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AI-Scholarly-Mode

AI-Scholarly-Mode

by adarshrkumar

AI-Scholarly-Mode

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server that enables AI assistants to operate in a specialized "scholarly mode," restricting them to exclusively use scholarly article search and retrieval tools powered by Springer Nature's Open Access API.

Overview

This MCP server allows users to engage in research-driven conversations with AI assistants (like Claude) while ensuring the AI only accesses peer-reviewed academic articles from Springer Nature's open access collection.

Related MCP server: AI Research Assistant - Semantic Scholar

Features

  • Scholarly Mode Toggle - Enable/disable scholarly-only mode for AI conversations

  • Article Search - Search Springer Nature's open access collection with custom queries

  • Article Retrieval - Fetch full article content in structured JSON format (converted from JATS XML)

  • MCP Protocol - Seamless integration with Claude and other MCP-compatible AI assistants

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/adarshrkumar/AI-Scholarly-Mode.git
cd AI-Scholarly-Mode

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

Configuration

API Key Setup

You need a Springer Nature API key to use this server.

  1. Obtain an API key from Springer Nature Developer Portal

  2. Create a .env file in the project root:

    SPRINGER_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Usage

Running the Server

# Production
npm start

# Development
npm run dev

MCP Client Configuration

Add this server to your MCP client configuration. For Claude Desktop, add to your config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholarly-mode": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/AI-Scholarly-Mode/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Tool

Description

scholarly-mode-start

Activates scholarly mode, restricting AI to use only Springer search tools

scholarly-mode-stop

Deactivates scholarly mode, returning AI to normal operation

get_articles_list

Searches Springer for articles matching a query. Parameters: query (required), articles_per_page (optional)

get_springer_article_data

Retrieves full article content by ID. Parameters: id (required)

Tech Stack

  • TypeScript - Type-safe development

  • @modelcontextprotocol/sdk - MCP server framework

  • xml-js - JATS XML to JSON conversion

  • Zod - Schema validation

  • dotenv - Environment variable management

Project Structure

AI-Scholarly-Mode/
├── index.ts              # Main MCP server implementation
├── springer.ts           # Springer API integration
├── ConsoleManagement.ts  # Console output utilities
├── package.json          # Project configuration
├── tsconfig.json         # TypeScript configuration
└── dist/                 # Compiled output

Author

Created by adarshrkumar for Playlab.ai

License

ISC

Available Tools

4 tools
get_articles_listD

Get articles list

Inputs: query (required), articles_per_page.

get_springer_article_dataD

Get Springer article data

Inputs: id (required).

scholarly-mode-startA

Start scholarly mode. This tool returns a systemPrompt for you to use while you are in scholarly mode.

Inputs: no named parameters.

scholarly-mode-stopA

Stop scholarly mode. This tool returns a systemPrompt for you to use while you are not in scholarly mode.

Inputs: no named parameters.

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Loading tool schema changelog…

    TDQS

    C2.6/5.0

    Scored across 4 tools

    Disambiguation4/5

    The mode toggling tools (start/stop) and article tools (list/data) are clearly distinct in purpose. However, without detailed descriptions, an agent might confuse 'get_articles_list' with 'get_springer_article_data' if it needs a general list but picks the Springer-specific one.

    Naming Consistency2/5

    Naming styles are inconsistent: 'scholarly-mode-start' uses hyphens and verb-noun order, while 'get_articles_list' and 'get_springer_article_data' use underscores and get-prefix. This mixed convention reduces predictability.

    Tool Count5/5

    With 4 tools, the set is well-scoped for a scholarly mode server: two for mode management and two for article retrieval. No unnecessary tools, and the count is appropriate for the domain.

    Completeness4/5

    The tool set covers the essential lifecycle: enabling/disabling the mode and retrieving article data. Minor gaps exist, such as no search or query refinement tools, but core workflows are supported.

    Maintenance

    ActivityInactive
    ResponsivenessNo recent community issues

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