Paper Search MCP Setup for Claude Code, Cursor and Other Apps

• Searches many paper sources at once and removes duplicates

  Runs one query across several academic sources at the same time, merges the results and drops duplicates. You can choose which sources to use, and a failing source is reported without hiding the others.

  Try: “Search all sources for recent papers on retrieval augmented generation.”

  Network · search_papers

• Searches arXiv for papers

  Searches preprints in physics, maths and computer science for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search arXiv for attention is all you need.”

  Network · search_arxiv

• Searches PubMed for papers

  Searches biomedical literature for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search PubMed for GLP-1 and cardiovascular outcomes.”

  Network · search_pubmed

• Searches bioRxiv for papers

  Searches biology preprints for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search bioRxiv for CRISPR base editing.”

  Network · search_biorxiv

• Searches medRxiv for papers

  Searches medical preprints for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search medRxiv for long COVID symptoms.”

  Network · search_medrxiv

• Searches Google Scholar for papers

  Searches Google Scholar results, which can be blocked by CAPTCHAs or rate limits for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search Google Scholar for retrieval augmented generation.”

  Network · search_google_scholar

• Searches IACR for papers

  Searches cryptography papers in the IACR ePrint archive for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search IACR for zero knowledge proofs.”

  Network · search_iacr

• Downloads a arXiv paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a arXiv paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the arXiv paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_arxiv

• Explains that PubMed has no direct PDF download

  PubMed does not provide direct PDF downloads through this server, so this returns a message instead of a file. Use the fallback download tool to look for an open-access copy.

  Try: “Download the PubMed paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · download_pubmed

• Downloads a bioRxiv paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a bioRxiv paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the bioRxiv paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_biorxiv

• Downloads a medRxiv paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a medRxiv paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the medRxiv paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_medrxiv

• Downloads a IACR paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a IACR paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the IACR paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_iacr

• Reads the text of a arXiv paper

  Downloads the PDF of a arXiv paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the arXiv paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_arxiv_paper

• Explains that PubMed papers cannot be read directly

  PubMed gives metadata but not full text through this server, so this returns a message instead of the paper.

  Try: “Read the PubMed paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · read_pubmed_paper

• Reads the text of a bioRxiv paper

  Downloads the PDF of a bioRxiv paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the bioRxiv paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_biorxiv_paper

• Reads the text of a medRxiv paper

  Downloads the PDF of a medRxiv paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the medRxiv paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_medrxiv_paper

• Reads the text of a IACR paper

  Downloads the PDF of a IACR paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the IACR paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_iacr_paper

• Searches Semantic Scholar for papers

  Searches Semantic Scholar's index of papers for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search Semantic Scholar for graph neural networks.”

  Network · search_semantic

• Downloads a Semantic Scholar paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a Semantic Scholar paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the Semantic Scholar paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_semantic

• Reads the text of a Semantic Scholar paper

  Downloads the PDF of a Semantic Scholar paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the Semantic Scholar paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_semantic_paper

• Searches Crossref for papers

  Searches Crossref's DOI and citation records for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search Crossref for transformer language models.”

  Network · search_crossref

• Looks up one paper by its DOI

  Fetches the Crossref record for a DOI, with title, authors and publication details.

  Try: “Look up the paper with DOI 10.1038/nature14539.”

  Network · get_crossref_paper_by_doi

• Explains that Crossref has no direct PDF download

  Crossref does not provide direct PDF downloads through this server, so this returns a message instead of a file. Use the fallback download tool to look for an open-access copy.

  Try: “Download the Crossref paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · download_crossref

• Downloads a paper PDF from Sci-Hub

  Tries to fetch a PDF from a Sci-Hub mirror using a DOI, title, PubMed ID or URL, and saves it to a folder. Sci-Hub access can break the law or publisher terms where you live, so use it only if you choose to.

  Try: “Download 10.1016/j.cell.2020.01.001 with Sci-Hub.”

  Write · download_scihub

• Downloads a paper, trying open-access sources before Sci-Hub

  Tries the source's own download first, then open-access repositories and Unpaywall using the DOI. In this release the Sci-Hub fallback is switched on by default, so the assistant can end up using it unless it passes use_scihub as false.

  Try: “Download this arXiv paper, and do not use Sci-Hub.”

  Write · download_with_fallback

• Explains that Crossref papers cannot be read directly

  Crossref gives metadata but not full text through this server, so this returns a message instead of the paper.

  Try: “Read the Crossref paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · read_crossref_paper

• Searches OpenAlex for papers

  Searches the OpenAlex catalog of scholarly works for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search OpenAlex for protein folding.”

  Network · search_openalex

• Searches PubMed Central for papers

  Searches open-access full-text articles in PubMed Central for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search PubMed Central for gut microbiome and depression.”

  Network · search_pmc

• Searches CORE for papers

  Searches open-access papers gathered from repositories by CORE for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search CORE for open access publishing.”

  Network · search_core

• Searches Europe PMC for papers

  Searches life-science literature in Europe PMC for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search Europe PMC for mRNA vaccines.”

