---
name: exa-search
description: Web search, code search, company research, and deep research via Exa AI. Use for real-time web queries, finding code examples, researching companies, finding people, or starting deep research tasks. Triggers on web search needs, code lookups, company/people research.
---

# Exa Search

Exa AI search via their hosted MCP server. Provides web search, code context, company research, people search, and deep research capabilities.

## Quick Start

```bash
# Web search
~/clawd/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa-cli.mjs search "latest AI agent frameworks 2026"

# Code search
~/clawd/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa-cli.mjs code "Python async retry with exponential backoff"

# Company research
~/clawd/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa-cli.mjs company "Anthropic AI"

# People search
~/clawd/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa-cli.mjs people "CTO machine learning startups Stockholm"

# Crawl specific URL
~/clawd/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa-cli.mjs crawl "https://example.com/article"

# Deep research (async)
~/clawd/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa-cli.mjs research "State of quantum computing 2026"
~/clawd/skills/exa-search/scripts/exa-cli.mjs research-check <task-id>
```

## Available Tools

| Tool | Use Case |
|------|----------|
| `search` | General web search, news, current events |
| `search-advanced` | Filtered search (domains, dates, content type) |
| `code` | Code examples, docs, GitHub, StackOverflow |
| `crawl` | Full content from specific URL |
| `company` | Company info, news, competitors |
| `people` | LinkedIn profiles, professional bios |
| `research` | Start deep AI research task |
| `research-check` | Check research task status |

## API Key (Optional)

Free tier has rate limits. Add your key for higher limits:

```bash
export EXA_API_KEY="your-key-here"
```

Get key: https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys

## Advanced Search Options

```bash
# Filter by domain
exa-cli.mjs search-advanced "AI news" --domains techcrunch.com,wired.com

# Date range
exa-cli.mjs search-advanced "OpenAI announcements" --after 2026-01-01

# More results
exa-cli.mjs search "topic" --num 20
```

## Tool Details

See [references/tools.md](references/tools.md) for full parameter documentation.

## Tips

- **Code search**: Include language name ("Python", "Go", "TypeScript") for better results
- **Company research**: Start with company name, then drill into specifics
- **Deep research**: Returns task ID; poll with `research-check` until complete
- **Rate limits**: Free tier ~1 req/sec; add API key for more