Add Exa connector: mcp_remote, neural web search, optional API key (free tier), verify.py with MCP initialize probe

connectors/connectors.json

@@ -174,6 +174,50 @@
         }
       ]
     },
+    {
+      "id": "exa",
+      "name": "Exa",
+      "type": "mcp_remote",
+      "scope": "global",
+      "icon_small": "exa/icon_sm.png",
+      "icon_large": "exa/icon_lg.png",
+      "user_description": "AI-powered web search, content extraction, and research via Exa's neural search engine. Works without an API key (free rate-limited tier).",
+      "tags": [
+        "search",
+        "mcp",
+        "remote",
+        "ai"
+      ],
+      "auth": {
+        "type": "api_key"
+      },
+      "folder": "exa",
+      "version": 1,
+      "version_string": "1.0.0",
+      "version_release_date": "2026-07-19",
+      "files": [
+        {
+          "path": "connector.json",
+          "sha256": "65d979906e37daee32c0f9e53f29b62a2003f44c8c3ae7899c0bdab78e4c78c0",
+          "size": 1409
+        },
+        {
+          "path": "verify.py",
+          "sha256": "8e77da3ca3eca8f733296da134aaa964e5db8d01d4bfb89aa5832296e9dc45a6",
+          "size": 2125
+        },
+        {
+          "path": "icon_sm.png",
+          "sha256": "dd0a17d75ce36187f34c1fbfa459aee1665d94b2b8e1e300c2559631ffdcd1bd",
+          "size": 1728
+        },
+        {
+          "path": "icon_lg.png",
+          "sha256": "a1b698035af2cb146dccd57f992155359d55a48bc85802e2a02e8148dcec1558",
+          "size": 3730
+        }
+      ]
+    },
     {
       "id": "firecrawl",
       "name": "Firecrawl",

connectors/exa/connector.json

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+{
+  "id": "exa",
+  "name": "Exa",
+  "version": 1,
+  "version_string": "1.0.0",
+  "version_release_date": "2026-07-19",
+  "type": "mcp_remote",
+  "scope": "global",
+  "tags": [
+    "search",
+    "mcp",
+    "remote",
+    "ai"
+  ],
+  "docs": [
+    {
+      "lang": "en",
+      "description": "AI-powered web search, content extraction, and embeddings via Exa's neural search engine. Perfect for deep research, finding specific information, and analyzing page content. Works without an API key (free rate-limited tier) — add your own key for higher limits.",
+      "llm_short_description": "Search the web and extract page content using Exa's neural search engine. Tools: web_search_exa, web_fetch_exa."
+    }
+  ],
+  "auth": {
+    "type": "api_key"
+  },
+  "env": [
+    {
+      "name": "exaApiKey",
+      "label": "Exa API key (optional)",
+      "description": "Get one at https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys. Without it, Exa works with free rate limits. Add your key for unlimited production use.",
+      "required": false,
+      "secret": true,
+      "example": "exa-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
+    }
+  ],
+  "mcp_config": {
+    "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?exaApiKey={SECRET:exaApiKey}",
+    "transport": "streamable-http"
+  },
+  "verify": {
+    "command": "python3 verify.py",
+    "timeout_secs": 15
+  },
+  "homepage": "https://exa.ai",
+  "icon_small": "icon_sm.png",
+  "icon_large": "icon_lg.png"
+}

connectors/exa/verify.py

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Verify connectivity to Exa's hosted MCP server.
+
+Reads exaApiKey from the environment (optional — Exa works in free tier without
+one), sends a lightweight JSON-RPC initialize to https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp, and
+prints a single JSON object:
+
+    {"ok": true,  "message": "Exa MCP endpoint is reachable"}
+    {"ok": false, "message": "Exa MCP endpoint is unreachable: <reason>"}
+
+The API key is never printed. HTTP-level verification only — no search queries.
+stdlib only (urllib).
+"""
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+import urllib.error
+import urllib.request
+
+
+def _result(ok, message):
+    print(json.dumps({"ok": ok, "message": message}))
+    sys.exit(0 if ok else 1)
+
+
+def main():
+    api_key = os.environ.get("exaApiKey", "").strip()
+    # Also accept UPPER_SNAKE form
+    if not api_key:
+        api_key = os.environ.get("EXA_API_KEY", "").strip()
+
+    url = "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp"
+    if api_key:
+        url += f"?exaApiKey={api_key}"
+
+    body = json.dumps({
+        "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+        "id": 1,
+        "method": "initialize",
+        "params": {
+            "protocolVersion": "2025-03-26",
+            "capabilities": {},
+            "clientInfo": {"name": "skald-verify", "version": "1.0.0"},
+        },
+    }).encode("utf-8")
+
+    req = urllib.request.Request(
+        url,
+        data=body,
+        headers={"Content-Type": "application/json"},
+        method="POST",
+    )
+
+    try:
+        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=15) as resp:
+            if 200 <= resp.status < 300:
+                label = "with API key" if api_key else "free tier"
+                _result(True, f"Exa MCP endpoint is reachable ({label})")
+            _result(False, f"Exa returned HTTP {resp.status}")
+    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
+        if e.code in (401, 403):
+            _result(False, "Exa API key is invalid or unauthorized "
+                           f"(HTTP {e.code})")
+        _result(False, f"Exa returned HTTP {e.code}: {e.reason}")
+    except Exception as e:
+        _result(False, f"Exa MCP endpoint is unreachable: {e}")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()