Paper Nexus

List citing papers

list_citing_papers

Read-onlyIdempotent

The papers that cite one paper, newest first, earliest first, or most cited first, optionally within a span of years. Pass a Paper Nexus id or a papernex.us/paper/ link. Page through with offset; next_offset is null on the last page. Pass fields to get only the details of each paper you need. With filters, only the citing papers that pass them are listed, in the same order. Most cited first ranks by citations alone, so it is led by widely cited papers that cite this one in passing. For the citing papers closest to it, call recommend_papers with it as the origin and filters.cites set to it instead; add year_min for recent work.

Tool call template

Replace each placeholder with a value matching the input schema. Only required parameters are included; add optional parameters as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {
      "paper": "<paper>"
    },
    "name": "list_citing_papers"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`sort`	No		newest
`limit`	No
`paper`	Yes	A Paper Nexus paper id, or a papernex.us/paper/<id> link
`fields`	No	Only these fields of each paper, to keep the result short; the id always comes back. Leave it out for every field.
`offset`	No
`filters`	No	Only list citing papers that pass every filter given here, as recommend_papers' filters do; the years are year_from and year_to. For a paper with more than 1,000 citing papers, only a sample is checked: those in range among its 200 newest, 200 earliest and 200 most cited and the 50 most cited from each year (2,000 at most). filter_summary says how many were checked.
`year_to`	No
`year_from`	No

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`total`	No	Citing papers in Paper Nexus; null when not known exactly
`filters`	No	The filters applied, as understood
`results`	Yes
`complete`	No
`paper_id`	Yes
`next_offset`	No
`filter_summary`	No

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

First observedNov 3, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior4/5

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

Annotations already cover read-only, idempotent, non-destructive behavior, and the description adds paging semantics (advance with offset, next_offset is null on the last page) and how fields trims payloads. The sampling caveat for heavily cited papers lives in the schema's filters description rather than the tool description, so a caller skimming only the description could miss why filters return few results.

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-loaded with what is returned and the ordering options, then paging and field trimming, then the alternative-tool advice. Dense but nearly every clause carries information; only the most_cited/dilution remark is slightly verbose.

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 an eight-parameter tool with nested filters and an output schema, the description covers what is returned, ordering, paging termination, field projection, and when a sibling tool is better. Return value structure is left to the output schema, as appropriate.

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?

With schema coverage at 38%, the description compensates by explaining sort modes and their trade-offs, how to pass a paper id or papernex.us link, offset-based paging, and the purpose of fields and filters. It does not map the 'span of years' directly to year_from/year_to, leaving that inference to 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 and resource: 'The papers that cite one paper,' with ordering and optional year span. It is immediately distinguishable from siblings like get_paper and search_papers, and even names recommend_papers as the tool for a related but different job.

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?

Explicitly routes the agent to an alternative: for citing papers closest to the origin, use recommend_papers with filters.cites set instead, adding year_min for recent work. It also warns that most_cited ranks by citation count alone, so results skew toward widely cited papers that cite this one in passing.

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

All Paper Nexus tools Inspect

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