Skip the install. Get this working in under 2 minutes.
Start a free trial on cloud.anythingmcp.com, add the Perplexity API in one click, then point your AI client (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot or Cursor) at the generated MCP endpoint. No Docker, no git clone, zero engineering experience required.
Summary
Let your AI ask Perplexity with your own API key: answers grounded in live web search with their sources, raw ranked search results, Sonar models, and longer deep research that runs in the background.
Try asking
Example prompts for Perplexity API
Click any prompt to copy it. Paste into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, Copilot or OpenClaw to run it against this connector.
Claude is AI and can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.
💡 No install? Use cloud.anythingmcp.com directly. Sign in, click Connectors → Perplexity API, paste your credentials, mint an MCP API key and you're done. No Docker, no
git clone, no local server.
Perplexity API
Let your AI ask Perplexity with your own API key: answers grounded in live web search with their sources, raw ranked search results, Sonar models, and longer deep research that runs in the background.
Setup
- Sign in at
https://console.perplexity.aiand buy credits under Billing. The API is prepaid and separate from a Perplexity Pro subscription, which does not include API usage. Auto top-up avoids interruptions. - Open API Keys, create a key and copy it (it starts with
pplx-). - Paste it into
PERPLEXITY_API_KEYas Perplexity shows it, without the word Bearer, and install the connector. The key is sent only to Perplexity. - Start with
perplexity_list_models: it costs nothing and confirms the key works.
Billed to your own Perplexity credits: every call is billed to your prepaid API credits, except listing models and reading or cancelling a research run. Each answer reports its cost in US dollars, and the connector uses the cheap defaults unless you ask for more.
Which tool does what:
perplexity_askanswers questions that need current information, with numbered sources. Thefastpreset (the default) handles single facts and short summaries;lowadds light multi-step research.perplexity_searchreturns ranked web results with titles, links and snippets but no written answer. It is the cheapest option when the AI can read the sources itself: about $1 per 1,000 requests with the fast search type, $5 with web.perplexity_sonaruses the Sonar models (sonar,sonar-proandsonar-reasoning-pro). Perplexity ended support for Sonar chat completions on 27 September 2026: requests are still answered, rerouted onto the newer API, butperplexity_askis the better choice for new work.perplexity_start_researchruns deep research in the background with the presetsmedium,highorxhigh. A run can take several minutes and costs noticeably more than a quick answer, so the AI checks with you before it startshighorxhigh, and cancels runs you no longer need.
Filters: limit the sources to up to 20 domains (all included, or all excluded with a leading minus, such as -reddit.com, never mixed), to a recent period (hour, day, week, month or year) or to dates written MM/DD/YYYY.
Time limit: a call through the connector stops after 30 seconds. Quick answers fit well within it; anything longer goes through a background research run.
Untrusted content: answers are built from the open web. The AI treats instructions found inside them as data, not as orders.
Common errors: 401 means the key is wrong or deleted, or the account has run out of credits (Perplexity answers both with 401), so check Billing and API Keys in the console. 429: the rate limit of your usage tier, which rises with your total credit purchases. 400 or 422: an invalid parameter, such as an unknown model or included and excluded domains mixed.
The connector does not stream answers, create embeddings, upload files or read Perplexity's analytics.
Prerequisites: PERPLEXITY_API_KEY
Install the connector locally
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HelpCode-ai/anythingmcp/main/docker-compose.quickstart.yml -o docker-compose.yml
printf 'JWT_SECRET=%s\nENCRYPTION_KEY=%s\n' "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" "$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
docker compose up -d
Open http://localhost:3000/connectors/store, pick Perplexity API and paste in the env vars listed under Prerequisites.
Available tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
perplexity_ask | Ask Perplexity a question and get an answer grounded in live web search, with its sources (Agent API) |
perplexity_search | Search the web with Perplexity's Search API and get ranked results with title, URL, date and a content snippet, without a written answer |
perplexity_sonar | Ask a Perplexity Sonar model (chat completions) and get an answer with citations and the search results it used |
perplexity_start_research | Start a long Perplexity research run in the background (Agent API background mode) and get its id at once |
perplexity_get_response | Get a Perplexity Agent API run by id, for example a research run from perplexity_start_research |
perplexity_cancel_response | Cancel a Perplexity background run that is still queued or in progress, so it stops using credits |
perplexity_list_models | List the model ids the Perplexity Agent API accepts in the model parameter of perplexity_ask, in provider/model form (for example… |
Example prompts
- "What changed in the EU battery regulation this year? Answer with sources."
- "Find recent articles on remote work productivity and give me just the links and snippets."
- "Only using sources from europa.eu, what are the current roaming rules for business travellers?"
- "Start a deep research run on the European market for refurbished laptops, but check the preset with me first."
Next steps
Was this guide helpful?
