The mcp-simple-arxiv server provides access to arXiv papers through its API, enabling:
Search for papers: Search by title, abstract, author, or category using advanced syntax (e.g.,
ti:"neural networks" AND cat:cs.AI)Get paper details: Retrieve information about specific papers, including title, authors, abstract, and links to PDF/HTML formats
List categories: View available arXiv categories for use in search queries
Update categories: Fetch the latest arXiv category taxonomy from arxiv.org
Provides access to scientific papers on arXiv through their API, allowing users to search for papers by title and abstract content, retrieve paper metadata and abstracts, access links to available paper formats (PDF/HTML), and explore arXiv categories.
mcp-simple-arxiv
An MCP server that provides access to arXiv papers through their API.
Features
This server allows LLM clients (like Claude Desktop) to:
Search for scientific papers on arXiv by title and abstract content
Get paper metadata and abstracts
Access links to available paper formats (PDF/HTML)
The server implements proper rate limiting according to arXiv's API guidelines (max 1 request every 3 seconds).
Related MCP server: bioRxiv-MCP-Server
Installation
Installing via Smithery
To install Simple Arxiv for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
Manual Installation
Usage with Claude Desktop
Add this configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json:
(Mac OS)
(Windows version):
After restarting Claude Desktop, the following capabilities will be available:
Searching Papers
You can ask Claude to search for papers using queries like:
The search will return basic information about matching papers including:
Paper title
Authors
arXiv ID
Publication date
Getting Paper Details
Once you have a paper ID, you can ask for more details:
This will return:
Full paper title
Authors
Publication and update dates
Journal reference (if available)
Paper abstract
Links to available formats (PDF/HTML)
Development
To install for development:
arXiv API Guidelines
This server follows arXiv API usage guidelines:
Rate limiting to max 1 request per 3 seconds
Single connection at a time
Proper error handling and retry logic
License
MIT