# How to connect Exa to Claude Cowork ```json { "title": "How to connect Exa to Claude Cowork", "toolkit": "Exa", "toolkit_slug": "exa", "framework": "Claude Cowork", "framework_slug": "claude-cowork", "url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-cowork", "markdown_url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-cowork.md", "updated_at": "2026-05-12T10:10:55.269Z" } ``` ## Introduction Cowork is Anthropic's AI agent for knowledge work. Think of it as Claude Code for everything else. It works autonomously with your computer, local files, and applications to accomplish complex tasks. This guide walks you through the easiest and most secure way to connect your Exa account to Cowork via Composio Connect, enabling it to summarize recent news articles on AI safety, find similar research papers to this URL, create a webset for quarterly sales data, and more such actions on your behalf without compromising your account security. ## Also integrate Exa with - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-code) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/hermes-agent) - [CLI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/cli) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/ai-sdk) - [Mastra AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/mastra-ai) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/crew-ai) ## Connect Exa to Claude Cowork ### Connecting Exa to Claude Cowork 1. Open Customize In Claude Desktop, click Customize in the left sidebar, then select Connectors and click the + icon at the top. 2. Add the Composio MCP server Click Add custom connector and paste in the Composio MCP server URL: ```bash https://connect.composio.dev/mcp ``` ## What is Claude Cowork? Claude Cowork is Anthropic's agent for general knowledge work. It can use your computer, files, and connected applications to complete longer-running tasks across your work tools. With Composio Connect, Cowork can securely access apps like Exa through MCP without you sharing account credentials directly with the agent. ## What is the Exa MCP server, and what's possible with it? The Exa MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Exa account. It provides structured and secure access to your Exa data platform, so your agent can perform actions like extracting answers from web data, running semantic searches, managing imports, and automating monitoring across your datasets. - Citation-backed question answering: Have your agent generate direct, source-cited answers or detailed summaries for your research questions using Exa’s advanced search. - Semantic similarity search: Quickly find web pages or documents that are semantically related to a given URL, complete with highlights or summaries for context. - Data import and webset management: Let your agent create, configure, or delete imports and websets to streamline data gathering and enrichment workflows. - Automated data monitoring: Schedule and manage monitors for websets to keep your data fresh and up-to-date with minimal manual intervention. - Event tracking and retrieval: Access a full history of system events or fetch details for specific events to stay on top of activity within your Exa environment. ## Supported Tools | Tool slug | Name | Description | |---|---|---| | `EXA_ANSWER` | Generate an answer | Generates a direct, citation-backed answer to a clear natural language question or topic using Exa's search, adept at both specific answers and detailed summaries for open-ended queries. Response contains an `answer` field (summary) and a `citations` field (supporting URLs). Citations may include low-credibility sources; verify authoritative references for factual use. | | `EXA_CREATE_IMPORT` | Create Import | Tool to create a new import to upload data into a Webset. Use when you need to initialize an import before uploading the data file. | | `EXA_CREATE_MONITOR` | Create a Monitor | Tool to create a new Monitor. Use when you need to schedule automated updates for a Webset without manual runs. | | `EXA_CREATE_RESEARCH` | Create Research Task | Creates an asynchronous research task that explores the web, gathers sources, synthesizes findings, and returns results with citations. The API responds immediately with a researchId for polling completion status. Use this when you need to generate: 1. Structured JSON matching an outputSchema you provide 2. A detailed markdown report when no schema is provided After creation, poll the research task status using the researchId to retrieve the final results when completed. | | `EXA_CREATE_WEBSET` | Create Webset | Tool to create a new Webset with search, import, and enrichment setup. Use when you need to configure and seed a Webset in one call. | | `EXA_DELETE_IMPORT` | Delete import | Tool to delete an existing import. Use when you need to permanently remove an import by its ID. | | `EXA_DELETE_WEBSET` | Delete webset | Tool to delete a Webset. Use after confirming the Webset ID to permanently remove the Webset and all its items. | | `EXA_FIND_SIMILAR` | Find similar | Finds web pages semantically similar to a given URL using embeddings-based search, optionally retrieving full text, highlights, or summaries for results. | | `EXA_GET_API_KEY` | Get API Key | Tool to retrieve details of a specific API key by its ID. Use when you need to fetch information about an API key in the team management context. | | `EXA_GET_CONTENTS_ACTION` | Get contents from URLs or document IDs | Retrieves configurable text and highlights from a list of Exa document IDs or publicly accessible URLs. Calls may partially succeed — always inspect the per-item `statuses` array for errors like CRAWL_NOT_FOUND, CRAWL_LIVECRAWL_TIMEOUT, CRAWL_UNKNOWN_ERROR, or SOURCE_NOT_AVAILABLE. Retrieved text is nested under `results[i].text`, not a top-level field. | | `EXA_GET_EVENT` | Get Event | Tool to get details of a specific event by its ID. Use when you have an event ID and need its full details. | | `EXA_GET_RESEARCH` | Get Research Task | Tool to retrieve the status and results of a previously created research task. Use the unique researchId returned from POST /research/v1 to poll until the task is finished. | | `EXA_LIST_EVENTS` | List events | Tool to list all events that have occurred in the system. Use when you need to paginate through the event history. | | `EXA_LIST_IMPORTS` | List imports | Tool to list all imports for the Webset. Use when you need to paginate through and monitor import jobs. | | `EXA_LIST_RESEARCH` | List research tasks | Tool to retrieve a paginated list of your research tasks. Use when you need to view or monitor research jobs with cursor-based pagination. | | `EXA_LIST_WEBHOOKS` | List webhooks | Tool to list all webhooks for Websets. Use when you need to view existing webhooks and paginate through results. | | `EXA_SEARCH` | Search | Performs a web search using the Exa engine, useful for queries requiring advanced filtering, specific content categories, or AI-optimized prompting. Returns snippets and metadata only — use