Exa MCP Server vs Exoplanet Archive
A side-by-side look at the Exa MCP Server and Exoplanet Archive MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Exa MCP Server for search & data extraction work as a local process; choose Exoplanet Archive for aerospace & astrodynamics as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Exa MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Search & Data Extraction domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
web_search_exa, web_fetch_exa.
Choose Exoplanet Archive when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aerospace & Astrodynamics domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
tap, planets, composite.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search & Data Extraction | Aerospace & Astrodynamics |
| Quality signal | 73/100 · Great | 59/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 5,150 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 10 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 2 | 6 |
| Full listing | View Exa MCP Server | View Exoplanet Archive |
Tools & capabilities
Exa MCP Server tools 2
web_search_exaSearch the web for any topic and get clean, ready-to-use content. Best for: Finding current information, news, facts, people, companies, or answering questions about any topic. Returns: Clean text content from top search results. Query tips: describe the ideal page, not keywords. "blog post comparing React and Vue performance" not "React vs Vue". Use category:people / category:company to search through Linkedin profiles / companies respectively. If highlights are insufficient, follow up with web_fetch_exa on the best URLs.web_fetch_exaRead a webpage's full content as clean markdown. Use after web_search_exa when highlights are insufficient or to read any URL. Best for: Extracting full content from known URLs. Batch multiple URLs in one call. Returns: Clean text content and metadata from the page(s).
Exoplanet Archive tools 6
tapADQL TAP query. For "how many confirmed exoplanets" or any per-planet count, query `pscomppars` (one row per confirmed planet) or COUNT(DISTINCT pl_name) -- never a bare COUNT(*) FROM ps, which counts published parameter SOLUTIONS (several per planet, currently ~40k rows for ~6.5k planets) and silently over-counts by 6x. Prefer the dedicated confirmed_planet_count tool for planet-count questions.planetsPer-solution search against the `ps` (Planetary Systems) table -- one row per published parameter SOLUTION, with several solutions per confirmed planet. Good for comparing how a planet's measured parameters changed across papers; NOT a planet count or a clean per-planet list (its row count is parameter solutions, not planets). For planet counts or one-row-per-planet listings use `composite` or `confirmed_planet_count` instead.compositeComposite planet parameter table `pscomppars` -- one row per confirmed planet. Use this (or `confirmed_planet_count`) for "how many confirmed exoplanets" questions and for any per-planet listing; do not use `ps`/`tap` for those, since `ps` has several rows per planet.confirmed_planet_countCount of confirmed exoplanets -- from the composite parameter table `pscomppars` (one row per planet), not the per-solution `ps` table. Use this for "how many confirmed exoplanets" questions. Optional filter narrows the count, e.g. "disc_year = 2023" for planets discovered that year. Returns the unit and the date of the live query.kepler_candidatesKepler Object of Interest (KOI) candidate table -- unconfirmed candidates, not confirmed planets. Do not use this table's row count to answer a confirmed-planet-count question.microlensingMicrolensing event table -- detection events, not a planet count.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Exa MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"exa-labs-exa-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"exa-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}
Exoplanet Archive
{
"mcpServers": {
"exoplanet-archive": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-exoplanet-archive"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Exa MCP Server is categorized under Search & Data Extraction and uses a local stdio subprocess. Exoplanet Archive belongs to Aerospace & Astrodynamics and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Exa MCP Server for search & data extraction work and Exoplanet Archive for aerospace & astrodynamics.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Exa MCP Server is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Exoplanet Archive has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add exa-labs-exa-mcp-server and exoplanet-archive as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Exa MCP Server has a quality signal of 73/100 (Great) with 10 views, 0 installs and 5,150 GitHub stars. Exoplanet Archive has 59/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.