perplexity-mcp

researchFamily-IT-Guy15 stars

A lightweight, easy-to-use Model Context Protocol (MCP) implementation that seamlessly integrates Perplexity's powerful AI models into Claude Desktop. This bridge lets Claude access Perplexity's search and reasoning capabilities through Anthropic's standardized tool interface.

Install

npx -y @familyitguy/perplexity-mcp

README.md

Perplexity Intelligent MCP Server

An intelligent Perplexity research MCP server for Claude Desktop with automatic model selection, multi-model synthesis, and persistent research history.

Features

Intelligent Model Selection: Auto-picks the right Perplexity model based on your query
Research History: Saves all research to ~/Documents/Perplexity Research/
Multi-Model Synthesis: Combines multiple models for comprehensive research
Search History: Search past research to avoid duplicate queries
Built-in Citations: Every response includes sources and references

Quick Setup

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ (download)
Claude Desktop
Perplexity API key (get one at perplexity.ai/settings/api)

Configure Claude Desktop

Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity-research": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@familyitguy/perplexity-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace your-api-key-here with your Perplexity API key.

Restart Claude Desktop

Quit completely (Cmd+Q) and reopen. You're done!

Available Tools

`research`

Intelligent Perplexity search with auto-logging.

Use: "Research the current state of AI in healthcare"

`deep_research`

Multi-model synthesis for comprehensive research.

Use: "Do a deep research on renewable energy trends"

`search_research`

Search past research for existing findings.

Use: "Search my research for React performance"

`list_research_threads`

List all saved research threads.

`read_research_thread`

Read a specific past research thread.

`list_models`

Show available Perplexity models and when to use each.

Models

Model	Best For
sonar	Simple factual lookups, current events
sonar-pro	Multi-source research, fact-checking
sonar-reasoning-pro	Why/how questions, complex analysis (default)
sonar-deep-research	Exhaustive research, comprehensive reports

Research Storage

All research is automatically saved to:

~/Documents/Perplexity Research/
├── topic-name-2025-01-15.md
├── another-topic-2025-01-16.md
└── ...

You can browse your research history in Finder anytime.

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`	Your Perplexity API key	Required
`PERPLEXITY_RESEARCH_DIR`	Custom research directory	`~/Documents/Perplexity Research/`

License

MIT