---
ref: tool:exa/get-page-contents
name: Read web pages
company: company:exa
workflows: []
access: [mcp, api]
tags: [capability:scrape-web, category:web-search, has:api, has:mcp]
docs: https://exa.ai/docs/reference/get-contents
updated: 2026-09-27
---

# Read web pages

Returns clean text, the most relevant highlights or a summary for one or more known URLs, from Exa's cache or a fresh crawl.

Set `maxAgeHours` to 0 to fetch fresh content instead of cached content. To
read a site's other pages too, set `subpages` and name the ones you want with
`subpageTarget`.

## Set up

Use the first option your agent supports.

### MCP (official, remote)

Add this server to your agent's MCP settings, then sign in when asked.

```json
{ "mcpServers": { "exa": { "url": "https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login" } } }
```

Call the MCP tool `web_fetch_exa`.

Server URL: https://mcp.exa.ai/mcp?login

### API (official)

- Base URL: https://api.exa.ai
- Endpoint: `POST /contents`
- Auth: send the header `Authorization: Bearer $EXA_API_KEY`
- Get a key: https://dashboard.exa.ai/api-keys
- Docs: https://exa.ai/docs/get-started/quickstart

Before doing anything else, make one read-only call to confirm access.

## Rules

- Ask the user before anything that sends messages, costs money, or changes data.
- Never print API keys.