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Official · by perplexityai

Perplexity MCP server

The Perplexity MCP server gives AI assistants live web lookup, reasoning, and investigation tools via the Agent API and Search API.

  • Hosted (remote) · Runs locally
  • MIT licence
  • ★ 2,578 on GitHub
  • Verified against its source 19 Oct 2026
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What the Perplexity MCP server does

It equips AI assistants with live web lookup, logical reasoning, and investigative functions through the Agent API and Search API. It is the official MCP server for the Perplexity API Platform. It can connect as a remote server using Streamable HTTP at https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp, or run locally by launching the @perplexity-ai/mcp-server package through npx, which requires an API key. Listed compatible clients include Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Claude Desktop, and Windsurf.

How to install it

Hosted server

Add this address to your assistant's MCP settings:

https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp

Run it locally

With Node.js (npx)

npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server

What you need

In the perplexityai documentation's own words:

  • “"PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your_key_here"”

Commands and settings change between versions. Check the official instructions before you install.