academic-research-mcp-server

Both tools search for academic papers, but they target distinct sources with different coverage: arXiv focuses on preprints in specific STEM fields, while Google Scholar spans all disciplines with citation data. The descriptions clearly differentiate their use cases, though a tool-selecting agent might still briefly hesitate between them for general literature searches.

Both tools follow the identical 'search_' prefix plus source name pattern (search_arxiv, search_google_scholar). The naming is perfectly consistent and immediately signals the action and the target repository.

With only two tools, the server feels minimal but not unreasonable for a focused search-only purpose. However, the scope could reasonably support additional tools like fetching full paper details or managing saved references, so the count is on the low end of acceptable.

The server covers the core need—finding academic papers across two major sources—but lacks supplementary capabilities like retrieving paper details by ID, listing new papers, or fetching full-text content. These gaps are workable since search results include links, but power users may need external steps.