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name: exa-search-ops description: Use when Codex needs semantic web search, news reconnaissance, or citation gathering through the Exa MCP server.

Exa Search Ops

Purpose

Coordinate Exa-based semantic searches for discovery tasks, including link gathering, trend monitoring, and citation harvesting, using the remote configuration defined in servers/exa.

Setup Checklist

1. Set EXA_ENDPOINT, EXA_API_KEY, and (optionally) EXA_DEFAULT_REGION.
2. Verify the exa entry exists in mcp.json with maxResults metadata tuned to the task.
3. Track the current request quota under the Exa dashboard before kicking off large searches.

Workflow

1. Frame the question – clarify keywords, negative keywords, date windows, and desired number of results.
2. Search – call the search tool with structured parameters (topic, start/end date, numResults). Use follow-up expansion judiciously.
3. Digest – parse the returned snippets, grouping them by theme and ranking by score.
4. Cite+Store – log the title, url, and score for each item you surface downstream. Consider persisting curated lists under docs/exa/.

Notes

• Enforce deduplication by comparing normalized URLs before presenting results.
• Use chronological filters instead of multi calls when researching within a known time range.
• If Exa responds with rate_limited, wait 10 seconds and retry once before escalating.