paper-mcp
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAPER_MCP_CACHE_DIR | No | Where PDFs and markdown are cached | %LOCALAPPDATA%\paper-mcp\Cache |
| PAPER_MCP_LOG_LEVEL | No | Log level (logs go to stderr) | INFO |
| PAPER_MCP_MAX_CACHE_BYTES | No | Cache size budget (oldest files evicted first) | 2 GiB |
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
} |
| logging | {} |
| prompts | {
"listChanged": false
} |
| resources | {
"subscribe": false,
"listChanged": false
} |
| extensions | {
"io.modelcontextprotocol/ui": {}
} |
| experimental | {} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| search_papersA | Search arXiv for papers matching a query, optionally filtered by category. |
| get_paperA | Fetch full metadata and the abstract of a single arXiv paper. |
| read_paperA | Download an arXiv paper, convert it to markdown, and return its text (paginated). Also returns markdown_path: the cached file holding the FULL text, which can be Read/Grep'd directly instead of paging. |
| list_categoriesA | List known arXiv category codes and their display names. |
| cache_infoA | Show the location and size of the local PDF/markdown cache. |
| clear_cacheA | Delete cached files for one paper, or the entire cache. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| summarize-paper | Summarize an arXiv paper at a chosen length and audience level |
| ask-paper | Answer a question about an arXiv paper, grounded in its full text |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 6 tools
Each tool has a clear, distinct purpose: searching, fetching metadata, reading full text, listing categories, and managing cache. There is no overlap or ambiguity between tools.
Tool names follow a mostly consistent verb_noun pattern with underscores (search_papers, get_paper, read_paper, clear_cache). 'cache_info' is slightly inconsistent (could be 'get_cache_info'), but the pattern is still predictable and readable.
With 6 tools, the server is well-scoped for an arXiv paper management client. It covers search, retrieval, reading, and cache management without unnecessary bloat.
The tool surface covers the core workflow: search, fetch metadata, read full text, and manage cache. A direct PDF download tool is missing, but read_paper converts to markdown, so it is not a critical gap.