SciWeave MCP Server

Ground Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Windsurf in 300M scientific works — every citation a verifiable DOI.

Endpoint: https://mcp.sciweave.com/mcp · Transport: Streamable HTTP · Auth: API key from mcp.sciweave.com (50 free credits to start)

🚀 Install

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add --transport http sciweave https://mcp.sciweave.com/mcp

On first use, Claude Code runs the OAuth flow and asks for your SciWeave API key. For headless / CI setups, pass the token directly:

claude mcp add --transport http sciweave https://mcp.sciweave.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Claude.ai (web)

1. Click your avatar → Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector

2. URL: https://mcp.sciweave.com/mcp

3. Authorization Token: paste your SciWeave API key

4. Click Save — start asking research questions in any new chat

Cursor / Windsurf / Claude Desktop

Add to your MCP config file (~/.cursor/mcp.json, ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json, or claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sciweave": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.sciweave.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

ChatGPT

Add https://mcp.sciweave.com/mcp as a remote MCP server in your custom GPT or via the OpenAI Apps SDK, with the Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY header.

No API key yet? Get one free at mcp.sciweave.com — new accounts include 50 free credits.

Related MCP server: Paper Pilot

What you get

• Real citations, not hallucinations. Every claim returns a verifiable DOI you can click.

• 300M+ scientific works. The world's largest open research index.

• Multi-session research. Resume threads from yesterday, last week, or last month — every saved citation stays verifiable.

Tools

All tools are read-only. Every returned paper includes title, authors, publication year, DOI, URL, and abstract snippet.

Examples

Ask a research question

Prompt: "What are the latest findings on CRISPR-Cas9 off-target effects in mammalian cells?"

The ask_research_question tool queries SciWeave's index and returns a synthesized answer with numbered citations including authors, journals, DOIs, and publication years.

CRISPR-Cas9 off-target effects in mammalian cells involve several mechanisms...

References (8 sources, 142 total found):
[1] Zhang et al. "Genome-wide off-target analysis..." Nature Methods, 2023
[2] Kim et al. "High-fidelity Cas9 variants..." Science, 2024
...

Browse a research collection

Prompt: "Show me all papers in my Quantum Computing collection"

Claude first calls list_collections to find your collections, then get_collection_papers with the matching ID.

Found 3 research collection(s):
- Quantum Computing (ID: abc123) — 12 papers
- Machine Learning (ID: def456) — 8 papers

12 paper(s) in this collection:
1. Quantum Error Correction with Surface Codes
   Authors: Fowler et al. · Year: 2024 · Journal: Physical Review Letters · DOI: 10.1103/...

Fast reference lookup

Prompt: "Find me 5 recent references about mRNA vaccine stability and storage"

find_references is citation-only (no AI synthesis), so results return in ~1 second.

References (5 papers in 1.2s):
[1] Schoenmaker et al. "mRNA-lipid nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccines: Structure and stability"
    Year: 2023 · DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2023.01.015
    Snippet: "Storage temperature significantly impacts mRNA integrity..."

Find where a paper can be read

Prompt: "Where can I read https://www.nature.com/articles/nature12373?"

find_open_access_link resolves the open-access copy and returns links — nothing is downloaded, so your client fetches the paper itself. arXiv, bioRxiv/medRxiv and PubMed Central links map straight to their full-text source; anything else is resolved through its DOI (given, taken from the URL, or read from the page's own citation_doi tag) via OpenAlex, which often turns up a repository or preprint copy of a paywalled paper.

Nanometre-scale thermometry in a living cell
Authors: Georg Kucsko, Peter C. Maurer, ... · Year: 2013 · Journal: Nature
DOI: 10.1038/nature12373 · Open access: green

Best link: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1304.1068
  (OA PDF (arXiv), likely PDF)

Alternatives:
- https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC4221854/fullTextXML
  (OA landing page (PubMed Central) → Europe PMC full-text XML)

Papers with no open-access copy are reported as such, with the publisher page as a fallback, rather than a link that won't work.

Check account status

Prompt: "How many SciWeave credits do I have left?"

SciWeave Account Status
Credits remaining: 42
Manage your account: https://sciweave.com/settings?tab=api-access
View pricing: https://sciweave.com/pricing

Authentication

SciWeave supports two auth modes against the same https://mcp.sciweave.com/mcp endpoint:

• OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow (default for Claude.ai and claude mcp add without headers). Claude opens the SciWeave authorization page, you paste your sciweave_live_ API key, and the server hands back an OAuth access token tied to your account.

• Direct Bearer token (Cursor / Windsurf / Claude Desktop / CI). Send Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY directly. No browser flow.

All tools are read-only — the server cannot write to your collections or modify your account. API keys can be rotated at any time at sciweave.com/settings?tab=api-access.

Support

• Email: support@sciweave.com

• Documentation: sciweave.com/docs

• Issues: github.com/desci-labs/sciweave-mcp-issues

• Privacy Policy: sciweave.com/web/privacy-policy