orcid-mcp-server

Get ORCID Researcher Affiliations

orcid_get_affiliations

Read-onlyIdempotent

Fetch affiliation records for an ORCID researcher. The types parameter controls which affiliation sections to return: employment, education, invited-positions, distinctions, memberships, qualifications, services, or all. Default is employment and education. Returns organization names, disambiguated organization identifiers (ROR/GRID/Ringgold), departments, roles, date ranges, and sources. Affiliations come from the researcher or from member organizations such as a university research information system; sources names who added each, and selfAsserted tells the two apart. Absence does not mean no affiliation.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`types`	No	Which affiliation types to return. Defaults to employment and education. Use ["all"] to get every section.
`orcid_id`	Yes	ORCID iD — bare (0000-0001-2345-6789) or as an orcid.org URI (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789). The check digit may be X or x.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`notice`	No	Note when no affiliations were found — they may be private, or neither the researcher nor a member organization added any — or when a deprecated iD was served from its primary iD.
`orcidId`	No	Normalized ORCID iD (bare format).
`orcidUri`	No	Full ORCID URI.
`affiliations`	No	Affiliation records for the requested types.
`requestedTypes`	No	Unique caller affiliation selectors in first-occurrence order, retaining all when requested.
`affiliationCount`	No	Total number of affiliation records returned.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed2 schema fields changedOct 28, 2026

changed

Output schema / properties / affiliations / items / properties / sources / items / properties / selfAsserted / description

Previous value: -"True when the asserting party (the assertion origin when recorded, otherwise the source) is the requested ORCID iD; false when a member organization or another ORCID user asserted the item."New value: +"True when the asserting party (the assertion origin when recorded, otherwise the source) is the record's ORCID iD (orcidId); false when a member organization or another ORCID user asserted the item."

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Note when no affiliations were found — they may be private, or neither the researcher nor a member organization added any."New value: +"Note when no affiliations were found — they may be private, or neither the researcher nor a member organization added any — or when a deprecated iD was served from its primary iD."

Changed1 schema field changedOct 18, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / requestedTypes / description

Previous value: -"Affiliation types that were requested."New value: +"Unique caller affiliation selectors in first-occurrence order, retaining all when requested."

Changed5 schema fields changedOct 3, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / orcid_id / description

Previous value: -"ORCID iD — bare format (0000-0001-2345-6789) or full URI (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789)."New value: +"ORCID iD — bare (0000-0001-2345-6789) or as an orcid.org URI (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789). The check digit may be X or x."

changedInput schema / properties / orcid_id / pattern

Previous value: -"^(https?:\\/\\/orcid\\.org\\/)?\\d{4}-\\d{4}-\\d{4}-\\d{3}[\\dX]$"New value: +"^(?:(?:https?:\\/\\/)?(?:www\\.)?orcid\\.org\\/)?\\d{4}-\\d{4}-\\d{4}-\\d{3}[\\dXx]\\/?$"

addedOutput schema / properties / affiliations / items / properties / sources

Added value: +{
+  "description": "The party that added this affiliation to the ORCID record — the researcher, or a member organization such as a university research information system. Empty when ORCID records no source.",
+  "items": {
+    "additionalProperties": false,
+    "description": "A party that asserted this item on the ORCID record.",
+    "properties": {
+      "assertionOriginName": {
+        "description": "Party the source added the item on behalf of, when ORCID records one — usually the researcher, for an item added through a search-and-link tool.",
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "name": {
+        "description": "Name of the person or member organization system that added the item (e.g. a university research information system, Crossref, Scopus - Elsevier). Absent when ORCID records no name.",
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "selfAsserted": {
+        "description": "True when the asserting party (the assertion origin when recorded, otherwise the source) is the requested ORCID iD; false when a member organization or another ORCID user asserted the item.",
+        "type": "boolean"
+      }
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "selfAsserted"
+    ],
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / affiliations / items / required

Previous value: -[
-  "type"
-]New value: +[
+  "type",
+  "sources"
+]

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Note when no affiliations were found — may indicate private visibility or no self-reported affiliations."New value: +"Note when no affiliations were found — they may be private, or neither the researcher nor a member organization added any."

Changed1 schema field changedSep 24, 2026
- addedInput schema / properties / types / minItems
```
Added value: +1
```

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "orcidId",
+      "orcidUri",
+      "affiliationCount",
+      "affiliations",
+      "requestedTypes"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `profile_not_found`: The ORCID iD does not correspond to a registered researcher. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "profile_not_found"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "orcidId",
-  "orcidUri",
-  "affiliationCount",
-  "affiliations",
-  "requestedTypes"
-]

First observedMay 29, 2026

TDQS

A4.5/5.0

Behavior5/5

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

Beyond the read-only/idempotent annotations, the description discloses meaningful data provenance: affiliations may come from the researcher or member organizations, `sources` identifies who added each, and `selfAsserted` distinguishes self-asserted data. It also warns that absence does not mean no affiliation, which is important behavioral context for interpreting results.

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

Conciseness5/5

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

The description is front-loaded with the core action, then moves through parameter behavior, return fields, and provenance caveats in a compact sequence. Every sentence contributes useful selection or interpretation context.

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, annotations covering safety, and full parameter schema coverage, the description supplies the remaining context an agent needs: default scope, return-field types, source semantics, and the absence caveat.

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

Parameters3/5

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

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the schema already documents both parameters, including the enum and default for `types`. The description restates the available section types and default but adds little semantic detail beyond 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?

The description opens with a specific verb and resource: 'Fetch affiliation records for an ORCID researcher.' It clearly distinguishes this tool from sibling ORCID tools focused on works, funding, peer reviews, profiles, and researcher search.

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?

It gives clear context for when the tool applies and explains the `types` parameter's default and `all` option. It does not explicitly name when to use a sibling tool instead or state exclusions, so it falls short of full routing guidance.

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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