# AX Check: exa.ai
Checked 2026-10-29.

Exa.ai gives agents docs, install steps, and prices upfront.
All 23 checklist items passed: install commands, code examples, OpenAPI/MCP specs, and static pricing tables are all readable without login or clicks.

## Onboarding needs a login

## Coding sessions
Three independent sessions completed the task. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Kimi K3 both read and reported Exa's pricing in detail, citing per-1,000-request rates, free credits, and plan tiers; Qwen 3.8 Max completed without a pricing summary.

### DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
[View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/385c6b25-131e-4460-98fc-d9db534c4f66) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/exa.ai/sessions/deepseek.json)
Quoted per-1k rates by search type with assumptions: base covers 10 results, extra results/summaries billed, per content type, $10 monthly free credits; $0.007 per auto call. (seq 37, seq 44, seq 105)
#### End-to-end onboarding
- **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained an EXA_API_KEY. It checked the environment and found no key, built the example code around the official exa-py SDK, then attempted a keyless raw request to the live API which returned an HTTP 402 payment-required / agent-verification challenge requiring a crypto wallet or human identity verification. No authenticated operation against the hosted Exa API was ever completed; the example was validated only up to the point of the network call (import, compile, --help, missing-key error path).
  Event 54:

  ```text
  0
  exit:1
  
  ```
  Event 96:

  ```text
  HTTP 402
  {"requestId":"85fe7d186eb500fa721f39320a6b8a2d","error":"Payment required to access this resource","tag":"X402_PAYMENT_REQUIRED"
  ```
  Event 105:

  ```text
  Live calls are blocked: **no `EXA_API_KEY`** is present in this environment, and I can't create one (dashboard signup) or pay unattended.
  ```

#### Hallucinated URLs
None identified in this transcript.

#### Blockers
- **No self-service way to obtain an Exa API key or pay for usage**: The sandbox had no EXA_API_KEY, and Exa requires either a dashboard signup (human action) to get a key or an x402 crypto micropayment / human-identity verification to use the API keyless. This is a normal product requirement (API keys gate billed usage), not a defect, but it fully blocked any live, authenticated call to the Search API within this session.
  Event 54:

  ```text
  0
  exit:1
  
  ```
  Event 96:

  ```text
  "error":"Payment required to access this resource","tag":"X402_PAYMENT_REQUIRED"
  ```
  Event 96:

  ```text
  "statement":"Verify your agent is backed by a real human to access Exa"
  ```

#### Suggested Changes
- **Add a note to the Search quickstart about keyless 402 payment challenges**: The quickstart's cURL/SDK examples show calls to api.exa.ai/search with a Bearer token but don't mention what happens without one. A developer probing the endpoint before getting a key hits an x402 crypto-payment/human-verification challenge instead of a clear error pointing back to key creation. Add a short callout near 'Make your first request' describing this; verify by sending a keyless POST to /search.
  Event 96:

  ```text
  "error":"Payment required to access this resource","tag":"X402_PAYMENT_REQUIRED"
  ```

### Kimi K3
[View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/70747fc6-f8d4-4b95-8a11-fb184edb3d74) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/exa.ai/sessions/kimi.json)
Gave figures by plan: free tier with about $10 in credits, pay-as-you-go at about $5 per 1,000 searches plus content add-ons, and enterprise. Said these came from memory and should be checked at exa.ai/pricing (seq 23, seq 24)
#### End-to-end onboarding
- **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained a real Exa API key. It checked environment variables (found none), hit the live API with no key (402 payment-required response) and with a dummy key (401 invalid-key response), then explicitly stated that Exa signup requires human Google/email auth which it cannot perform. No authenticated operation against the hosted Exa API was ever completed.
  Event 3:

  ```text
  env | grep -i -E "exa|api_key"
  ```
  Event 22:

  ```text
  ValueError: Request failed with status code 401: {"requestId":"d5fb7e1c9bf820fc81a7299fad58636e","error":"Invalid API key. Provide a valid key using 'Authorization: Bearer <key>' or 'x-api-key: <key>'. Create a key at https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys","tag":"INVALID_API_KEY"}
  ```
  Event 24:

  ```text
  Blocked at the live-call step**: Exa requires an API key from `dashboard.exa.ai`, and signup needs a human (Google/email auth) — I can't create accounts.
  ```

