Research Notebook MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| RESEARCH_NOTEBOOK_DIR | No | Folder holding notebook.json and the generated exports. | <cwd>/.research-notebook |
| RESEARCH_NOTEBOOK_TITLE | No | Sets the notebook title on first run, used in export headings. |
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 |
|---|---|
| cite_urlA | Fetch a URL, extract its bibliographic metadata (title, authors, date, journal/site, DOI) and save it as a source. If the URL is already saved, it is not duplicated; any quote/note you pass is added to the existing source instead. This is the fastest way to capture a citation while browsing. |
| add_sourceA | Record a source by hand - a book, a paper you have the details for, or a page you cannot fetch. Use this when cite_url is not possible. |
| add_quoteB | Attach an excerpt (optionally with a page/location and your comment) to a source. |
| add_noteA | Write a research note in Markdown and link it to the sources it draws on. Notes are the raw material generate_outline turns into a literature-review scaffold. |
| update_noteB | Edit a note's title, content, tags, or linked sources. Omitted fields are unchanged. |
| update_sourceB | Correct or enrich a source's bibliographic fields. Omitted fields are unchanged. |
| list_sourcesB | List all saved sources, optionally filtered by tag. |
| list_notesA | List research notes, optionally filtered by tag or by a linked source. |
| get_sourceB | Show the full detail of one source, including its quotes. |
| get_noteB | Show the full content of one research note. |
| searchA | Full-text search across sources (title, authors, journal, tags, quotes, summary) and notes (title, content, tags). Returns matching cite keys and note ids. |
| remove_sourceA | Delete a source. Any notes that linked to it keep their text; the broken link is dropped and reported. |
| remove_noteC | Delete a research note. |
| export_bibtexB | Render sources as BibTeX. Optionally filter by tag and/or write the result to references.bib next to the notebook. |
| export_markdownB | Render a Markdown bibliography. Set annotated to include summaries and quotes. Optionally filter by tag and/or write references.md next to the notebook. |
| generate_outlineA | Assemble your notes into a Markdown literature-review scaffold: notes grouped by theme, each threaded with the cite keys it draws on, plus a References section and a 'not yet written up' list. Optionally filter by tag and/or write outline.md next to the notebook. |
| notebook_statsA | Summarise the notebook: counts of sources, notes, quotes, tags, and types. |
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 17 tools
Each tool has a clearly distinct purpose. Verbs like list, get, add, update, remove target specific resources (sources vs notes), and cite_url vs add_source are well-differentiated by their descriptions. No two tools appear to do the same thing.
Consistent verb_noun pattern throughout (search, remove_source, export_bibtex, get_source, list_notes, add_quote, generate_outline, etc.). Minor variation for 'search' and 'notebook_stats' but still predictable and readable.
17 tools is slightly heavy but appropriate for a research notebook's broad functionality (sources, notes, quotes, exports, outline generation). Each tool earns its place without excessive overlap.
Full CRUD lifecycle for sources and notes, plus specialized operations like cite_url, add_quote, exports, outline generation, and stats. No obvious gaps for the stated domain.