Exa Search

approved

by 10ishq

Search the web with Exa AI-native search and insert results directly into your notes. - This plugin has not been manually reviewed by Obsidian staff.

↓ 104 downloadsUpdated 1mo agoMIT
Install in ObsidianView on GitHub

Exa Search for Obsidian

Search the web with Exa directly from Obsidian and insert results into your notes.

Exa is an AI-native search engine that returns clean, relevant results with highlights and content extraction. It powers search for Cursor, Claude, Codex, and many AI agent frameworks.

Features

  • Search the web from a command palette modal
  • Search selected text with a single hotkey
  • Results inserted as formatted markdown with links, dates, and highlights
  • Configurable result count, highlights, full text extraction, and search type
  • Works on desktop and mobile (uses Obsidian's built-in HTTP client)
  • No external dependencies or servers required

Setup

  1. Install the plugin (see below)
  2. Go to Settings > Exa Search
  3. Enter your Exa API key (get one free at dashboard.exa.ai)

Usage

Open the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P) and run:

  • Exa Search: Search the web to open the search modal and type a query
  • Exa Search: Search selected text to search whatever text you have selected in the editor

Results are inserted at your cursor position as markdown. If no editor is open, results are copied to the clipboard.

Settings

SettingDefaultDescription
API key(none)Your Exa API key
Number of results5How many results to return (1-20)
Include highlightsOnShow relevant text snippets from each result
Include full textOffInclude the full page content (can be long)
Search typeAutoHow Exa interprets the query (auto or keyword)

Installation

From community plugins (pending review)

  1. Open Settings > Community plugins > Browse
  2. Search for "Exa Search"
  3. Select Install, then Enable

Manual

  1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css (if present) from the latest release
  2. Create a folder <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/exa-search/
  3. Copy the downloaded files into that folder
  4. Restart Obsidian and enable the plugin in Settings > Community plugins

Privacy

  • Your Exa API key is stored locally in your vault's plugin data. It is only sent to api.exa.ai when you run a search.
  • No telemetry, analytics, or tracking of any kind.
  • Search queries are sent to the Exa API to return results. No vault contents are sent unless you explicitly search selected text.

License

MIT

For plugin developers

Search results and similarity scores are powered by semantic analysis of your plugin's README. If your plugin isn't appearing for searches you'd expect, try updating your README to clearly describe your plugin's purpose, features, and use cases.