perplexity-mcp

# perplexity-mcp MCP server [](https://smithery.ai/server/perplexity-mcp) A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides web search functionality using [Perplexity AI's](https://www.perplexity.ai/) API. Works with the [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-context-protocol) Claude desktop client. ## Example Let's you use prompts like, "Search the web to find out what's new at Anthropic in the past week." ## Glama Scores <a href="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/ebg0za4hn9"><img width="380" height="200" src="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/ebg0za4hn9/badge" alt="Perplexity Server MCP server" /></a> ## Components ### Prompts The server provides a single prompt: - perplexity_search_web: Search the web using Perplexity AI - Required "query" argument for the search query - Optional "recency" argument to filter results by time period: - 'day': last 24 hours - 'week': last 7 days - 'month': last 30 days (default) - 'year': last 365 days - Uses Perplexity's API to perform web searches ### Tools The server implements one tool: - perplexity_search_web: Search the web using Perplexity AI - Takes "query" as a required string argument - Optional "recency" parameter to filter results (day/week/month/year) - Returns search results from Perplexity's API ## Installation ### Installing via Smithery To install Perplexity MCP for Claude Desktop automatically via [Smithery](https://smithery.ai/server/perplexity-mcp): ```bash npx -y @smithery/cli install perplexity-mcp --client claude ``` ### Requires [UV](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv) (Fast Python package and project manager) If uv isn't installed. ```bash # Using Homebrew on macOS brew install uv ``` or ```bash # On macOS and Linux. curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh # On Windows. powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex" ``` ### Environment Variables The following environment variable is required in your claude_desktop_config.json. You can obtain an API key from [Perplexity](https://perplexity.ai) - `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`: Your Perplexity AI API key Optional environment variables: - `PERPLEXITY_MODEL`: The Perplexity model to use (defaults to "sonar" if not specified) Available models: - `sonar-deep-research`: 128k context - Enhanced research capabilities - `sonar-reasoning-pro`: 128k context - Advanced reasoning with professional focus - `sonar-reasoning`: 128k context - Enhanced reasoning capabilities - `sonar-pro`: 200k context - Professional grade model - `sonar`: 128k context - Default model - `r1-1776`: 128k context - Alternative architecture And updated list of models is avaiable (here)[https://docs.perplexity.ai/guides/model-cards] ### Cursor & Claude Desktop Installation Add this tool as a mcp server by editing the Cursor/Claude config file. ```json "perplexity-mcp": { "env": { "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX", "PERPLEXITY_MODEL": "sonar" }, "command": "uvx", "args": [ "perplexity-mcp" ] } ``` #### Cursor - On MacOS: `/Users/your-username/.cursor/mcp.json` - On Windows: `C:\Users\your-username\.cursor\mcp.json` If everything is working correctly, you should now be able to call the tool from Cursor. <img width="800" alt="mcp_screenshot" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4b59774f-646c-41b3-9886-5cfd4c4ca051" width=600> #### Claude Desktop - On MacOS: `~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` - On Windows: `%APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` To verify the server is working. Open the Claude client and use a prompt like "search the web for news about openai in the past week". You should see an alert box open to confirm tool usage. Click "Allow for this chat". <img width="600" alt="mcp_screenshot" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/922d8f6a-8c9a-4978-8be6-788e70b4d049" />