Exa MCP Tool
This skill provides access to Exa's powerful search and research capabilities through the Exa MCP server.
Available Tools
General Purpose
exa-search <tool> '{"json":"args"}' - Generic wrapper for any Exa MCP tool
Specialized Wrappers
exa-web-search '{"query":"...", "count":10, "freshness":"pw", ...}' - Web search with optional filters
Full Tool List (via exa-search)
All tools from the Exa MCP server are available:
| Tool | Description |
|---|
web_search_exa | Search the web for any topic, get clean content |
web_search_advanced_exa | Advanced search with filters (domains, dates, content options) |
get_code_context_exa | Find code examples, documentation, programming solutions |
crawling_exa | Get full content of a specific webpage from a known URL |
company_research_exa | Research any company for business information and news |
people_search_exa | Find people and their professional profiles |
deep_researcher_start | Start an AI research agent that writes detailed reports |
deep_researcher_check | Check status and get results from deep research task |
Setup
-
Get your Exa API key from https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys
-
Set the environment variable:
export EXA_API_KEY="your_exa_api_key_here"
Or add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):
export EXA_API_KEY="your_exa_api_key_here"
Or create a .env file in your workspace:
echo "EXA_API_KEY=your_exa_api_key_here" > ~/.openclaw/workspace/.env
source ~/.openclaw/workspace/.env
-
Restart OpenClaw to load the skill:
openclaw gateway restart
Usage Examples
Basic Web Search
exa-web-search '{"query":"Step-3.5 Flash benchmarks"}'
Advanced Search with Filters
exa-search web_search_advanced_exa '{
"query": "OpenClaw AI",
"count": 10,
"freshness": "pw",
"includeDomains": ["github.com", "docs.openclaw.ai"]
}'
Code Search
exa-search get_code_context_exa '{
"query": "OpenClaw agent implementation",
"count": 5
}'
Crawl Specific URL
exa-search crawling_exa '{
"url": "https://docs.openclaw.ai/",
"maxPages": 10
}'
Company Research
exa-search company_research_exa '{
"company": "OpenClaw",
"includeNews": true,
"newsDays": 30
}'
People Search
exa-search people_search_exa '{
"query": "Phil openclaw creator",
"count": 10
}'
Deep Research (Two-Step)
# Start research
TASK_ID=$(exa-search deep_researcher_start '{
"query": "Current state of AI agents in 2026",
"maxSources": 20
}' | jq -r '.taskId')
# Check status (poll until complete)
while true; do
exa-search deep_researcher_check '{"taskId":"'"$TASK_ID"'"}'
sleep 5
done
Output Format
All tools return JSON with the Exa MCP response structure. The actual content is in the result field, which varies by tool but typically includes:
content: Array of result items with title, url, text (snippet)- Sometimes additional metadata like
cost, duration, sources
Example web search output:
{
"content": [
{
"title": "Step 3.5 Flash - MathArena",
"url": "https://matharena.ai/models/stepfun_3_5_flash",
"text": "Step 3.5 Flash benchmarks and performance metrics..."
}
]
}
Using in OpenClaw Agents
Agents can use these tools directly:
// In an agent session
/exec exa-search web_search_exa '{"query":"latest news"}'
// Or via API
{
"sessionTarget": "isolated",
"payload": {
"kind": "agentTurn",
"message": "Search for recent AI developments using exa-search"
}
}
Notes
- Rate limits apply based on your Exa plan
- The MCP server uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) streaming; the wrapper handles this
- All tools accept various optional parameters; see Exa docs for full schema
- Errors are returned with proper exit codes and messages to stderr
Troubleshooting
"EXA_API_KEY not set"
- Ensure the environment variable is exported in the same session where OpenClaw runs
- If using systemd/systemctl, set the key in the service file or
/etc/environment
"406 Not Acceptable"
- The tool already sets the correct Accept header; this shouldn't occur in the wrapper
Empty or no results
References
