pubmed-mcp-server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||
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": true
} |
| resources | {
"subscribe": true,
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| pubmed_search_articlesB | Search PubMed with full query syntax, filters, and date ranges. Returns PMIDs and optional brief summaries. Supports field-specific filters (author, journal, MeSH terms), common filters (language, species, free full text), and pagination via offset for paging through large result sets. |
| pubmed_fetch_articlesA | Fetch full article metadata by PubMed IDs. Returns detailed article information including abstract, authors, journal, MeSH terms, and linked retraction, erratum, and comment notices. Set |
| pubmed_fetch_fulltextA | Fetch full-text articles from PubMed Central with structured sections, tables, and references. When PMC misses, transparently falls back to Europe PMC |
| pubmed_format_citationsB | Get formatted citations for PubMed articles in one or more formats (apa, mla, bibtex, ris, vancouver). Pass a single format as a string or multiple as an array. |
| pubmed_find_relatedA | Find articles related to a source article — similar content (similar), articles citing this one (cited_by), or articles this one cites (references). Uses NCBI ELink as the primary source; falls back to Europe PMC then OpenAlex when NCBI is unavailable. |
| pubmed_spell_checkA | Spell-check a PubMed search query against NCBI ESpell and get the corrected query back. Use after a zero-hit or thin |
| pubmed_lookup_meshA | Search and explore the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) controlled vocabulary. Returns descriptor records with tree numbers, scope notes, and entry terms, plus pagination via offset for paging past the maxResults cap. |
| pubmed_lookup_citationA | Look up PubMed IDs from partial bibliographic citations. Useful when you have a reference (journal, year, volume, page, author) and need the PMID — deterministic citation matching, more reliable than free-text search for structured references. Each citation must include at least journal or year (ECitMatch primary-keys on journal+volume+page; author-only or volume-only inputs guarantee no match); more fields = better match accuracy. |
| pubmed_convert_idsA | Convert between article identifiers (DOI, PMID, PMCID). Accepts up to 50 IDs of a single type per request. Only resolves articles indexed in PubMed Central — for articles not in PMC, use pubmed_search_articles instead. |
| pubmed_europepmc_searchA | Search Europe PMC, a broad open-access biomedical corpus. Surfaces preprints ( |
| pubmed_europepmc_fetchA | Fetch complete Europe PMC records — including the full, untruncated abstract — for records addressed by |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| research_plan | Generate a structured research plan outline for a biomedical research project. |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| database-info | PubMed database metadata including field list, last update date, and record count. |
TDQS
Scored across 11 tools
Each tool generally maps to a clear action/resource pairing, especially search vs. fetch vs. formatting vs. lookups. The main mild risk is choosing between pubmed_search_articles and pubmed_europepmc_search, since they retrieve overlapping literatures even though the latter targets extended preprints/OA/PAT/AGR coverage.
All tools share the pubmed_ namespace and broadly readable names. Ordering varies slightly, notably pubmed_europepmc_search placing the service qualifier before the action compared with verb-first names elsewhere.
Eleven tools fit well within the recommended 3–15 range and correspond to genuinely useful stages of biomedical literature research without filler.
The surface covers literature search/discovery, metadata and full-text retrieval, ID mapping, citation formatting, spelling repair, MeSH browsing, and related-article traversal. Possible omissions involve richer personal-library/workflow integrations such as alerts or saved-search handling, but standard researcher needs are largely met.