@perplexity-ai/mcp-server weekly downloads statistics

Perplexity API Platform MCP Server

The official MCP server implementation for the Perplexity API Platform, providing AI assistants with real-time web search, reasoning, and research capabilities through the Agent API and the Search API.

Remote MCP Server

The remote MCP server is hosted by Perplexity and is the easiest way to get started: same tools, nothing to install or update. The Cursor and VS Code buttons at the top of this page connect to it with one click. If your MCP client does not support remote servers yet, skip to the local server setup below. Connect over Streamable HTTP with your Perplexity API key:

For Claude Code:

See the MCP integration docs for manual Cursor/VS Code configuration, usage from the Anthropic API, and setup for other clients.

Local MCP Server

Get Your API Key

1. Get your Perplexity API Key from the API Portal 2. Replace your_key_here in the configurations below with your API key 3. (Optional) Set timeout: PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS=600000 (default: 5 minutes) 4. (Optional) Set custom base URL: PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL=https://your-custom-url.com (default: https://api.perplexity.ai) 5. (Optional) Set log level: PERPLEXITY_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG|INFO|WARN|ERROR (default: ERROR)

Claude Code

Or install via plugin:

Codex

Agent Plugins

This repository is packaged as an Agent Plugin, so clients that support the standard can install it directly from this repository. The Agent Plugins format does not carry secrets, so set the PERPLEXITY_API_KEY environment variable through your client's plugin or MCP settings.

Other MCP Clients

Most clients can be configured manually using the same mcpServers wrapper in their client config (as shown for Cursor). If a client has a different schema, check its docs for the exact wrapper format.

For manual setup, these clients all use the same mcpServers structure:

| Client | Config File |

| Cursor | ~/.cursor/mcp.json | | Claude Desktop | claude_desktop_config.json | | Kiro | .kiro/settings/mcp.json | | Windsurf | ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json | | VS Code | .vscode/mcp.json |

Proxy Setup (For Corporate Networks)

If you are running this server at work—especially behind a company firewall or proxy—you may need to tell the program how to send its internet traffic through your network's proxy. Follow these steps:

1. Get your proxy details

• Ask your IT department for your HTTPS proxy address and port. • You may also need a username and password.

2. Set the proxy environment variable

The easiest and most reliable way for Perplexity MCP is to use PERPLEXITY_PROXY. For example:

If your proxy needs a username and password, use:

3. Alternate: Standard environment variables

If you'd rather use the standard variables, we support HTTPS_PROXY and HTTP_PROXY.

[!NOTE] The server checks proxy settings in this order: PERPLEXITY_PROXY → HTTPS_PROXY → HTTP_PROXY. If none are set, it connects directly to the internet. URLs must include https://. Typical ports are 8080, 3128, and 80.

Self-Hosted HTTP Mode

For cloud or shared deployments, run the server in HTTP mode.

Environment Variables

| Variable | Description | Default |

| PERPLEXITY_API_KEY | Your Perplexity API key | *Required* | | PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL | Custom base URL for API requests | https://api.perplexity.ai | | PORT | HTTP server port | 8080 | | BIND_ADDRESS | Network interface to bind to. Defaults to loopback. Set to 0.0.0.0 to expose on all interfaces. | 127.0.0.1 | | ALLOWED_ORIGINS | CORS origins (comma-separated). Defaults to empty (no cross-origin browser requests). Set to an explicit allowlist (e.g. https://app.example.com) or to * to allow any origin. | *(empty)* | | ALLOWED_HOSTS | Additional Host header values to accept (comma-separated). Loopback hosts on PORT are always allowed. Add the public hostname when binding to 0.0.0.0. | *(loopback only)* |

Docker

Node.js

The server will be accessible at http://localhost:8080/mcp

Available Tools

perplexity_search

Direct web search using the Perplexity Search API. Returns ranked search results with metadata, perfect for finding current information. Supports recency filters (search_recency_filter), domain restrictions (search_domain_filter), and Fast Search (search_type: "fast") for lower latency and cost.

perplexity_ask

General-purpose conversational AI with real-time web search, backed by the Agent API fast preset. Great for quick questions and everyday searches.

perplexity_research

Deep, comprehensive research backed by the Agent API high preset. Ideal for thorough analysis and detailed reports. Runs can take minutes; the server streams the run and reports progress to clients that request it.

perplexity_reason

Advanced reasoning and problem-solving backed by the Agent API medium preset. Perfect for complex analytical tasks.

[!NOTE] Presets are managed configurations (model, search setup, step budget) that Perplexity keeps tuned over time; see the presets guide. Earlier versions of this server called the legacy sonar-pro, sonar-reasoning-pro, and sonar-deep-research models and accepted strip_thinking / reasoning_effort parameters. Those parameters are no longer part of the tool schemas and are ignored if sent; the Agent API produces no tags.

Use as a Library

The package also exports the server factory for embedding in your own Node process:

Mount the returned server on any MCP transport (stdio, streamable HTTP, in-memory).

Troubleshooting…

Description from the npm listing.