paper-search-mcp
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2_API_KEY | No | Semantic Scholar API key | |
| PAPER_MCP_CACHE_DIR | No | Override the on-disk cache directory for downloaded PDFs | |
| PAPER_MCP_USER_AGENT | No | Custom user agent string | |
| PAPER_MCP_HTTP_TIMEOUT | No | HTTP timeout in seconds | 30 |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": false
} |
| prompts | {
"listChanged": false
} |
| resources | {
"subscribe": false,
"listChanged": false
} |
| experimental | {} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| search_semantic_scholarB | Search Semantic Scholar for papers and return normalized metadata sorted by citation count. |
| get_semantic_scholar_paperB | Fetch detailed metadata for a Semantic Scholar paper by paper ID. |
| search_arxivC | Search arXiv and return normalized metadata for matching papers. |
| get_arxiv_paperA | Fetch normalized metadata for a specific arXiv paper using an arXiv ID, abs URL, or PDF URL. |
| export_bibtexA | Export a paper as BibTeX using either a Semantic Scholar paper ID or an arXiv identifier/URL. |
| align_paper_by_titleA | Find exact title matches across Semantic Scholar and arXiv and return aligned cross-source pairs. |
| read_arxiv_paperB | Download an arXiv PDF, extract text from the first pages, and return a reading pack for analysis. |
| build_literature_digestB | Search across sources, deduplicate overlapping papers, and return a compact literature review digest. |
| download_arxiv_pdfB | Download an arXiv PDF to a specified absolute file or directory path. |
| download_semantic_scholar_pdfB | Download a Semantic Scholar PDF (Open Access or arXiv linked) to a specified absolute path. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 10 tools
Each tool targets a specific action (search, get, download, align, digest, export) or a specific source (arXiv vs Semantic Scholar), with no overlap in purpose. For example, search_arxiv and search_semantic_scholar clearly differ by source.
All tool names follow a consistent verb_noun pattern using snake_case, with clear action and target (e.g., search_arxiv, get_arxiv_paper, download_arxiv_pdf). The naming is predictable and uniform.
With 10 tools, the surface is well-scoped for a paper search and retrieval domain. Each tool serves a distinct need without being excessive or insufficient.
The tools cover the full workflow: searching both sources, fetching metadata, downloading PDFs, aligning cross-source papers, building digests, and exporting citations. No obvious gaps exist for the stated purpose.