Before anything, unless you are just using non-search tools, ensure you have access to the search API. It is currently in closed beta and available upon request. Please reach out to support@kagi.com for an invite.

Install uv first.

MacOS/Linux:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Windows:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Alternatively, you can install Kagi for Claude Desktop via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install kagimcp --client claude

To add the Kagi mcp server to codex cli, you will need to use the following command:

codex mcp add kagi --env KAGI_API_KEY=<YOUR_API_KEY_HERE> -- uvx kagimcp

This will write out the configuration to ~/.codex/config.toml, so if you need to update/rotate your API key, update your key there before running codex again.

Codex CLI comes with its own built-in search (via --search flag), but it is disabled by default. So to deconflict between search and Kagi, just don't enable it.

// claude_desktop_config.json
// Can find location through:
// Hamburger Menu -> File -> Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kagi": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["kagimcp"],
      "env": {
        "KAGI_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE": "YOUR_ENGINE_CHOICE_HERE" // Defaults to "cecil" engine if env var not present
      }
    }
  }
}

Add the Kagi mcp server with the following command (setting summarizer engine optional):

claude mcp add kagi -e KAGI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY_HERE" KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE="YOUR_ENGINE_CHOICE_HERE" -- uvx kagimcp

Now claude code can use the Kagi mcp server. However, claude code comes with its own web search functionality by default, which may conflict with Kagi. You can disable claude's web search functionality with the following in your claude code settings file (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "permissions": {
    "deny": [
      "WebSearch"
    ]
  }
}

e.g. "Who was time's 2024 person of the year?" for search, or "summarize this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" for summarizer.

Run:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx kagimcp

git clone https://github.com/kagisearch/kagimcp.git

Install uv first.

MacOS/Linux:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Windows:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Then install MCP server dependencies:

cd kagimcp

# Create virtual environment and activate it
uv venv

source .venv/bin/activate # MacOS/Linux
# OR
.venv/Scripts/activate # Windows

# Install dependencies
uv sync

# `pip install mcp[cli]` if you haven't
mcp install /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/kagimcp/src/kagimcp/server.py -v "KAGI_API_KEY=API_KEY_HERE"

# claude_desktop_config.json
# Can find location through:
# Hamburger Menu -> File -> Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kagi": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/kagimcp",
        "run",
        "kagimcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "KAGI_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
        "KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE": "YOUR_ENGINE_CHOICE_HERE" // Defaults to "cecil" engine if env var not present
      }
    }
  }
}

e.g. "Who was time's 2024 person of the year?" for search, or "summarize this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw" for summarizer.

Run:

# If mcp cli installed (`pip install mcp[cli]`)
mcp dev /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/kagimcp/src/kagimcp/server.py

# If not
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector \
      uv \
      --directory /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/kagimcp \
      run \
      kagimcp

Then access MCP Inspector at http://localhost:5173. You may need to add your Kagi API key in the environment variables in the inspector under KAGI_API_KEY.

• Level of logging is adjustable through the FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL environment variable (e.g. FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL="ERROR")
  • Relevant issue: #4
• Summarizer engine can be customized using the KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE environment variable (e.g. KAGI_SUMMARIZER_ENGINE="daphne")
  • Learn about the different summarization engines here
• There may be more secure ways of plugging into the MCP. A user wrote down some details here
• The --http cli option can be used to toggle streamable HTTP transport on. Can use along with --port and --host args.