Perplexity MCP Server

Web search using Perplexity's API.

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Perplexity MCP Server

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An MCP server that provides web search capabilities using Perplexity's API.

Prerequisites

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install Perplexity Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @jaacob/perplexity-mcp --client claude

Manual Installation

  1. Clone this repository:

    git clone https://github.com/jaacob/perplexity-mcp
cd perplexity-mcp

  2. Install dependencies:

    npm install

  3. Build the server:

    npm run build

Configuration

  1. Get your Perplexity API key from https://www.perplexity.ai/settings/api

  2. Add the server to Claude's config file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/perplexity-mcp/build/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
        "PERPLEXITY_MODEL": "sonar"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to with the actual path to where you cloned the repository.

Available Models

You can specify which model to use by setting the PERPLEXITY_MODEL environment variable. Available options:

  • sonar-reasoning-pro - Most capable model with enhanced reasoning
  • sonar-reasoning - Enhanced reasoning capabilities
  • sonar-pro - Faster response times
  • sonar - Default model (used if no model is specified)

For up-to-date model pricing and availability, visit: https://docs.perplexity.ai/guides/pricing

Usage

After configuring the server and restarting Claude, you can simply ask Claude to search for information. For example:

  • "What's the latest news about SpaceX?"
  • "Search for the best restaurants in Chicago"
  • "Find information about the history of jazz music"

Claude will automatically use the Perplexity search tool to find and return relevant information.

If for whatever reason it decides not to, you can force the issue by prepending your prompt with "Search the web".

Development

To modify the server:

  1. Edit src/index.ts
  2. Rebuild with npm run build
  3. Restart Claude to load the changes

License

MIT

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