What is Perplexity Tool

Perplexity-tool is a custom MCP tool that integrates Perplexity AI’s API with Claude Desktop, enabling web-based research and providing answers with citations.

Use cases

Use cases include academic research, generating content with citations, answering queries in educational settings, and enhancing productivity in information gathering.

How to use

To use perplexity-tool, install Git and Node.js, clone the repository, install dependencies, set up your API key, and configure Claude Desktop with the appropriate settings.

Key features

Key features include integration with Perplexity AI for web research, citation support for answers, and a user-friendly setup process.

Where to use

Perplexity-tool can be used in various fields such as research, education, content creation, and any area requiring reliable web-based information retrieval.

Perplexity Tool for Claude Desktop

A custom MCP tool that integrates Perplexity AI’s API with Claude Desktop, allowing Claude to perform web-based research and provide answers with citations.

Prerequisites Installation

1. Install Git:

   • For Mac:
     • Install Homebrew first by pasting this in Terminal:

     /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
     

     • Then install Git:

     brew install git
     

   • For Windows:
     • Download Git from git-scm.com
     • Run the installer

2. Install Node.js:

   • For Mac:

     brew install node
     

   • For Windows:
     • Download from nodejs.org
     • Run the installer

3. Verify installations by running:

git --version
node --version

Tool Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/letsbuildagent/perplexity-tool
cd perplexity-tool

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Set up your API Key

You have two options:

Option 1 (Quick setup):

• Open server.js
• Find this line:

const PERPLEXITY_API_KEY = "YOUR-API-KEY-HERE";

• Replace with your Perplexity API key

Option 2 (Best practice):

• Create a .env file:

  # On Mac/Linux:
  touch .env
  open .env
  
  # On Windows:
  notepad .env
  

  Or simply create a new file named .env in your text editor
• Add your API key to the .env file:

  PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
  

• Install dotenv:

  npm install dotenv
  

• Update server.js:

  import 'dotenv/config'
  const PERPLEXITY_API_KEY = process.env.PERPLEXITY_API_KEY;
  

4. Configure Claude Desktop

• Open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Add this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity-tool": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/full/path/to/perplexity-tool/server.js"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace /full/path/to with the actual path where you cloned the repository.

5. Restart Claude Desktop

Usage

Once installed, you can use the tool through Claude with commands like:

• “Ask Perplexity about recent developments in AI”
• “Use Perplexity to research the history of quantum computing”
• “Search Perplexity for information about climate change, focusing on the last month”

Advanced Options

You can specify additional parameters:

• temperature: Controls response randomness (0-2)
• max_tokens: Limits response length
• search_domain_filter: Restricts search to specific domains
• search_recency_filter: Filters by time period (day/week/month/year)

Troubleshooting

1. Git not found:

   • Make sure you’ve installed Git correctly
   • Try restarting your terminal
   • On Mac, make sure Homebrew is in your PATH

2. Node.js errors:

   • Verify Node.js installation with node --version
   • Try reinstalling Node.js

3. API Key issues:

   • Make sure you’ve correctly copied your API key
   • Check that there are no extra spaces in your .env file
   • If using Option 2, verify dotenv is installed

4. Tool not appearing in Claude:

   • Check the path in claude_desktop_config.json
   • Make sure the path points to your server.js file
   • Restart Claude Desktop
   • Check the console for any error messages

License

MIT

Security Note

If you’re planning to share your code or make it public:

• Don’t commit your API key to Git
• Use the .env method (Option 2)
• Add .env to your .gitignore file