#### Hallucinated URLs
None identified in this transcript.

#### Blockers
- **No self-service way to obtain an Exa API key**: Exa's API requires a key created via dashboard.exa.ai, and account creation needs human Google/email authentication. This is a normal product login/signup requirement, not a product defect, but it stopped the agent from completing any live, authenticated call to the Exa API in this session.
  Event 24:

  ```text
  Exa requires an API key from `dashboard.exa.ai`, and signup needs a human (Google/email auth) — I can't create accounts.
  ```
- **Unauthenticated requests return payment-required or invalid-key errors**: Calling the live /search endpoint with no key returned an HTTP 402 x402 payment-required response, and with a dummy key returned a 401 invalid-key error. Both are expected product behavior for an unauthenticated caller, confirming the API itself was reachable but access was correctly gated.
  Event 7:

  ```text
  402
  ```
  Event 13:

  ```text
  {"requestId":"8671403ab9570a23d2da1bdbdec3716a","error":"Payment required to access this resource","tag":"X402_PAYMENT_REQUIRED"
  ```

#### Suggested Changes
- **Add a free, no-login trial key option to the quickstart**: The agent could not progress past authentication because dashboard.exa.ai signup requires human Google/email login; a temporary or sandboxed API key issued without full account creation would let automated or first-run evaluation proceed past the 401 boundary. Verify by having a fresh, non-interactive client request a trial key and successfully call /search with it.
  Event 24:

  ```text
  Exa requires an API key from `dashboard.exa.ai`, and signup needs a human (Google/email auth) — I can't create accounts.
  ```

### Qwen 3.8 Max
[View public run](https://agents.withgauge.com/p/runs/c83ddf8b-300f-4187-b920-139971d8864d) · [Read transcript](https://www.ax-check.com/exa.ai/sessions/qwen.json)

#### End-to-end onboarding
- **Onboarding needs a login**: The agent never obtained an EXA_API_KEY during the session. It confirmed no key was present in the environment, attempted to run its example script, and hit an explicit authentication error from the SDK. It did not sign up for an account, generate a key via the dashboard, or make any successful authenticated call to the Exa API. The final message tells the human to get a free key and export it themselves, meaning the credential step still requires human action.
  Event 4:

  ```text
  PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY=<set>
  ```
  Event 43:

  ```text
  ExaError: API key must be provided as an argument or as an environment variable (EXA_API_KEY)
  ```
  Event 45:

  ````text
  Get a free key at https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys, then:
  
  ```bash
  export EXA_API_KEY=your-key
  node exa-example.mjs
  ```
  ````

#### Hallucinated URLs
None identified in this transcript.

#### Blockers
- **No EXA_API_KEY available, so the example never ran live**: The sandbox environment only had a PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY, not an Exa credential. This is a test-environment/credential limitation rather than a product defect: Exa's own docs state signup requires visiting the dashboard (a human action), and the agent correctly identified this rather than fabricating a key or faking success.
  Event 4:

  ```text
  PI_GATEWAY_API_KEY=<set>
  ```
  Event 43:

  ```text
  ExaError: API key must be provided as an argument or as an environment variable (EXA_API_KEY)
  ```

#### Suggested Changes
None identified in this transcript.

### Task given to each agent
Help me build a simple example using Exa. Tell me how pricing works, and briefly tell me whether this product will be easy for you to manage. Let me know if you get blocked. If this product has no developer workflow you can act on, say so plainly and stop. Stay light: use the hosted product through its SDK or API. Do not start local service stacks or wait for long-running commands; if the quickstart requires either, say so plainly and stop.

No product credentials were supplied and no purchases were authorized.

## Score: A · 100/100 (provisional)
Grades come from completed site checks. Coding sessions and skipped checks do not affect the score.

