OpenAlex MCP Server
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@OpenAlex MCP Serversearch for recent CRISPR papers with open access"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
OpenAlex MCP Server
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides access to OpenAlex, a free and open catalog of the world's scholarly works, authors, institutions, and more.
Features
Search 250M+ scholarly works with full-text search and powerful filters
Author discovery with publication metrics (h-index, i10-index, citations)
Institution profiles for universities, research labs, and companies
Citation network traversal — find what cites a paper and what it cites
Multiple ID format support — OpenAlex IDs, DOIs, PMIDs, ORCIDs, RORs
Related MCP server: OpenAlex MCP Server
Installation
# Clone or copy the project
cd openalex-mcp-server
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build the TypeScript
npm run buildConfiguration
Environment Variables
Variable | Description | Default |
| Email for polite pool (higher rate limits) |
|
| Transport type: |
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| Port for HTTP transport |
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Set your email to get into OpenAlex's "polite pool" with higher rate limits:
export OPENALEX_EMAIL="your.email@example.com"Usage
With Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):
{
"mcpServers": {
"openalex": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/openalex-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"OPENALEX_EMAIL": "your.email@example.com"
}
}
}
}With Claude Code
claude mcp add openalex node /path/to/openalex-mcp-server/dist/index.jsStandalone (HTTP mode)
TRANSPORT=http PORT=3000 npm startAvailable Tools
Works (Publications)
Tool | Description |
| Search works with full-text queries and filters |
| Get a single work by OpenAlex ID, DOI, or PMID |
| Get works that cite a given work |
| Get works cited by a given work |
Authors
Tool | Description |
| Search authors by name |
| Get author profile by OpenAlex ID or ORCID |
| Get an author's publications |
Institutions
Tool | Description |
| Search institutions by name |
| Get institution profile by OpenAlex ID or ROR |
| Get an institution's publications |
Example Queries
Search for recent CRISPR papers
openalex_search_works(
query: "CRISPR gene therapy",
filter: "publication_year:2023,open_access.is_oa:true",
sort: "cited_by_count:desc"
)Find highly-cited climate research
openalex_search_works(
query: "climate change",
filter: "cited_by_count:>1000,type:review"
)Get citation network for a paper
// Get the paper
openalex_get_work(id: "10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2")
// Get papers that cite it
openalex_get_citations(id: "10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2")
// Get papers it cites
openalex_get_references(id: "10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2")Explore an author's profile
openalex_search_authors(query: "Fei-Fei Li")
openalex_get_author(id: "A5023888391")
openalex_get_author_works(id: "A5023888391", sort: "cited_by_count:desc")Find Northwestern University's research output
openalex_search_institutions(query: "Northwestern University")
openalex_get_institution(id: "I111979921")
openalex_get_institution_works(
id: "I111979921",
filter: "publication_year:2024",
sort: "cited_by_count:desc"
)Filter Syntax
OpenAlex supports powerful filtering. Common filters:
Filter | Examples |
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Combine multiple filters with commas:
filter: "publication_year:2023,open_access.is_oa:true,cited_by_count:>50"Response Formats
All tools support two response formats:
markdown(default): Human-readable formatted outputjson: Structured data for programmatic use
Rate Limits
Without email: ~10 requests/second
With email (polite pool): ~100 requests/second
Always set OPENALEX_EMAIL for production use.
Development
# Watch mode for development
npm run dev
# Build for production
npm run build
# Run the server
npm startLicense
MIT
Links
This server cannot be installed
Maintenance
Resources
Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.
Looking for Admin?
If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.
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