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NASA ADS MCP Server

NASA ADS MCP Server

by prtc
OverviewSchemaSourceRelated ServersDiscussionsAdmin
Python
Remote

Get author metrics

get_author_metrics
Read-onlyIdempotent

Retrieve h-index, total citations, paper count, and citation statistics for an author to assess research impact or prepare a CV.

Instructions

Get comprehensive metrics for an author including h-index, total citations, paper count, and citation statistics. Useful for CV preparation and tracking research impact. Matches names, not people: searches the astronomy collection unless told otherwise, and the result states the filter, so numbers can differ from ADS's web page, which counts all collections. For a common name, give the orcid; the result lists the iDs recorded on the name's first-author papers. For a CV, refereed_only and max_authors give a figure for the author's own work, without large collaboration papers.

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
orcidNoOptional ORCID iD (e.g. '0000-0003-1846-4826'), the best way to tell apart people with the same name. Only papers with this ORCID recorded in ADS (from the publisher or claimed by the author) are included, so unclaimed older papers are left out.
yearsNoOptional year range (e.g., '2020-2025')
authorYesAuthor name (e.g. 'Coelho, P' or 'Coelho, Paula R. T.')
positionNoOptional author position: '1' (first author), '2' (second), or a range such as '1-3'. Uses ADS's pos() operator on the author list.
collectionNoADS collection to search. 'astronomy' (default): astronomy and astrophysics, including planetary science and heliophysics. 'astronomy+physics': adds physics-only papers, such as laboratory atomic and molecular data, opacities and oscillator strengths; good for topics, but for author names it brings in physicists who share the name. 'physics', 'earthscience', 'general' (biology, medicine, chemistry and everything else), or 'all' for no filter, as on ADS's web page. The result states how many papers the filter left out and names the most cited of them: read those before changing the collection, and widen it only when they are relevant.astronomy
affiliationNoOptional affiliation words (e.g. 'Sao Paulo'). Matches the affiliation of any author on the paper, and affiliations change over a career, so best combined with a year range.
max_authorsNoOptional: only papers with at most this many authors (e.g. 20), to leave out large collaboration papers. The result states how many papers this removed.
refereed_onlyNoOptional: only refereed papers (default: false).

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed11 schema fields changedv0.8.0
    • addedInput schema / properties / affiliation
      Added value: +{
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Optional affiliation words (e.g. 'Sao Paulo'). Matches the affiliation of any author on the paper, and affiliations change over a career, so best combined with a year range.",
+  "title": "Affiliation",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • changedInput schema / properties / author / description
      Previous value: -"Author name (e.g., 'Coelho, P.' or 'Coelho, Paula R. T.')"New value: +"Author name (e.g. 'Coelho, P' or 'Coelho, Paula R. T.')"
    • addedInput schema / properties / author / title
      Added value: +"Author"
    • addedInput schema / properties / collection
      Added value: +{
+  "default": "astronomy",
+  "description": "ADS collection to search. 'astronomy' (default): astronomy and astrophysics, including planetary science and heliophysics. 'astronomy+physics': adds physics-only papers, such as laboratory atomic and molecular data, opacities and oscillator strengths; good for topics, but for author names it brings in physicists who share the name. 'physics', 'earthscience', 'general' (biology, medicine, chemistry and everything else), or 'all' for no filter, as on ADS's web page. The result states how many papers the filter left out and names the most cited of them: read those before changing the collection, and widen it only when they are relevant.",
+  "enum": [
+    "astronomy",
+    "astronomy+physics",
+    "physics",
+    "earthscience",
+    "general",
+    "all"
+  ],
+  "title": "Collection",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / max_authors
      Added value: +{
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Optional: only papers with at most this many authors (e.g. 20), to leave out large collaboration papers. The result states how many papers this removed.",
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "title": "Max Authors",
+  "type": "integer"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / orcid
      Added value: +{
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Optional ORCID iD (e.g. '0000-0003-1846-4826'), the best way to tell apart people with the same name. Only papers with this ORCID recorded in ADS (from the publisher or claimed by the author) are included, so unclaimed older papers are left out.",
+  "title": "Orcid",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / position
      Added value: +{
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Optional author position: '1' (first author), '2' (second), or a range such as '1-3'. Uses ADS's pos() operator on the author list.",
+  "title": "Position",
+  "type": "string"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / refereed_only
      Added value: +{
+  "default": false,
+  "description": "Optional: only refereed papers (default: false).",
+  "title": "Refereed Only",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}
    • addedInput schema / properties / years / default
      Added value: +null
    • addedInput schema / properties / years / title
      Added value: +"Years"
    • addedInput schema / title
      Added value: +"get_author_metricsArguments"
  2. First observedv1.0.0

TDQS

A4.1/5.0
Behavior3/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, idempotentHint and openWorldHint, so the safety profile is covered by structured data. The description adds substantial behavior beyond that: name-vs-person matching, the fact that counts differ from the ADS web page because of collection filtering, and that the result reports what the filter excluded. It does not describe rate limits or the shape of the returned citation statistics, which keeps it from the top of the scale.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with the purpose and output fields, then disambiguation, then filtering caveats, so the agent gets the essentials first. The dense em-dash phrasing in the last sentences packs several clauses together, which costs some readability without adding wasted content.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For an eight-parameter tool with no output schema, the description covers the critical ambiguities: name versus person, collection defaults that change the numbers, and what the result tells the agent about excluded papers. It stops short of describing the actual structure of the returned citation statistics, which an agent would still need to discover at call time.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so each of the eight parameters is already documented in detail, making 3 the baseline. The description adds intent-level meaning rather than syntax: why to pass orcid (disambiguation plus the caveat that unclaimed older papers are omitted) and why to pair refereed_only with max_authors, which helps an agent choose values.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb (get) and resource (author metrics) and enumerates the outputs: h-index, total citations, paper count, citation statistics. This cleanly separates it from siblings like get_author_papers (papers, not metrics) and get_paper_metrics (per-paper rather than per-author).

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly names use cases (CV preparation, tracking research impact) and gives conditional guidance: supply orcid for common names, use refereed_only and max_authors for a CV figure, and widen the collection only after reading the most-cited excluded papers. It also sets the default expectation that without instruction the astronomy collection is searched.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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