Perplexity MCP Server is the official Model Context Protocol implementation for the Perplexity API Platform, enabling AI assistants to perform real-time web search, research, and advanced reasoning through specialized Sonar models. Key features: - Direct web search returning ranked results with metadata via the Perplexity Search API - General-purpose conversational queries using the sonar-pro model for quick information retrieval - Deep research capabilities with the sonar-deep-research model for comprehensive analysis and detailed reports - Advanced reasoning and problem-solving using the sonar-reasoning-pro model for complex analytical tasks - Optional token-saving feature to strip thinking tags from responses, reducing context window usage

Perplexity API Platform MCP Server

[](https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=perplexity&config=eyJ0eXBlIjoic3RkaW8iLCJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsIkBwZXJwbGV4aXR5LWFpL21jcC1zZXJ2ZXIiXSwiZW52Ijp7IlBFUlBMRVhJVFlfQVBJX0tFWSI6IiJ9fQ==)   [](https://vscode.dev/redirect/mcp/install?name=perplexity&config=%7B%22type%22%3A%22stdio%22%2C%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22%40perplexity-ai%2Fmcp-server%22%5D%2C%22env%22%3A%7B%22PERPLEXITY_API_KEY%22%3A%22%22%7D%7D)   [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@perplexity-ai/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 Sonar models and the Search API.

Available Tools

perplexity_search

perplexity_ask

perplexity_research

perplexity_reason

> [!TIP] > Available as an optional parameter for perplexity_reason and perplexity_research: strip_thinking > > Set to true to remove ... tags from the response, saving context tokens. Default: false

Configuration

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

claude mcp add perplexity --env PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here" -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server

Or install via plugin:

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here"
claude
Then run: /plugin marketplace add perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol
Then run: /plugin install perplexity

Cursor, Claude Desktop & Windsurf

We recommend using the one-click install badge at the top of this README for Cursor.

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

| Client | Config File | |--------|-------------| | Cursor | ~/.cursor/mcp.json | | Claude Desktop | claude_desktop_config.json | | Windsurf | ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json |

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

We recommend using the one-click install badge at the top of this README for VS Code, or for manual setup, add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex

codex mcp add perplexity --env PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here" -- npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server

Other MCP Clients

Most clients can be manually configured to use the mcpServers wrapper in their configuration file (like Cursor). If your client doesn't work, check its documentation for the correct wrapper format.

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

2. Set the proxy environment variable

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

export PERPLEXITY_PROXY=https://your-proxy-host:8080

If your proxy needs a username and password, use:

export PERPLEXITY_PROXY=https://username:password@your-proxy-host:8080

3. Alternate: Standard environment variables

If you'd rather use the standard v