exa-best-practices

name	exa-best-practices
description	Reference guide for Exa search tools. Covers tool selection, citation standards, search optimization, and troubleshooting. Also useful as background context for improving search quality.

Exa Best Practices

Tool Selection

Need	Tool	When
Web search	web_search_exa	Current info, news, research, general questions, code examples
Read a URL	web_fetch_exa	Extract content from a known URL

Citation Standards

When using Exa search results, always cite sources:

• Inline citations: Every fact or claim should reference its source
• Source URLs: Include the actual URL, not just the title
• Sources section: End responses with a list of all sources used
• Never fabricate URLs: Only cite URLs that appear in search results

Search Quality Tips

1. Natural language queries work better than keyword stuffing
2. Be specific — include dates, names, versions when relevant
3. Multiple queries with different phrasings improve coverage
4. Adjust result count to match the depth needed (3-5 quick, 10-20 deep)

Getting Started

1. Get your API key at https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys
2. Add the MCP server in Cursor Settings → MCP
3. Start searching with /exa-search or /exa-fetch

Troubleshooting

• Tools not available: Check if the Exa MCP server is installed. If web_search_exa or web_fetch_exa are not in your tool list, stop and request the user to: (1) run /exa-setup in Cursor to add the MCP server, and (2) go to Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP and make sure Exa is toggled on (green).
• No results: Try rephrasing the query or broadening search terms