pubmed-mcp-server

Pubmed Europepmc Fetch

pubmed_europepmc_fetch

Read-only

Fetch complete Europe PMC records — including the full, untruncated abstract — for records addressed by source plus epmcId. Pairs with pubmed_europepmc_search, which returns bounded abstractSnippet values and flags cut ones with abstractTruncated: true; pass those hits' source and epmcId here to read the whole abstract. This is the retrieval path for preprint (PPR), patent (PAT), and Agricola (AGR) records, which frequently carry no PMID and no DOI, so pubmed_fetch_articles and pubmed_fetch_fulltext cannot address them. Up to 25 records per call.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`records`	Yes	Records to retrieve, each addressed by the `source` and `epmcId` of a `pubmed_europepmc_search` hit. The whole batch resolves in one Europe PMC request.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`notice`	No	Guidance when one or more requested records could not be resolved. Absent when every record came back.
`records`	No	Resolved records, in the order Europe PMC returned them
`notFound`	No	Requested `source` + `epmcId` pairs Europe PMC returned no record for

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedSep 23, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `europepmc_unreachable`: Europe PMC was unreachable after all retry attempts. `europepmc_invalid_response`: Europe PMC returned a body that could not be parsed (invalid JSON or XML). `europepmc_invalid_input`: Europe PMC rejected the request input (empty query, unknown sort field, malformed parameter). `europepmc_disabled`: Europe PMC service is disabled via EUROPEPMC_ENABLED=false. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `europepmc_unreachable`: Europe PMC failed on every retry attempt — unreachable, an HTTP 404 or 5xx other than a 504 timeout from its search endpoint, or an empty response with no results. `europepmc_invalid_response`: Europe PMC returned a body that could not be parsed (invalid JSON or XML). `europepmc_invalid_input`: Europe PMC rejected the request input — an error message such as an empty query, an empty response to a sort with an undocumented field or no asc/desc direction, or an empty response to a pagination cursor on every attempt. `europepmc_disabled`: Europe PMC service is disabled via EUROPEPMC_ENABLED=false. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

Changed3 schema fields changedSep 9, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / records / items / properties / authors / description

Previous value: -"Formatted author string"New value: +"Formatted author string as display-ready plain text — JATS/HTML markup stripped and HTML entities decoded."

changedOutput schema / properties / records / items / properties / journal / description

Previous value: -"Journal title"New value: +"Journal title as display-ready plain text — JATS/HTML markup stripped and HTML entities decoded."

changedOutput schema / properties / records / items / properties / title / description

Previous value: -"Record title"New value: +"Record title as display-ready plain text — JATS/HTML markup stripped and HTML entities decoded."

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 21, 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": [
+      "records"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "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: `europepmc_unreachable`: Europe PMC was unreachable after all retry attempts. `europepmc_invalid_response`: Europe PMC returned a body that could not be parsed (invalid JSON or XML). `europepmc_invalid_input`: Europe PMC rejected the request input (empty query, unknown sort field, malformed parameter). `europepmc_disabled`: Europe PMC service is disabled via EUROPEPMC_ENABLED=false. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "europepmc_unreachable",
+            "europepmc_invalid_response",
+            "europepmc_invalid_input",
+            "europepmc_disabled"
+          ],
+          "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: -[
-  "records"
-]
```

Changed3 schema fields changedJul 26, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / records / items / properties / source / description

Previous value: -"Europe PMC source corpus — `MED` (PubMed), `PMC` (PubMed Central), `PPR` (preprint), `PAT` (patent), `AGR` (Agricola). Copy it from the search hit's `source`."New value: +"Europe PMC source corpus — `MED` (PubMed), `PMC` (PubMed Central), `PPR` (preprint), `PAT` (patent), `AGR` (Agricola). Copy it from the search hit's `source`. `PMC` paired with a PMCID resolves whether or not the article is also indexed in PubMed, and a PubMed-indexed one comes back as its canonical `MED` record carrying that PMCID in `pmcId`."

changedOutput schema / properties / notFound / items / properties / source / description

Previous value: -"Europe PMC source corpus — `MED` (PubMed), `PMC` (PubMed Central), `PPR` (preprint), `PAT` (patent), `AGR` (Agricola). Copy it from the search hit's `source`."New value: +"Europe PMC source corpus — `MED` (PubMed), `PMC` (PubMed Central), `PPR` (preprint), `PAT` (patent), `AGR` (Agricola). Copy it from the search hit's `source`. `PMC` paired with a PMCID resolves whether or not the article is also indexed in PubMed, and a PubMed-indexed one comes back as its canonical `MED` record carrying that PMCID in `pmcId`."

changedOutput schema / properties / records / items / properties / doi / description

Previous value: -"DOI when present"New value: +"DOI when present, cased as Europe PMC reports it. DOIs are case-insensitive by spec and no case normalization is applied here, so the same DOI can arrive in a different case from `pubmed_fetch_articles` (Europe PMC `10.1056/nejmoa2212948`, NCBI `10.1056/NEJMoa2212948`) — a byte-for-byte comparison across the two reports a false mismatch."

AddedJul 26, 2026

TDQS

A4.7/5.0

Behavior4/5

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

Annotations already declare `readOnlyHint` and `openWorldHint`, so the read-only nature is covered. The description adds meaningful behavior beyond that: it returns complete untruncated abstracts, resolves up to 25 records per call, and acts as the retrieval path for sources without PMID/DOI. This gives an agent a richer model of what the call will and will not return. It does not contradict the annotations.

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 a dense but efficient paragraph where every sentence contributes: purpose, truncated-snippet context, sibling-tool boundaries, and the batch limit are all included. The main purpose is front-loaded in the first sentence, and there is no filler or repetition of structured metadata.

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?

For a single-parameter tool with detailed schema descriptions and an output schema present, the description covers everything an agent needs: what to pass, where to obtain the values, when this tool is necessary, why siblings fail, and the maximum batch size. Nothing essential is missing.

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 coverage is 100% and the schema already explains `source` and `epmcId` in detail, so the baseline is 3. The description adds value by linking the parameters directly to search hits, explaining that the pair should be copied from `pubmed_europepmc_search`, and clarifying that these addresses are needed because other fetch tools cannot handle some sources. That goes beyond the schema's field-level documentation.

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 clearly states the verb ('Fetch') and the resource ('complete Europe PMC records') and emphasizes the full, untruncated abstract as the defining feature. It distinguishes this tool from `pubmed_europepmc_search` and from the sibling fetch tools by naming the record types only this tool can address. An agent can immediately tell what this tool does and why it exists.

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

Usage Guidelines5/5

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

The description explicitly says to use this tool when `pubmed_europepmc_search` returns truncated abstracts, and it names the concrete conditions that make sibling tools unsuitable: preprint, patent, and Agricola records often lack PMID and DOI. It also gives the practical pairing pattern: take `source` and `epmcId` from search hits. This is strong, actionable usage 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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