Bring Semantic Search
to Cursor
Create your Vinkius account to connect Exa to Cursor and start using all 3 AI tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code. No hosting, no server setup — just connect and start using.
GDPR Free for SubscribersCompatible with every major AI agent and IDE
Gemini
What is the Exa MCP Server?
Connect your AI agent to Exa — the semantic search engine built from the ground up for AI applications.
What you can do
- Semantic Search — Search the web using natural language. Unlike Google, Exa understands concepts and meaning, returning results that are semantically relevant even without exact keyword matches
- Find Similar — Provide any URL and discover web pages with similar content. Perfect for competitive analysis, research expansion, and content discovery
- Extract Contents — Get clean text, highlights, and summaries from any list of URLs. Ideal for building knowledge bases from curated sources
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Enter your Exa API key (1,000 free searches/month)
- Your agent can now search the web with semantic understanding
Who is this for?
- AI Agent Developers — give agents web search that truly understands context and meaning
- Research Teams — find related papers, articles, and resources that keyword search would miss
- Content Teams — discover competitors, alternatives, and related content at scale
Built-in capabilities (3)
Useful for finding competitors, related articles, or alternative sources on the same subject. Find web pages semantically similar to a given URL. Perfect for competitive analysis and content discovery
Useful when you already know which pages you want to read and need their content in a structured format. Extract clean text content from specific URLs. Provide comma-separated URLs to retrieve their content
Returns page text, highlights, and relevance scores. Supports search types: auto (default), instant (fastest), fast, deep (most thorough). Search the web using Exa semantic search engine. Finds conceptually relevant results, not just keyword matches
Why Cursor?
Cursor's Agent mode turns Exa into an in-editor superpower. Ask Cursor to generate code using live data from Exa and it fetches, processes, and writes. all in a single agentic loop. 3 tools appear alongside file editing and terminal access, creating a unified development environment grounded in real-time information.
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Agent mode turns Cursor into an autonomous coding assistant that can read files, run commands, and call MCP tools without switching context
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Cursor's Composer feature can generate entire files using real-time data fetched through MCP. no copy-pasting from external dashboards
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MCP tools appear alongside built-in tools like file reading and terminal access, creating a unified agentic environment
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VS Code extension compatibility means your existing workflow, keybindings, and extensions all work alongside MCP tools
Exa in Cursor
Why run Exa with Vinkius?
The Exa connection runs on our fully managed, secure cloud infrastructure. We handle the hosting, maintenance, and security so you don't have to deal with servers or code. All 3 tools are ready to work instantly without any complex setup.
You stay in complete control of your data. Your AI only accesses the information you approve, keeping your sensitive passwords and private details completely safe. Plus, with automatic optimizations, your AI works faster and more efficiently.
* Every connection is hosted and maintained by Vinkius. We handle the security, updates, and infrastructure so you don't have to write code or manage servers. See our infrastructure
Over 4,000 integrations ready for AI agents
Explore a vast library of pre-built integrations, optimized and ready to deploy.
Connect securely in under 30 seconds
Generate tokens to authenticate and link external services in a single step.
Complete visibility into every agent action
Audit live requests, latency, success rates, and active security compliance policies.
Optimize spending and track token ROI
Analyze real-time token consumption and cost metrics detailed by connection.
Explore our live AI Agents Analytics dashboard to see it all working
This dashboard is included when you connect Exa using Vinkius. You will never be left in the dark about what your AI agents are doing with your tools.
Exa and 4,000+ other AI tools. No hosting, no code, ready to use.
Professionals who connect Exa to Cursor through Vinkius don't need to write code, manage servers, or worry about security. Everything is pre-configured, secure, and runs automatically in the background.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-use MCPs | Find and configure each manually | 4,000+ MCPs ready to use |
| Connection Setup | Manual coding & server setup | 1-click instant connection |
| Server Hosting | You host it yourself (needs 24/7 uptime) | 100% hosted & managed by Vinkius |
| Security & Privacy | Stored in plaintext config files | Bank-grade encrypted vault |
| Activity Visibility | Blind execution (no logs or tracking) | Live dashboard with real-time logs |
| Cost Control | Runaway AI token spend risk | Automatic budget limits |
| Revoking Access | Must delete files or code to stop | 1-click disconnect button |
How Vinkius secures
Exa for Cursor
Every request between Cursor and Exa is protected by our secure gateway. We automatically keep your sensitive data private, prevent unauthorized access, and let you disconnect instantly at any time.
Frequently asked questions
How is Exa different from Google Search?
Exa uses neural embedding models to understand the meaning of your query, not just keywords. When you search 'startups building AI infrastructure', Google returns pages containing those exact words. Exa returns companies that match that concept — even if their pages use completely different terminology. It also provides specialized search indexes for people, companies, code, and academic papers.
What does the free tier include?
Exa's free tier includes 1,000 searches per month with content extraction included for up to 10 results per search at no additional cost. No credit card required. For higher volumes, paid plans offer increased quotas and priority support.
Can I filter results by domain, date, or category?
Yes! Exa supports powerful filtering options: include/exclude specific domains, filter by publication date range, search within specific categories (news, blog, academic, etc.), and even use domain path filtering to search within specific sections of a website.
What is Agent mode and why does it matter for MCP?
Agent mode is Cursor's autonomous execution mode where the AI can perform multi-step tasks: reading files, editing code, running terminal commands, and calling MCP tools. Without Agent mode, Cursor operates in a simpler ask-and-answer mode that doesn't support tool calling. Always ensure you're in Agent mode when working with MCP servers.
Where does Cursor store MCP configuration?
Cursor looks for MCP server configurations in a mcp.json file. You can configure servers at the project level (.cursor/mcp.json in your project root) or globally (~/.cursor/mcp.json). Project-level configs take precedence.
Can Cursor use MCP tools in inline edits?
No. MCP tools are only available in Agent mode through the chat panel. Inline completions and Tab suggestions do not trigger MCP tool calls. This is by design. tool calls require user visibility and approval.
How do I verify MCP tools are loaded?
Open Settings → Features → MCP and look for your server name. A green indicator means the server is connected. You can also check Agent mode's available tools by clicking the tools dropdown in the chat panel.
Tools not appearing in Cursor
Ensure you are in Agent mode (not Ask mode). MCP tools only work in Agent mode.
Server shows as disconnected
Check Settings → Features → MCP and verify the server status. Try clicking the refresh button.
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