Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/perplexityai/modelcontextprotocol/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

​
Overview

The Perplexity MCP Server is configured through environment variables. This page documents all available configuration options for both stdio and HTTP server modes.

​
Core Environment Variables

​
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY

​
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY
string
required
Your Perplexity API key from the API Portal
Required: Yes
Default: None
Example: pplx-abc123def456... 
export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here"
The server will not start without a valid API key. Make sure to keep your API key secure and never commit it to version control.

​
PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS

​
PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS
number
Request timeout in milliseconds
Required: No
Default: 300000 (5 minutes)
Example: 600000 (10 minutes) 
export PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS=600000
Increase this value for very long research queries using the perplexity_research tool, which can take 30+ seconds to complete.

​
PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL

​
PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL
string
Custom base URL for API requests
Required: No
Default: https://api.perplexity.ai
Example: https://your-custom-url.com 
export PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL="https://your-custom-url.com"

​
PERPLEXITY_LOG_LEVEL

​
PERPLEXITY_LOG_LEVEL
string
Logging verbosity level
Required: No
Default: ERROR
Options: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR 
export PERPLEXITY_LOG_LEVEL="INFO"

​
PERPLEXITY_PROXY

​
PERPLEXITY_PROXY
string
Proxy server URL for corporate networks
Required: No
Default: None
Example: https://proxy.company.com:8080 See the Proxy Setup guide for detailed configuration. 
# Without authentication
export PERPLEXITY_PROXY="https://your-proxy-host:8080"

# With authentication
export PERPLEXITY_PROXY="https://username:password@your-proxy-host:8080"

​
HTTP Server Environment Variables

These variables are only used when running the server in HTTP mode for cloud or shared deployments.

​
PORT

​
PORT
number
HTTP server port
Required: No
Default: 8080
Example: 3000 
export PORT=3000

​
BIND_ADDRESS

​
BIND_ADDRESS
string
Network interface to bind to
Required: No
Default: 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces)
Example: 127.0.0.1 (localhost only) 
export BIND_ADDRESS="127.0.0.1"

​
ALLOWED_ORIGINS

​
ALLOWED_ORIGINS
string
CORS allowed origins (comma-separated)
Required: No
Default: * (all origins)
Example: https://app.example.com,https://staging.example.com 
export ALLOWED_ORIGINS="https://app.example.com,https://staging.example.com"

​
Standard Proxy Variables

In addition to PERPLEXITY_PROXY, the server also supports standard proxy environment variables.

​
HTTPS_PROXY

​
HTTPS_PROXY
string
Standard HTTPS proxy variable
Required: No
Default: None
Priority: Checked after PERPLEXITY_PROXY 
export HTTPS_PROXY="https://proxy.company.com:8080"

​
HTTP_PROXY

​
HTTP_PROXY
string
Standard HTTP proxy variable
Required: No
Default: None
Priority: Checked after HTTPS_PROXY 
export HTTP_PROXY="http://proxy.company.com:8080"
Proxy variables are checked in this order: PERPLEXITY_PROXY → HTTPS_PROXY → HTTP_PROXY. If none are set, the server connects directly to the internet.

​
Usage Examples

​
Basic Setup

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here"

​
Extended Timeout for Research

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here"
export PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS=600000

​
Corporate Network with Proxy

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here"
export PERPLEXITY_PROXY="https://proxy.company.com:8080"

​
HTTP Server Deployment

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here"
export PORT=8080
export BIND_ADDRESS="0.0.0.0"
export ALLOWED_ORIGINS="https://app.example.com"

​
Debug Mode

export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="your_key_here"
export PERPLEXITY_LOG_LEVEL="DEBUG"

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us