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exa-labs/exa-cursor-plugin · Archived

exa-best-practices

Reference guide for Exa search tools. Covers tool selection, citation standards, search optimization, and troubleshooting. Also useful as background context for improving search quality.

First seen May 30, 2026

Installation

$ npx skills add exa-labs/exa-cursor-plugin --skill exa-best-practices
View on skills.sh ↗ GitHub repository ↗

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Also in this package

Other skills from exa-labs/exa-cursor-plugin.

npx skills add exa-labs/exa-cursor-plugin
exa-web-search 7 exa-fetch 6

Browse all from exa-labs/exa-cursor-plugin

More details

Agent compatibility

Declared targets from SKILL.md / docs. Unmarked agents are not listed — the skill may still install via the CLI.

Claude Code Not declared
Cursor Not declared
Codex Not declared
GitHub Copilot Not declared
Windsurf Not declared
Gemini CLI Not declared
Cline Not declared
OpenCode Not declared

Repository health

Stars 6
License LICENSE
Default branch main
Open issues 1
Status Archived

Package contents

Files included with this skill beyond the listing page.

  • skill md SKILL.md 1,731 B
  • docs SUMMARY.md 212 B

History

  1. First seen on skills.sh
  2. First recorded snapshot · 6 installs

SKILL.md

Exa Best Practices

Tool Selection

Need Tool When
Web search websearchexa Current info, news, research, general questions, code examples
Read a URL webfetchexa Extract content from a known URL

Citation Standards

When using Exa search results, always cite sources:

  • Inline citations: Every fact or claim should reference its source
  • Source URLs: Include the actual URL, not just the title
  • Sources section: End responses with a list of all sources used
  • Never fabricate URLs: Only cite URLs that appear in search results

Search Quality Tips

  1. Natural language queries work better than keyword stuffing
  2. Be specific — include dates, names, versions when relevant
  3. Multiple queries with different phrasings improve coverage
  4. Adjust result count to match the depth needed (3-5 quick, 10-20 deep)

Getting Started

  1. Get your API key at https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys
  2. Add the MCP server in Cursor Settings → MCP
  3. Start searching with /exa-search or /exa-fetch

Troubleshooting

  • Tools not available: Check if the Exa MCP server is installed. If websearchexa or webfetchexa are not in your tool list, stop and request the user to: (1) run /exa-setup in Cursor to add the MCP server, and (2) go to Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP and make sure Exa is toggled on (green).
  • No results: Try rephrasing the query or broadening search terms