Breaking

Unofficial tool brings Perplexity Pro models to CLI and MCP without an API key

July 1, 2026 at 22:32 EDT

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Open Source
Software Dev & Coding

An unofficial tool called "perplexity-web-mcp" has been published on GitHub, letting users call Perplexity's premium models from a terminal or MCP client using a Perplexity Pro subscription without an API key. The project, shared by a developer, is a bridge-style tool that automates Perplexity AI's web interface so that the existing entitlements of a Pro (or Max) plan can be reused directly through a CLI and an MCP server.

Unofficial Release · perplexity-web-mcp

Tap Perplexity Pro from the command line — no extra API fees

A community tool wraps Perplexity's web interface with your existing Pro/Max login, exposing MCP tools and a CLI so Claude Code, Cursor and Codex can call its search and research — billed to your subscription, not the metered API.

MCP tools exposed

Selectable models

Added API cost

Same work, two ways to pay

Perplexity's official API is metered on top of the ~$20/month Pro plan. This tool routes through the web UI you already pay for.

Pro plan + API fees

Official API metered separately

Pro plan only

CLI/MCP via existing login

Core CLI commands

pwm ask

Run a query

pwm research

Deep Research (monthly quota)

pwm council

Multiple models in parallel

pwm usage

Check rate limits

Install via uv tool install or pipx install (Python 3.10–3.13) · Magic Link login with pwm login, no API key.

Why developers like it

Puts a Pro subscription to fuller use
Drops into Claude Code, Cursor, Codex
One-command install and login
Real savings in research workflows

Cautions to weigh

Unofficial — wraps the web UI
Stability concerns from UI reliance
Rate limits follow the Pro plan
Deep Research has a monthly quota

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