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mcp-exa-search skill

/skills/mcp-exa-search

This skill helps you perform web searches, company research, and code context lookups using Exa AI for fresh, relevant results.

npx playbooks add skill vaayne/agent-kit --skill mcp-exa-search

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

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SKILL.md
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---
name: mcp-exa-search
description: Search the web, research companies, and find code context using Exa AI. Use when performing web searches, company research, or finding programming documentation. Triggers on "search the web", "find online", "research company", "code context for [library]", "Exa search".
---

# Exa AI Search

MCP service at `https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp` (http) with 3 tools.

## Requirements

- `mh` CLI must be installed. If not available, install with:
  ```bash
  curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vaayne/mcphub/main/scripts/install.sh | sh
  ```

## Usage

List tools: `mh -u https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp -t http list`
Get tool details: `mh -u https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp -t http inspect <tool-name>`
Invoke tool: `mh -u https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp -t http invoke <tool-name> '{"param": "value"}'`

## Notes

- Run `inspect` before invoking unfamiliar tools to get full parameter schema
- Timeout: 30s default, use `--timeout <seconds>` to adjust
- `getCodeContextExa` is best for programming-related queries (libraries, SDKs, APIs)

## Tools

| Tool                 | Description                                                                                                                              |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `webSearchExa`       | Search the web using Exa AI with real-time results. Supports configurable result counts and returns content from most relevant websites. |
| `companyResearchExa` | Research companies - finds comprehensive info about businesses, operations, news, financials, and industry analysis.                     |
| `getCodeContextExa`  | Search and get relevant context for programming tasks. Best for libraries, SDKs, and API documentation with high quality, fresh context. |

## Examples

```bash
# Web search
mh -u https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp -t http invoke webSearchExa '{"query": "latest AI developments 2024"}'

# Company research
mh -u https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp -t http invoke companyResearchExa '{"company": "OpenAI"}'

# Code context
mh -u https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp -t http invoke getCodeContextExa '{"query": "React hooks best practices"}'
```

Overview

This skill provides web search, company research, and code-context lookup using Exa AI. It exposes three focused tools for real-time web results, deep company profiles, and programming documentation context. Use it to augment research, gather fresh information, and pull relevant code examples or API details for development tasks.

How this skill works

The skill connects to an MCP HTTP service that offers three tools: webSearchExa, companyResearchExa, and getCodeContextExa. Each tool accepts a JSON request and returns structured results drawn from current web content, news, financials, and programming documentation. Inspect tool schemas before invoking to understand parameters, and adjust timeouts for longer queries.

When to use it

  • Gather up-to-date web results on a topic or news event.
  • Compile a detailed company profile, including operations, news, and financial signals.
  • Fetch code examples, API docs, or library-specific context for development tasks.
  • When you need configurable result counts or focused sources for research.
  • When you require fresh, real-time context that a static dataset may not contain.

Best practices

  • Run the tool inspection command first to see available parameters and expected payloads.
  • Use getCodeContextExa for programming queries to get higher-quality, code-focused context.
  • Limit result counts for faster responses; increase timeout for deeper research.
  • Provide precise queries (library name, API method, company name) to improve relevance.
  • Validate returned snippets and follow links to original sources for verification.

Example use cases

  • Search the web for the latest AI developments or policy changes affecting your product.
  • Research a potential partner or competitor to gather news, financials, and market position.
  • Find API usage examples and implementation notes for a specific library or SDK.
  • Collect citations and source links for a report or due-diligence summary.
  • Quickly retrieve code patterns or migration tips when upgrading dependencies.

FAQ

What tools are available and when should I pick each?

Use webSearchExa for general web queries, companyResearchExa for business-focused investigations, and getCodeContextExa for programming documentation and code examples.

How do I run queries against the service?

Invoke tools by sending JSON payloads to the MCP HTTP endpoint. Inspect a tool first to see its parameter schema, then call it with the appropriate payload and a suitable timeout.