# Perplexity — MCP Server

> Get cited, web-grounded answers from an AI agent via Perplexity Sonar.

**Source:** https://mcpplaygroundonline.com/mcp-servers/perplexity  
**Transport:** stdio  
**Requires auth:** Yes

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## What it does

The Perplexity MCP server exposes the Sonar API as an MCP tool. When a model calls it, Perplexity runs a live web search, reads the top sources and returns a written answer with inline citations — all in one round trip. It runs as a Node.js stdio process configured with a Perplexity API key. Because the answer is already grounded and cited, it complements raw-result search servers like Brave: the agent can delegate "find the answer and cite it" to Perplexity, then verify or expand with other tools. The reference implementation is open source in Perplexity's modelcontextprotocol repository.

## Tools exposed

- perplexity_ask — send a conversation to the Sonar API and return a cited, web-grounded answer

## Example queries you can run

- "Ask Perplexity what changed in the EU AI Act enforcement timeline for 2026 and keep the citations."
- "What is the current recommended way to deploy a remote MCP server? Give me a cited summary."
- "Fact-check this claim with sources: "MCP was first released in late 2024.""
- "Summarise the top three findings from recent research on retrieval-augmented generation, with links."

## Details

- **Recommended model:** anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5 — Claude Sonnet 4.5 knows when to delegate to Perplexity and how to weave the cited answer into a larger response. Haiku 4.5 works for simple single-question lookups.
- **Transport:** stdio
- **Authentication:** Required — A Perplexity API key from perplexity.ai/settings/api. Deploy a sandboxed hosted instance from the MCP Playground catalog and paste the key at deploy time, or run the server yourself.
- **Official source:** [ppl-ai/modelcontextprotocol on GitHub](https://github.com/ppl-ai/modelcontextprotocol)

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the Perplexity MCP server?

It is the official perplexity-ask MCP server from Perplexity. It lets any MCP-compatible AI model call Perplexity's Sonar API and receive a real-time, web-grounded answer with citations, rather than a list of raw search links.

### Which tools does the Perplexity MCP server expose?

The core tool is perplexity_ask, which forwards a conversation to the Sonar API and returns a synthesised answer with inline source citations. Some builds add reasoning and research variants, but perplexity_ask is the one every version ships.

### How is Perplexity different from a plain web-search MCP server?

A search server like Brave returns links and snippets and leaves the reading to your model. Perplexity does the searching, reading and synthesis on its side and hands back a finished, cited answer — useful when you want a grounded response in a single tool call.

### Do I need a Perplexity subscription to use it?

You need a Perplexity API key with Sonar API access, which is billed per usage separately from a consumer Pro subscription. Create the key in your Perplexity API settings and paste it when you deploy the server.

### How do I test a Perplexity MCP server in the browser?

Open MCP Agent Studio, deploy the hosted Perplexity server from the catalog, paste your Sonar API key, choose a model and ask a question. You can watch the perplexity_ask call and its cited answer stream back live.

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_Test this server across 40+ models on MCP Playground: https://mcpplaygroundonline.com/mcp-servers/perplexity — free, no install._