### Clarity
- **Pass** — Homepage answers Markdown requests

  ```text
  Homepage returned text/markdown (1365 tokens) when requested with Accept: text/markdown.
  ```

- **Pass** — llms.txt provides an actionable documentation index

  ```text
  llms.txt links docs index, quickstarts, API guides, SDKs, OpenAPI specs and MCP/skills.
  ```

- **Pass** — llms.txt provides navigation guidance

  ```text
  llms.txt groups links by product, docs, SDKs, pricing and tells agents where to start.
  ```

- **Pass** — llms.txt mentions offered API, MCP, and skills

  ```text
  llms.txt has MCP Server, Agent Skills, SDKs, OpenAPI and API sections with links.
  ```

- **Pass** — A compact guide representation exists

  ```text
  Homepage serves text/markdown; docs pages offer .md variants and a skill.md guide.
  ```

- **Pass** — A focused guide is directly retrievable

  ```text
  exa.ai/docs/skill.md is a standalone Markdown guide with install, auth, endpoints and workflow.
  ```

- **Pass** — Equivalent instructions fit a token budget

  ```text
  skill.md is 3084 tokens, well under 8000 and below 40% of the HTML docs extraction.
  ```

- **Pass** — Product-docs links survive format changes

  ```text
  Markdown homepage retains docs, pricing, MCP, SDK and quickstart links present in HTML.
  ```

- **Pass** — The compact guide is independently actionable

  ```text
  skill.md gives install, auth, endpoint table, workflows, gotchas and verification checklist.
  ```

- **Pass** — Install and next-step links resolve

  ```text
  Fetched install/next-step targets (docs, quickstarts, SDK, MCP, skills) all returned 200.
  ```


### Onboarding
- **Pass** — Docs lead to a relevant quickstart

  ```text
  Contents and Agent quickstarts give concrete first requests with install, key, and run steps.
  ```

- **Pass** — Installation commands are extractable

  ```text
  Install commands shown: pip install exa-py and npm install exa-js.
  ```

- **Pass** — Code examples are available without interaction

  ```text
  Python, JavaScript, and cURL examples appear inline without interaction.
  ```

- **Pass** — Prerequisites and auth boundaries are explicit

  ```text
  Docs state Bearer $EXA_API_KEY auth and link dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys for keys.
  ```


### Pricing
- **Pass** — Pricing is readable without interaction

  ```text
  Exa pricing page renders full rate tables as static Markdown, no interaction needed.
  ```

- **Pass** — Prices are stated, not gated

  ```text
  Exa lists concrete per-1k-request prices for Search, Contents, Answer, Monitors, Agent.
  ```

- **Pass** — Pricing units and limits are explicit

  ```text
  Exa states units and limits: per 1k requests, 10 results included, per content type.
  ```

- **Pass** — Agents identify pricing and its assumptions

  ```text
  2 of 3 sessions were judged on pricing; 0 fell short. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: Quoted per-1k rates by search type with assumptions: base covers 10 results, extra results/summaries billed, per content type, $10 monthly free credits; $0.007 per auto call. (seq 37, seq 44, seq 105) Kimi K3: Gave figures by plan: free tier with about $10 in credits, pay-as-you-go at about $5 per 1,000 searches plus content add-ons, and enterprise. Said these came from memory and should be checked at exa.ai/pricing (seq 23, seq 24) This behavioural item does not affect the fast grade.
  ```


### Activation
- **Pass** — An API reference or OpenAPI spec is reachable

  ```text
  OpenAPI specs exa-spec.json and exa-spec.yaml fetched with 200, plus per-endpoint API reference pages.
  ```

- **Pass** — An MCP server is documented and well-formed

  ```text
  Exa MCP documented: hosted server URL, install per client, auth modes, and tool list.
  ```

- **Pass** — A CLI install path is documented

  ```text
  CLI install paths documented: npx skills add, claude plugin install, codex mcp add, npx exa-mcp-server.
  ```

- **Pass** — SDK packages resolve on their registries

  ```text
  Registry lookups returned HTTP 200 for pypi exa-py and npm exa-js.
  ```

- **Pass** — Agent skills are published

  ```text
  Agent Skills published: exa-labs/agent-skills repo, npx skills add, three documented skills.
  ```



[Full report data](https://www.ax-check.com/exa.ai/report.json)