Run deep research

Run deep research

Researches a question across many web sources with extended reasoning and returns a thorough answer with citations.

Note: Over the API, send preset: "high" with the question as input. A long run can go in the background with background: true: poll it by its response ID.

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.

{ "mcpServers": { "perplexity": { "url": "https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp" } } }

Call the MCP tool perplexity_research.

Server URL: https://api.perplexity.ai/mcp

API (official)

• Base URL: https://api.perplexity.ai
• Endpoint: POST /v1/agent
• Auth: send the header Authorization: Bearer $PERPLEXITY_API_KEY
• Get a key: https://console.perplexity.ai/project/keys
• Docs: https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/getting-started/overview

Before anything else, confirm access with the cheapest read-only call, like a list or a search. Never send or change anything to test access.

Rules

• Ask the user before anything that sends messages, costs money, or changes data, and say how many records it touches. One approval covers a batch the user has seen.
• Never print API keys.