AI Plugin IndexBrain vs exa
Brain and exa are both search and web MCP servers. exa scores higher (100 vs 84 out of 100). exa has more GitHub stars (5.1k), and Brain was updated more recently (today). The table compares them side by side.
| Brain | exa | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84 / 100 | 100 / 100 |
| What it does | File-first personal knowledge base operated by coding agents: CLI, hybrid search, MCP server, skills | Connect AI agents to Exa for web search, content fetching, and multi-step research. |
| Publisher | Verified: npm:@schlessera | Verified: exa.ai |
| Grades | Maintenance A, Licence A, Quality C | Maintenance A, Licence A, Quality A |
| npm downloads a week | 2,068 | Not on npm |
| Runs | Local | Remote |
| Works with | Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, VS Code, Windsurf | Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, VS Code, Windsurf, ChatGPT |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 5,142 |
| Last commit | 20 Oct 2026 | 19 Oct 2026 |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Listed since | 20 Oct 2026 | 19 Oct 2026 |
| Install Brain | Install exa |
Questions
Is Brain or exa more popular?
exa has more GitHub stars: 5,142.
Can I use Brain and exa together?
Yes. AI assistants can load several MCP servers at once. Install both and the assistant picks the right one for each task.