Search scholarly works with advanced filtering. Supports Boolean operators, year ranges, citation thresholds, venue/journal filtering (source_name, source_issn, source_id), and institution filtering (author_institution, institution_group). The most flexible search tool. Use search_in_journal_list for preset journal lists like UTD24 or FT50.

Get COMPLETE details about a specific work by OpenAlex ID or DOI. Unlike search results which are summarized, this returns ALL information including: complete author list (first, middle, and last authors with positions, institutions, ORCID, corresponding author flags), full abstract (reconstructed), all topics, complete bibliographic data, funding/grants, keywords, and reference lists. Use this when you need detailed information about a specific paper, especially for identifying PIs (often last author) or corresponding authors.

Find works related to a given work based on shared topics, citations, and references. Useful for discovering similar papers in a research area.

Search for works within specific research topics or domains. Use this to explore literature in a particular field or subfield. Supports venue filtering to restrict results to top journals/conferences.

Fast autocomplete/typeahead search for works, authors, institutions, or other entities. Returns quick suggestions for partial queries.

Get all works that cite a given work. Essential for forward citation analysis and understanding research impact.

Get all works referenced/cited by a given work. Essential for backward citation analysis and finding foundational papers.

Get a citation network for a work including both citing works (forward) and referenced works (backward). Returns immediate connections only. Citing works are returned as summaries; referenced works as IDs (use batch_resolve_references to hydrate).

Find the most highly cited works in a research area or matching specific criteria. Identifies influential and seminal papers. Automatically filters for papers with significant citations. Combine with source_name or source_issn to find the most-cited papers in a specific top journal/conference.

Search for authors/researchers. Returns h-index, citation count, and affiliation data. Best for finding experts when you know the name. Use search_authors_by_expertise to find experts by research area.

Get all publications by a specific author over time. Useful for analyzing an author's research trajectory and productivity.

Analyze an author's co-authorship network. Returns frequent collaborators and collaboration statistics.

Search for academic institutions with filters for research output, citations, and geographical location. Find leading institutions in specific areas.

Analyze publication trends over time for specific topics or queries. Returns works grouped by year to show research evolution and growth.

Compare publication volume and citation metrics across different research topics or queries. Useful for understanding relative activity in different fields.

Discover emerging and trending research topics based on recent publication activity. Identifies fast-growing research areas.

Analyze the geographical distribution of research activity for a topic or query. Shows which countries and institutions are most active.

Get detailed information about any OpenAlex entity by ID. Supports works, authors, sources, institutions, topics, publishers, and funders.

Search for journals, conferences, and other publication sources. Results are sorted by h-index descending by default, making it easy to identify top-tier venues. Returns h-index, impact metrics, and open access status. Use check_venue_quality for detailed metrics on a specific venue, or get_top_venues_for_field to discover the best venues in a research area.

List all available named journal/conference presets and institution group presets. Call this first to discover which preset keys to pass to search_in_journal_list or the institution_group parameter. Presets include: UTD24, FT50, AJG/ABS 4*/4/3 tiers, top AI conferences, Management Science group, Nature/Science family, and institution groups (Ivy League, Top US, INSEAD+London, etc.).

Search for papers in a named list of top journals or conferences (preset) rather than specifying individual venues. This is the main tool for credibility-gated searches. Examples: search in UTD24 journals, FT50, AJG 4*, top AI conferences. Combine with author_institution or institution_group to answer questions like "AI papers in top AI conferences by Harvard/Stanford/MIT authors".

Search for papers published in a specific journal or conference. This is the primary tool for restricting citations to credible, high-impact venues. Identify the venue first via check_venue_quality or search_sources, then use its name, ISSN, or ID here.

Get the top journals and conferences for a specific research field ranked by h-index. Essential first step before searching for citations — use this to identify credible venues, then use search_works_in_venue to restrict searches to them.

Check the quality and prestige metrics of a journal or conference. Returns h-index, citation impact, and indexing status. Use before citing a paper to confirm the venue is reputable.

Get a comprehensive research profile for an author: h-index, i10-index, total citations, top-cited works, recent works, and main research topics. Use this to identify key researchers, potential reviewers, or to study an expert's body of work.

Find leading researchers/experts in a specific topic or research area, ranked by h-index or citation count. More useful than search_authors when you do not know names but need to identify key figures in a field.

Find review articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses on a topic. Reviews summarize the state-of-the-art and are high-value citations that establish context in top papers. Optionally restrict to specific high-impact journals.

Find seminal/foundational papers in a research area — those published more than 5 years ago with very high citations. These are the "must-cite" papers that establish the intellectual lineage of a field. Use to identify citations that reviewers expect to see.

Resolve a list of DOIs or work IDs to full work metadata in one call. Useful for checking reference lists: validate that a set of citations are real, credible, and appropriately cited.

Find freely available (open access) versions of papers, including preprints on arXiv, bioRxiv, and institutional repositories. Useful for accessing full text without a subscription.

Check the health status of the OpenAlex MCP server and API connectivity. Returns cache status and configuration information.