Perplexity: MCP Protocol Support on Mac

The Perplexity app for macOS was recently updated to support the MCP protocol, but it must be activated using a specific procedure.

Perplexity 's macOS app was recently updated with support for the MCP protocol. For those who don't know or remember, the protocol in question, short for Model Context Protocol, was invented by Anthropic , one of Europe's most prominent AI companies, and represents a standard for interfacing AI apps and services with regular apps and services.

Perplexity: MCP Protocol on macOS

However, it is important to keep in mind that due to some limitations of the App Store, activating the protocol is not immediate, as it is necessary to go through another app, PerplexityXPC , also by Perplexity, and adjust the configuration of the entire environment.

Thanks to the MCP protocol, Perplexity for Mac can, for example, summarize Apple Notes, create reminders in Google Calendar, search for files from Google Drive, and more. In short, if Perplexity can access the MCP protocol, it can integrate better and with more services on Mac.

As mentioned, the installation process is a bit complicated, but it's doable with a little care. Here are the detailed steps provided by Perplexity itself:

1. Open your account settings and click on Connectors ;
2. Before adding MCP connectors, install PerplexityXPC, which allows Perplexity to connect to local MCP servers securely;
3. Go back to the Connectors section and click Add Connector ;
4. In the Simple tab, add an MCP Connector;
   1. Give the server a name;
   2. Add the command needed to start the MCP server (usually indicated in the README of the open-source project you want to use);
5. Install any required dependencies, such as brew install node, and then run the command.
6. Save and wait until the server status appears as Running in the list
7. Return to the Perplexity homepage and activate the MCP connector in the Sources section;
8. Test by asking something like "check my Mac calendar." If everything works properly, the MCP server will perform the requested operation.