  Network · search_europepmc

• Searches dblp for papers

  Searches the dblp computer science bibliography for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search dblp for distributed consensus.”

  Network · search_dblp

• Searches OpenAIRE for papers

  Searches European open-access research outputs in OpenAIRE for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search OpenAIRE for climate adaptation.”

  Network · search_openaire

• Searches CiteSeerX for papers

  Searches the CiteSeerX digital library for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search CiteSeerX for information retrieval.”

  Network · search_citeseerx

• Searches DOAJ for papers

  Searches open-access journal articles in DOAJ for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search DOAJ for urban planning.”

  Network · search_doaj

• Searches BASE for papers

  Searches the BASE academic search engine, which may return nothing without institutional access for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search BASE for digital humanities.”

  Network · search_base

• Searches Zenodo for papers

  Searches research records on Zenodo for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search Zenodo for dataset papers.”

  Network · search_zenodo

• Searches HAL for papers

  Searches papers in the HAL open archive for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search HAL for machine learning theory.”

  Network · search_hal

• Searches SSRN for papers

  Searches SSRN working papers, found through OpenAlex metadata for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search SSRN for behavioral economics.”

  Network · search_ssrn

• Searches Unpaywall for papers

  Searches open-access copies found by DOI through Unpaywall for your query and returns matching papers with titles, authors and links.

  Try: “Search Unpaywall for a DOI.”

  Network · search_unpaywall

• Explains that dblp papers cannot be read directly

  dblp gives metadata but not full text through this server, so this returns a message instead of the paper.

  Try: “Read the dblp paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · read_dblp_paper

• Explains that dblp has no direct PDF download

  dblp does not provide direct PDF downloads through this server, so this returns a message instead of a file. Use the fallback download tool to look for an open-access copy.

  Try: “Download the dblp paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · download_dblp

• Reads the text of a OpenAIRE paper

  Downloads the PDF of a OpenAIRE paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the OpenAIRE paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_openaire_paper

• Downloads a OpenAIRE paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a OpenAIRE paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the OpenAIRE paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_openaire

• Reads the text of a CiteSeerX paper

  Downloads the PDF of a CiteSeerX paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the CiteSeerX paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_citeseerx_paper

• Downloads a CiteSeerX paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a CiteSeerX paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the CiteSeerX paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_citeseerx

• Reads the text of a DOAJ paper

  Downloads the PDF of a DOAJ paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the DOAJ paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_doaj_paper

• Downloads a DOAJ paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a DOAJ paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the DOAJ paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_doaj

• Reads the text of a BASE paper

  Downloads the PDF of a BASE paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the BASE paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_base_paper

• Downloads a BASE paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a BASE paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the BASE paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_base

• Reads the text of a Zenodo paper

  Downloads the PDF of a Zenodo paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the Zenodo paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_zenodo_paper

• Downloads a Zenodo paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a Zenodo paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the Zenodo paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_zenodo

• Reads the text of a HAL paper

  Downloads the PDF of a HAL paper if needed and returns its extracted text so the assistant can read and summarize it.

  Try: “Read the HAL paper with ID 12345 and summarize it.”

  Write · read_hal_paper

• Downloads a HAL paper as a PDF

  Saves the PDF of a HAL paper to a folder you choose, ./downloads by default, and returns the file path. It returns an error message when no PDF is available.

  Try: “Download the HAL paper with ID 12345 to my papers folder.”

  Write · download_hal

• Explains that SSRN papers cannot be read directly

  SSRN gives metadata but not full text through this server, so this returns a message instead of the paper.

  Try: “Read the SSRN paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · read_ssrn_paper

• Explains that SSRN has no direct PDF download

  SSRN does not provide direct PDF downloads through this server, so this returns a message instead of a file. Use the fallback download tool to look for an open-access copy.

  Try: “Download the SSRN paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · download_ssrn

• Explains that OpenAlex papers cannot be read directly

  OpenAlex gives metadata but not full text through this server, so this returns a message instead of the paper.

  Try: “Read the OpenAlex paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · read_openalex_paper

• Explains that OpenAlex has no direct PDF download

  OpenAlex does not provide direct PDF downloads through this server, so this returns a message instead of a file. Use the fallback download tool to look for an open-access copy.

  Try: “Download the OpenAlex paper with ID 12345.”

  Read · download_openalex

Watch out for

• Sci-Hub fallback is on by default

  In the published release the fallback download tool uses Sci-Hub unless told otherwise. The README says legal and policy risks vary by country and that using it is your responsibility, so tell the assistant to skip it. github.com

• It writes files wherever the save path points

  Download and read tools take a folder path and default to ./downloads in the server's working folder. Name a dedicated folder in your prompt. github.com

• Some sources are rate-limited or blocked

  Google Scholar can return CAPTCHAs and the README lists several sources with limits. Results report these as source errors rather than empty lists. github.com

• The README describes a newer version than the one published

  The main branch README lists newer behavior, such as Sci-Hub off by default. This page follows the published 0.1.4 release. pypi.org

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