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