| name | exa |
| description | Comprehensive Exa.ai skill - semantic search, Research API, Answer endpoint, Websets, LinkedIn discovery, and company research |
Exa API Expert Skill
Use this skill when working with Exa.ai - the embeddings-based semantic search engine. This skill covers all Exa products and APIs.
When to Invoke This Skill
- Semantic web search (meaning-based, not just keywords)
- Finding LinkedIn profiles (company or person)
- Company research and competitor analysis
- Answering factual questions with citations
- Multi-step research tasks (Research API)
- Building and monitoring entity lists (Websets)
- Finding similar pages to a reference URL
- Getting current information from the web
Complete API Coverage
| Endpoint | Purpose | Cost |
|---|
/search | Core search (4 modes: fast/auto/neural/deep) | $0.005-0.015 |
/contents | Get page text/highlights/summary | $0.001/page |
/findSimilar | Find pages similar to URL | $0.005 |
/answer | LLM answers with citations | $0.005 |
/research/v1 | Async agentic research | $0.005/task + pages |
Products Covered
Search API
- 4 search modes: fast, auto (default), neural, deep
- Rich filtering: domains, dates, categories, text inclusion/exclusion
- Content extraction: text, highlights, AI summaries
- Best for: LinkedIn discovery, company research, semantic queries
Answer Endpoint
- Direct LLM-generated answers with source citations
- Streaming support for real-time responses
- Best for: Factual questions, current events, quick lookups
Research API
- Async multi-step research with AI agent
- Structured JSON output via
outputSchema
- Markdown reports with citations (default)
- Best for: Complex research, list building, deep dives
Websets
- Automated list building and monitoring
- Dashboard (no-code) and API access
- Enrichments, imports, webhooks
- Best for: Sales leads, recruiting, market research
Quick Pricing Reference
| Operation | Cost |
|---|
| Search (1-25 results, fast/auto/neural) | $0.005 |
| Search (26-100 results) | $0.025 |
| Deep search (1-25 results) | $0.015 |
| Content text per page | $0.001 |
| Content highlights per page | $0.001 |
| Content summary per page | $0.001 |
| Answer | $0.005 |
| Research task | $0.005 + $0.005-0.01/page |
Typical company research: $0.01-0.02
MCP Tools Available
Claude Code has built-in Exa MCP tools:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|
mcp__exa__web_search_exa | Web search with configurable results |
mcp__exa__get_code_context_exa | Get code/documentation context |
Key Strengths
- LinkedIn discovery - Best-in-class for finding profiles
- Semantic understanding - Finds content by meaning, not keywords
- Research automation - Async Research API for complex queries
- Clean API - Built for programmatic access
- Content extraction - Full text, highlights, and AI summaries
Example Use Cases
# Find a person's LinkedIn
/exa "John Smith CEO TechCorp" linkedin
# Research a company
/exa "Anthropic AI safety company overview"
# Find competitors
/exa similar:https://anthropic.com
# Quick factual answer
/exa answer:"When was OpenAI founded?"
# Deep research (async)
/exa research:"Find 10 AI startups in healthcare Series A 2024"
Reference Documentation
For complete API documentation, parameters, and code examples:
references/exa-complete-reference.md
Covers:
- All endpoint parameters
- Complete pricing matrix
- Search mode comparison
- Websets documentation
- Integration guides (Python, JS, LangChain, etc.)
- Decision tree for choosing endpoints
- Best practices and common patterns
- Error codes and troubleshooting
