datacite-mcp-server

Get DataCite citation

datacite_get_citation

Read-onlyIdempotent

Render one DataCite DOI as a formatted citation in a CSL style and locale (APA in US English by default), or as a machine-readable record: CSL JSON, BibTeX, RIS, DataCite JSON or XML, Schema.org JSON-LD, Codemeta, or JATS. A style the upstream renderer does not support — an unknown id or a dependent journal style — is rejected instead of silently rendered as APA. Formatted text comes back as plain text alongside the upstream HTML markup. A DOI DataCite does not hold returns found: false naming the registration agency that does.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`doi`	Yes	The DataCite DOI, e.g. 10.5061/dryad.234. Accepted bare, with doi: or info:doi/ prefixes, as a doi.org / dx.doi.org URL, or %2F-encoded; case-insensitive.
`style`	No	CSL style id for format text, e.g. apa (default), ieee, chicago-author-date, modern-language-association, vancouver, nature. Lowercased. A style that would silently fall back to APA is rejected. Verified ids: datacite_list_reference topic citation_styles.
`format`	No	text (formatted citation, default), csl_json, bibtex, ris, datacite_json, datacite_xml, schema_org, codemeta, or jats.
`locale`	No	CSL locale for format text, e.g. en-GB, de-DE, fr-FR, or a bare language (de → de-DE); any case. Omitted: en-US. List: datacite_list_reference topic citation_locales.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`cap`	No	The character cap applied: 100,000.
`doi`	No	The DOI, lowercase.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`found`	No	True when DataCite holds the DOI and rendered it; false when it holds no public record (the miss fields explain).
`shown`	No	UTF-16 code units of DataCite's payload kept inline; zero for an oversized machine document, or the units text and citationHtml derive from.
`style`	No	CSL style applied (text only).
`format`	No	The format requested.
`locale`	No	CSL locale applied (text only; absent means en-US).
`notice`	No	Set when the style could not be confirmed as distinct from APA, or when the payload exceeded the inline cap (length and retrieval guidance).
`citation`	No	text: the citation as plain text (tags stripped, entities decoded), cut at 100,000 upstream UTF-16 units. Machine formats: the complete payload verbatim when at most 100,000 units; otherwise omitted in favor of downloadUrl.
`guidance`	No	The next step for this miss. Miss arm only.
`mediaType`	No	Media type negotiated. Found only.
`truncated`	No	True when the payload exceeded 100,000 UTF-16 code units: text was cut or a machine document was omitted for download.
`missReason`	No	Why DataCite holds no public record: another agency registered it, no agency did, it is a DataCite DOI without public (Findable) metadata, or the agency lookup did not answer. Miss arm only.
`downloadUrl`	No	Exact negotiated URL for the complete machine document when it exceeds the inline cap; fetch this URL to retrieve the document.
`citationHtml`	No	text only: the upstream HTML markup verbatim (<i>, &, small caps), cut like citation.
`totalCharacters`	No	Complete oversized machine document length in UTF-16 code units.
`registrationAgency`	No	Registration agency that holds the DOI (e.g. Crossref, mEDRA, DataCite), when known. Miss arm only.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed6 schema fields changedOct 26, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / citation / description

Previous value: -"text: the citation as plain text (tags stripped, entities decoded); machine formats: the payload verbatim. A payload over 100,000 characters is cut to its first 100,000 (truncated: true)."New value: +"text: the citation as plain text (tags stripped, entities decoded), cut at 100,000 upstream UTF-16 units. Machine formats: the complete payload verbatim when at most 100,000 units; otherwise omitted in favor of downloadUrl."

addedOutput schema / properties / downloadUrl

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Exact negotiated URL for the complete machine document when it exceeds the inline cap; fetch this URL to retrieve the document.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Set when the style could not be confirmed as distinct from APA, or when the payload was cut (its full length and the cut)."New value: +"Set when the style could not be confirmed as distinct from APA, or when the payload exceeded the inline cap (length and retrieval guidance)."

changedOutput schema / properties / shown / description

Previous value: -"Characters of DataCite's payload kept; for text, citation and citationHtml derive from them."New value: +"UTF-16 code units of DataCite's payload kept inline; zero for an oversized machine document, or the units text and citationHtml derive from."

addedOutput schema / properties / totalCharacters

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Complete oversized machine document length in UTF-16 code units.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / truncated / description

Previous value: -"True when the payload ran past 100,000 characters and was cut."New value: +"True when the payload exceeded 100,000 UTF-16 code units: text was cut or a machine document was omitted for download."

First observedOct 9, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover safety (readOnly, idempotent, openWorld), and the description adds substantive behavior: unsupported or dependent journal styles are rejected rather than silently falling back to APA, text is returned as plain text plus upstream HTML markup, and a DOI held by another agency yields found: false with the agency named. That is exactly the kind of failure-mode disclosure an agent needs.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loads the core action and output modes, then adds error handling and return-shape notes in separate sentences. Dense but every sentence carries information; the only cost is a slightly packed opening clause listing all formats.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With an output schema present, the description need not detail return values, yet it still notes the plain-text-plus-HTML shape and the found:false case. Combined with complete schema coverage and annotations, nothing material is missing for correct invocation.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3; the description adds some value by explaining the default (APA/en-US), that style ids are lowercased, and by pointing to datacite_list_reference for verified style and locale ids. Most parameter detail, however, is already carried by the schema.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb ('Render') plus resource ('one DataCite DOI') and enumerates both rendering modes (formatted citation vs. machine-readable record) with the exact format list. An agent can tell this apart from datacite_get_work, which returns the work record rather than a citation rendering.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explains defaults (APA in US English), what the style parameter controls, and what happens with unsupported styles or DOIs DataCite does not hold. It stops short of explicitly naming a sibling to use instead when the agent wants raw metadata, but the usage context is otherwise clear.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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