OpenAlex Research MCP Server

# Quick Start Guide Get your OpenAlex MCP server running in under 5 minutes! ## Step 1: Install Dependencies ```bash npm install ``` ## Step 2: Build the Project ```bash npm run build ``` ## Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop 1. Open your Claude Desktop config file: - **MacOS**: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` - **Windows**: `%APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` 2. Add the OpenAlex server configuration (replace with your actual path): ```json { "mcpServers": { "openalex": { "command": "node", "args": ["/Users/yourusername/path/to/openalex-research-mcp/build/index.js"], "env": { "OPENALEX_EMAIL": "your.email@example.com" } } } } ``` 3. Restart Claude Desktop ## Step 4: Test It Out! Try these prompts in Claude Desktop: ### Find influential papers ``` Find the top 10 most cited papers on quantum computing from the last 5 years ``` ### Analyze research trends ``` Show me how AI safety research has evolved from 2020 to 2024 ``` ### Citation network analysis ``` Get the citation network for the paper with DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.1706.03762 ``` ### Author collaboration analysis ``` Who are the main collaborators of Yann LeCun? ``` ### Geographic research mapping ``` Which countries are leading research in renewable energy? ``` ## Available Tools The server provides 18 specialized tools: **Literature Search:** - `search_works` - Advanced search for papers - `get_work` - Get detailed paper information - `get_related_works` - Find similar papers - `search_by_topic` - Explore specific research domains - `autocomplete_search` - Fast typeahead search **Citation Analysis:** - `get_work_citations` - Who cites this paper - `get_work_references` - What this paper cites - `get_citation_network` - Complete citation graph - `get_top_cited_works` - Most influential papers **Author & Institutions:** - `search_authors` - Find researchers - `get_author_works` - Author's publications - `get_author_collaborators` - Co-authorship networks - `search_institutions` - Find universities/organizations **Research Trends:** - `analyze_topic_trends` - Track research evolution - `compare_research_areas` - Compare different fields - `get_trending_topics` - Discover emerging areas - `analyze_geographic_distribution` - Global research mapping **Entity Lookup:** - `get_entity` - Get any OpenAlex entity - `search_sources` - Find journals/venues ## Tips - **Add your email** to get better rate limits (100K requests/day) - Use **Boolean operators** in searches: `"AI" AND (safety OR ethics)` - Filter by **year ranges** to focus on recent research - Sort by **citation count** to find influential work - Use **per_page** parameter to get more results (max 200) ## Troubleshooting **Server not showing up in Claude Desktop?** - Check that the path in your config is absolute, not relative - Verify the build was successful: `ls build/index.js` - Restart Claude Desktop completely **Rate limit errors?** - Make sure `OPENALEX_EMAIL` is set in your config - Slow down your requests if hitting 10 requests/second **No results found?** - Try broader search terms - Check spelling and use Boolean operators - Try searching by DOI or OpenAlex ID directly ## Next Steps - Read the full [README.md](./README.md) for detailed documentation - Check out [OpenAlex API docs](https://docs.openalex.org) for more filtering options - Join the polite pool by adding your email for better performance Happy researching! 🔬📚