Paper Search MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| WOS_API_KEY | No | Your Web of Science API key from Clarivate Developer Portal (required for Web of Science platform) | |
| PUBMED_API_KEY | No | Your NCBI PubMed API key (optional, increases rate limits from 3 to 10 requests/second) | |
| WILEY_TDM_TOKEN | No | Your Wiley TDM token (required for Wiley platform) | |
| WOS_API_VERSION | No | Web of Science API version (v1 or v2). Default is v1. | v1 |
| ELSEVIER_API_KEY | No | Your Elsevier API key (required for ScienceDirect and Scopus platforms) | |
| SPRINGER_API_KEY | No | Your Springer Nature API key for Metadata API v2 (required for Springer platform) | |
| SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY | No | Your Semantic Scholar API key (optional, increases rate limits) | |
| SPRINGER_OPENACCESS_API_KEY | No | Your Springer Nature OpenAccess API key (optional, if different from main SPRINGER_API_KEY) |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| search_papersC | Search academic papers from multiple sources including arXiv, Web of Science, etc. |
| search_arxivC | Search academic papers specifically from arXiv preprint server |
| search_webofscienceC | Search academic papers from Web of Science database |
| search_pubmedC | Search biomedical literature from PubMed/MEDLINE database using NCBI E-utilities API |
| search_biorxivB | Search bioRxiv preprint server for biology papers |
| search_medrxivC | Search medRxiv preprint server for medical papers |
| search_semantic_scholarC | Search Semantic Scholar for academic papers with citation data |
| search_iacrC | Search IACR ePrint Archive for cryptography papers |
| download_paperC | Download PDF file of an academic paper |
| search_google_scholarC | Search Google Scholar for academic papers using web scraping |
| get_paper_by_doiC | Retrieve paper information using DOI from available platforms |
| search_scihubA | Search and download papers from Sci-Hub using DOI or paper URL. Automatically detects and uses the fastest available mirror. |
| check_scihub_mirrorsC | Check the health status of all Sci-Hub mirror sites |
| get_platform_statusC | Check the status and capabilities of available academic platforms |
| search_sciencedirectC | Search academic papers from Elsevier ScienceDirect database (requires API key) |
| search_springerA | Search academic papers from Springer Nature database. Uses Metadata API by default (all content) or OpenAccess API when openAccess=true (full text available). Same API key works for both. |
| search_scopusC | Search the Scopus abstract and citation database (requires Elsevier API key) |
| search_crossrefC | Search academic papers from Crossref database. Free API with extensive scholarly metadata coverage across publishers. |
| get_citationsA | Retrieve citation data (citation count, references, venue) for a paper by DOI using Semantic Scholar |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 19 tools
Most tools are clearly distinct by targeting specific databases or actions (search, download, status). However, search_scihub and download_paper have overlapping download capabilities, and get_citations vs search_semantic_scholar both involve citations, creating slight ambiguity. Descriptions mostly help, but a few boundary issues remain.
All tool names follow a consistent verb_noun pattern (e.g., search_arxiv, get_paper_by_doi, check_scihub_mirrors). Verbs are descriptive and match actions, and the style is uniformly lowercase with underscores. No mixing of conventions.
With 19 tools, the server is on the higher end but justified by the need to support many distinct academic sources. Each search tool serves a specific database, avoiding redundancy. The count feels slightly heavy but appropriate for the comprehensive scope.
The tool surface covers the core lifecycle of paper discovery and retrieval: searching across multiple sources, downloading, fetching by DOI, and getting citations. Missing advanced features like reference management or batch operations, but these are auxiliary. Minor gaps exist, such as no dedicated tool for listing references, but the overall coverage is solid.