EXA_GET_CONTENTS_ACTION on returned URLs to retrieve full page content. No pagination; issue multiple calls with varied queries or date windows for broader coverage. IMPORTANT CONSTRAINTS: - includeDomains and excludeDomains are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE: You can use ONE or the OTHER, but NEVER both in the same request. Providing both will cause a validation error. TYPE-SPECIFIC PARAMETER COMPATIBILITY: - type='keyword': Fast exact matching. Does NOT support useAutoprompt, includeDomains, or excludeDomains. - type='neural': AI semantic search. Supports all parameters including useAutoprompt and domain filters. - type='auto': Smart routing. Supports all parameters. | | `EXA_UPDATE_IMPORT` | Update import | Tool to update an import configuration by ID. Use when you need to modify an import's title or metadata. | ## Supported Triggers None listed. ## Creating MCP Server - Stand-alone vs Composio SDK The Exa MCP server connects Claude Cowork to your Exa account through Composio. Once connected, Cowork can use the available Exa tools and triggers to complete tasks on your behalf. ## Complete Code None listed. ## How to build Exa MCP Agent with another framework - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-code) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/hermes-agent) - [CLI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/cli) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/ai-sdk) - [Mastra AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/mastra-ai) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/crew-ai) ## Related Toolkits - [Firecrawl](https://composio.dev/toolkits/firecrawl) - Firecrawl automates large-scale web crawling and data extraction. It helps organizations efficiently gather, index, and analyze content from online sources. - [Tavily](https://composio.dev/toolkits/tavily) - Tavily offers powerful search and data retrieval from documents, databases, and the web. It helps teams locate and filter information instantly, saving hours on research. - [Serpapi](https://composio.dev/toolkits/serpapi) - SerpApi is a real-time API for structured search engine results. It lets you automate SERP data collection, parsing, and analysis for SEO and research. - [Peopledatalabs](https://composio.dev/toolkits/peopledatalabs) - Peopledatalabs delivers B2B data enrichment and identity resolution APIs. Supercharge your apps with accurate, up-to-date business and contact data. - [Snowflake](https://composio.dev/toolkits/snowflake) - Snowflake is a cloud data warehouse built for elastic scaling, secure data sharing, and fast SQL analytics across major clouds. - [Posthog](https://composio.dev/toolkits/posthog) - PostHog is an open-source analytics platform for tracking user interactions and product metrics. It helps teams refine features, analyze funnels, and reduce churn with actionable insights. - [Amplitude](https://composio.dev/toolkits/amplitude) - Amplitude is a digital analytics platform for product and behavioral data insights. It helps teams analyze user journeys and make data-driven decisions quickly. - [Bright Data MCP](https://composio.dev/toolkits/brightdata_mcp) - Bright Data MCP is an AI-powered web scraping and data collection platform. Instantly access public web data in real time with advanced scraping tools. - [Browseai](https://composio.dev/toolkits/browseai) - Browseai is a web automation and data extraction platform that turns any website into an API. It's perfect for monitoring websites and retrieving structured data without manual scraping. - [ClickHouse](https://composio.dev/toolkits/clickhouse) - ClickHouse is an open-source, column-oriented database for real-time analytics and big data processing using SQL. Its lightning-fast query performance makes it ideal for handling large datasets and delivering instant insights. - [Coinmarketcal](https://composio.dev/toolkits/coinmarketcal) - CoinMarketCal is a community-powered crypto calendar for upcoming events, announcements, and releases. It helps traders track market-moving developments and stay ahead in the crypto space. - [Control d](https://composio.dev/toolkits/control_d) - Control d is a customizable DNS filtering and traffic redirection platform. It helps you manage internet access, enforce policies, and monitor usage across devices and networks. - [Databox](https://composio.dev/toolkits/databox) - Databox is a business analytics platform that connects your data from any tool and device. It helps you track KPIs, build dashboards, and discover actionable insights. - [Databricks](https://composio.dev/toolkits/databricks) - Databricks is a unified analytics platform for big data and AI on the lakehouse architecture. It empowers data teams to collaborate, analyze, and build scalable solutions efficiently. - [Datagma](https://composio.dev/toolkits/datagma) - Datagma delivers data intelligence and analytics for business growth and market discovery. Get actionable market insights and track competitors to inform your strategy. - [Delighted](https://composio.dev/toolkits/delighted) - Delighted is a customer feedback platform based on the Net Promoter System®. It helps you quickly gather, track, and act on customer sentiment. - [Dovetail](https://composio.dev/toolkits/dovetail) - Dovetail is a research analysis platform for transcript review and insight generation. It helps teams code interviews, analyze feedback, and create actionable research summaries. - [Dub](https://composio.dev/toolkits/dub) - Dub is a short link management platform with analytics and API access. Use it to easily create, manage, and track branded short links for your business. - [Elasticsearch](https://composio.dev/toolkits/elasticsearch) - Elasticsearch is a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine for all types of data. It delivers fast, scalable search and powerful analytics across massive datasets. - [Fireflies](https://composio.dev/toolkits/fireflies) - Fireflies.ai is an AI-powered meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and analyzes voice conversations. It helps teams capture call notes automatically and search or summarize meetings effortlessly. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Exa MCP? With a standalone Exa MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Exa tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Exa and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint. ### Can I use Tool Router MCP with Claude Cowork? Yes, you can. Claude Cowork fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Exa tools. ### Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Exa while using Tool Router? Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Exa scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do. ### How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router? All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Exa data and credentials are handled as safely as possible. --- [See all toolkits](https://composio.dev/toolkits) · [Composio docs](https://docs.composio.dev/llms.txt)