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {},
      "disabled": false,
      "alwaysAllow": []
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace /full/path/to/your/perplexity-mcp-zerver/build/index.js with the absolute path to the built index.js file on your system. For Windows, use double backslashes in paths, e.g., C:\\Users\\username\\Documents\\perplexity-mcp-zerver\\build\\index.js.

Usage

1. Ensure the server is properly configured in your MCP settings file
2. Restart your IDE (VS Code with Cline/RooCode extension) or Claude Desktop application
3. The MCP client should automatically connect to the server
4. You can now ask the connected AI assistant to use the tools with commands like:

• "Use perplexity-server search to find the latest news on AI."
• "Ask perplexity-server get_documentation about React hooks."
• "Start a chat with perplexity-server about quantum computing."

Each tool has specific parameters and capabilities, so you can be more specific in your requests to get better results.

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.