What Perplexity API Platform MCP Server is The official MCP server for the Perplexity API Platform gives assistants real-time web search, reasoning and research through the Agent API and Search API. Use the hosted remote server or run it locally via npx. It needs a Perplexity API key.
What it does How Perplexity API Platform MCP Server plugs in: which agents run it and what it adds RUNS IN Your agent Claude Code OpenAI Codex Cursor Any MCP client 4 hosts documented MCP SERVER · OFFICIAL Perplexity API Platform MCP… Connect the agent to tools, data… 4 install steps 1 permission note license: MIT WHAT IT ADDS What it does perplexity_search: ranked web sea… perplexity_ask: conversational an… perplexity_research: deep researc… perplexity_reason: analytical rea… agent → extension → new capability · from the official repository or docs Where Perplexity API Platform MCP Server runs and what it adds, from its documentation perplexity_search: ranked web search results with recency and domain filters, optional fast mode perplexity_ask: conversational answers with web search (Agent API fast preset) perplexity_research: deep research reports (high preset, can take minutes) perplexity_reason: analytical reasoning (medium preset) When to use it
Good fit You need cited web search or deep research inside your coding agent You already have a Perplexity API key You need a self-hosted HTTP deployment (Docker or Node) Not for Use without a Perplexity API key Quick use of long research runs under short client timeouts without raising PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS How to install Perplexity API Platform MCP Server You need: Perplexity API key; Node.js for local npx use
Get an API key at console.perplexity.ai Claude Code remote: claude mcp add --transport http perplexity https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" Claude Code local: claude mcp add perplexity --env PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here" -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server Codex: codex mcp add perplexity --env PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here" -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server Permissions and security What it can access Network calls to api.perplexity.ai with your queries Security notes from the maintainers HTTP mode binds to 127.0.0.1 by default; CORS origins empty unless ALLOWED_ORIGINS is set Proxy credentials may be supplied via PERPLEXITY_PROXY Review the source before granting an agent access to credentials or production systems. We document what the maintainers state; we do not audit code.
Limitations Research runs can take minutes (default timeout 5 minutes) strip_thinking and reasoning_effort parameters are no longer supported Some strict clients need npx -yq to avoid stdout noise
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Anthropic's agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files and runs commands from the terminal, IDEs, desktop app or browser.
Watch out: Not included in the Free Claude plan, and usage on subscriptions is capped by plan limits.
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Verified Sep 29, 2026
code.claude.com ↗ (opens Claude Code website in a new tab)
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AI code editor with agents, cloud agents and code review, offered with a free Hobby tier and paid plans.
Free stops at: Limited Agent requests
Listed Not yet reviewed
Verified Sep 29, 2026
cursor.com ↗ (opens Cursor website in a new tab)
Frequently asked questions What tools does the Perplexity MCP server offer? perplexity_search, perplexity_ask, perplexity_research and perplexity_reason. source
What is the Perplexity remote MCP URL? https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp, authenticated with a Bearer API key. source
How do I install Perplexity MCP in Claude Code locally? claude mcp add perplexity --env PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here" -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server source
How do I raise the Perplexity MCP timeout for deep research? Set PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS (default 5 minutes), e.g. 600000. source
Sources and gaps Not stated by the maintainers: repo now lives at perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol (ppl-ai path redirects).
