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Add Zephex in Perplexity Desktop Settings under MCP (or Integrations). macOS desktop app only — not Comet browser, not Perplexity’s npm MCP package for Cursor/VS Code. Zephex is hosted at https://zephex.dev/mcp and needs internet. See Perplexity help center for how Perplexity Desktop handles MCP on their side.
HTTP and stdio setups both need a key from your Zephex dashboard. OAuth-only flows (ChatGPT, Claude.ai web) sign you in in the browser instead — skip this section for those.
Perplexity’s public docs often describe their own MCP server for other editors — you are adding Zephex as a custom remote server inside the Desktop app.
Replace mcp_sk_your_key_here with your key from Dashboard → API Keys. Copy the full key once at creation — paste into Authorization: Bearer … for HTTP configs, or into ZEPHEX_API_KEY for stdio/npx configs.
If the app has a JSON editor, paste this block. If it only has form fields, copy url and Authorization from it.
{ "mcpServers": { "zephex": { "url": "https://zephex.dev/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer mcp_sk_your_key_here" } } }}Note
Last verified: June 2026 — Desktop MCP UI is less documented than Cursor; map fields to URL + Bearer even if labels differ (API Key, Token, Header).
After saving your config, confirm Zephex is connected before you rely on it in real work.
You do not call tools yourself — ask your agent in plain language. Try these once Zephex is connected:
“Perplexity Desktop: check_package on a trending npm library mentioned in this thread.”
Fact-check install risk beside web search results.
“get_project_context on github:facebook/react-native — framework summary.”
Hosted MCP complements Perplexity’s web answers with repo facts.
“audit_headers on a URL I am researching for a security write-up.”
Objective header/TLS grade for published analysis.
“explain_architecture for a sample repo I linked — auth vs API layers.”
Diagram grounds follow-up answers in real structure.
“scope_task: add dark mode to an open-source dashboard — which files matter?”
Task-focused file list for research-backed recommendations.
“Zephex_dev_info: compare session cookies vs JWT for a B2B SaaS.”
Architecture guidance without uploading proprietary code.
You do not pick tools from a menu — ask your agent in normal sentences. Half of the tools only need a package name or URL; the other half need to know which codebase you mean (your Mac/Windows project folder or a GitHub repo).
These situations usually mean the setup cannot work until you fix the underlying issue:
401 Unauthorized
Use Bearer + space + full mcp_sk_ key. Regenerate key if unsure. No quotes around the key in a dedicated API key field.
UI labels do not match this guide
Map Server URL → https://zephex.dev/mcp and Secret/Token → your key. Screenshot Settings → MCP and compare to the JSON block.
Connected but project tools empty
Add github:owner/repo or /Users/you/project in the prompt — Desktop does not auto-detect open folders like an IDE.
Cannot find MCP in Settings
Update Perplexity Desktop to the latest build; MCP is app-specific and may roll out gradually.
Perplexity Desktop remote MCP exposes the full Zephex tool catalog:
get_project_context
Reads your project structure, dependencies, scripts, env vars, and framework markers in one call. Replaces manually opening package.json, tsconfig, and multiple config files at the start of every session.
read_code
AST-based code extraction: pass a symbol name and get the implementation without reading entire files. Supports symbol lookup, batched file reads, and structural outlines for large files.
find_code
Ranked search across the repo for definitions, usages, and patterns. Faster than blind grep when the agent does not know where a symbol lives.
check_package
Live registry lookup for npm, PyPI, Cargo, and Go modules. Surfaces typosquat risk, maintainer changes, and suspicious version jumps before you run install.
audit_package
Deep package intelligence: CVEs with severity, breaking changes between versions, migration notes, and peer-dependency conflicts.
explain_architecture
Generates Mermaid diagrams for auth flows, service boundaries, and module dependencies so the agent reasons about structure instead of guessing.
scope_task
Turns a task description into the smallest file set to read or edit, with risk ratings and caller impact notes.
audit_headers
Grades a deployed URL for CSP, HSTS, TLS, cookies, and redirects. Returns fix snippets for common hosts (Vercel, Cloudflare, Nginx).
keep_thinking
Structured multi-step debugging: tracks hypotheses and conclusions so long investigations do not loop.
Zephex_dev_info
Expert patterns for authentication, databases, frontend frameworks, deployment, and mobile stacks when the agent needs vetted guidance.