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Paper Search MCP

openags/paper-search-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for searching and downloading academic papers from multiple sources. The project follows a free-first strategy: prioritize open and public data sources, support optional API keys when they improve stability or coverage, and keep source-specific connectors extensible for advanced users.

View on GitHub32

Install

uvx paper-search-mcp

Client configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "paper-search-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "paper-search-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_UNPAYWALL_EMAIL": "<PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_UNPAYWALL_EMAIL>",
        "PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_CORE_API_KEY": "<PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_CORE_API_KEY>",
        "PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>",
        "PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_ZENODO_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_ZENODO_ACCESS_TOKEN>",
        "PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_GOOGLE_SCHOLAR_PROXY_URL": "<PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_GOOGLE_SCHOLAR_PROXY_URL>",
        "PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_IEEE_API_KEY": "<PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_IEEE_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment variables

PAPER_SEARCH_MCP_UNPAYWALL_EMAILPAPER_SEARCH_MCP_CORE_API_KEYPAPER_SEARCH_MCP_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEYPAPER_SEARCH_MCP_ZENODO_ACCESS_TOKENPAPER_SEARCH_MCP_GOOGLE_SCHOLAR_PROXY_URLPAPER_SEARCH_MCP_IEEE_API_KEY
GitHub stars
32
Author
@openags
Category
Research & Data, Search Tools
License
MIT
Updated
Oct 6, 2026

Features

  • Two-Layer Architecture:

  • Multi-Source Support: Search and download papers from arXiv, PubMed, bioRxiv, medRxiv, Google Scholar, IACR ePrint Archive, Semantic Scholar, Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed Central (PMC), CORE, Europe…

  • Opt-in Fast Search: CLI search keeps broad coverage by default. Use -s fast (OpenAlex, Crossref, arXiv, PubMed, Europe PMC) or -s fastest (OpenAlex and Crossref) when lower latency matters more than…

  • Standardized Output: Papers are returned in a consistent dictionary format via the Paper class.

  • Free-First Design: Open and public sources are prioritized before any optional commercial or restricted integrations.

  • Optional API-Key Enhancement: Sources like Semantic Scholar can work better with a user-provided API key, but are not intended to force paid usage.

  • Discovery + Retrieval Workflow: Google Scholar and Crossref can be used for discovery and DOI backfilling, while open repositories and publisher links are used for lawful full-text resolution where…

  • OA-First Fallback Chain: download_with_fallback now follows source-native download → OpenAIRE/CORE/Europe PMC/PMC discovery → Unpaywall DOI resolution → optional Sci-Hub.

  • Bounded reference lookups: OpenAlex references and citing papers from a DOI or OpenAlex ID, with explicit budgets and truncation metadata.

  • MCP Integration: Compatible with MCP clients for LLM context enhancement.

Details on this page are taken from the project's README. Open README

Supported clients

Clients mentioned in this server's README:

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