papermcp by telagod - MCP Server

PaperMCP

Search and access academic papers from 23+ sources through Model Context Protocol

❌ Without PaperMCP

Manually visiting multiple academic databases
Copy-pasting DOIs and paper IDs between tools
Switching contexts to download PDFs
No unified interface for paper search

✅ With PaperMCP

Single interface for 23+ academic sources
Direct access from Claude and other AI assistants
Automatic PDF download and text extraction
Plugin system for sensitive sources

🛠️ Installation

Install in Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Using npx (Recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Using npm global install

npm install -g @telagod/papermcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "papermcp"
    }
  }
}

With API keys

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"],
      "env": {
        "SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY",
        "WOS_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY",
        "SCOPUS_API_KEY": "YOUR_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Install in Cline

Add to Cline MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Zed

Add to ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Continue

Add to Continue config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Sourcegraph Cody

Add to Cody settings:

{
  "cody.experimental.mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "papermcp": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Install in Cursor

Add to Cursor MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Windsurf

Add to Windsurf config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Roo Cline

Add to Roo Cline settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in OpenHands

Add to OpenHands config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Void

Add to Void settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Claude Code

Use the claude mcp add command:

claude mcp add papermcp -- npx -y @telagod/papermcp

Or manually add to ~/.claude.json:

{
  "projects": {
    "/your/project/path": {
      "mcpServers": {
        "papermcp": {
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Install in Gemini CLI

Add to ~/.config/gemini-cli/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Codex CLI

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.papermcp]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]

Install in OpenCode

Add to .opencode.json:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "papermcp": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "@telagod/papermcp"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Install in Crush CLI

Add to Crush config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papermcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@telagod/papermcp"]
    }
  }
}

📚 Supported Platforms

Core Platforms (16)

Platform	ID	API Key	Features
arXiv	`arxiv`	❌	Search, Download, Read
PubMed	`pubmed`	❌	Search, Lookup
PubMed Central	`pmc`	❌	Search, Download, Read
bioRxiv	`biorxiv`	❌	Search
medRxiv	`medrxiv`	❌	Search
Google Scholar	`google-scholar`	❌	Search
IACR ePrint	`iacr`	❌	Search, Download
Semantic Scholar	`semantic`	⚠️	Search, Lookup
CrossRef	`crossref`	❌	Search, Lookup
ACM Digital Library	`acm`	❌	Search
Web of Science	`wos`	✅	Search
Scopus	`scopus`	✅	Search
JSTOR	`jstor`	❌	Search
ResearchGate	`researchgate`	❌	Search
CORE	`core`	✅	Search
Microsoft Academic	`microsoft-academic`	✅	Search

Optional Plugins (7)

Enable via environment variables:

PLUGIN_SCI_HUB=true
PLUGIN_LIBGEN=true
PLUGIN_UNPAYWALL=true
PLUGIN_OA_BUTTON=true
PLUGIN_SCIENCE_DIRECT=true
PLUGIN_SPRINGER_LINK=true
PLUGIN_IEEE_XPLORE=true

[!WARNING] Sci-Hub and LibGen plugins are disabled by default. Use responsibly and comply with local regulations.

🚀 Usage

Available Tools (4 Unified Tools)

`recommend_platforms`

Get platform recommendations based on field

{
  "query": "transformer neural network",
  "field": "computer-science"  // biomedical, physics, mathematics, cryptography, open-access, general
}

`search_papers`

Search for papers on specified platform

{
  "platform": "arxiv",  // Use recommend_platforms to get suggestions
  "query": "machine learning",
  "limit": 10
}

`download_paper`

Download paper PDF from platform

{
  "platform": "arxiv",
  "id": "2301.00001",
  "dir": "/path/to/save"
}

`read_paper`

Extract text from paper PDF

{
  "platform": "pmc",
  "id": "PMC8123456",
  "dir": "/path/to/pdfs"
}

⚙️ Configuration

Environment Variables

# Optional API keys for enhanced features
SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY=your-key
WOS_API_KEY=your-key
SCOPUS_API_KEY=your-key
CORE_API_KEY=your-key

# Plugin toggles (default: false)
PLUGIN_SCI_HUB=true              # No config needed
PLUGIN_LIBGEN=true               # No config needed
PLUGIN_UNPAYWALL=true            # Requires UNPAYWALL_EMAIL
PLUGIN_OA_BUTTON=true            # Optional OA_BUTTON_API_KEY
PLUGIN_SCIENCE_DIRECT=true       # Requires ELSEVIER_API_KEY
PLUGIN_SPRINGER_LINK=true        # No config needed
PLUGIN_IEEE_XPLORE=true          # No config needed

# Plugin API keys
UNPAYWALL_EMAIL=your@email.com           # Required for Unpaywall
ELSEVIER_API_KEY=your-key                # Required for ScienceDirect
OA_BUTTON_API_KEY=your-key               # Optional for Open Access Button

Getting API Keys

Platform	Link	Notes
Semantic Scholar	Apply	Free, increases rate limit
Web of Science	Apply	Requires institutional subscription
Scopus	Apply	Requires institutional subscription
CORE	Apply	Free
Unpaywall	Any email	No registration needed
ScienceDirect	Apply	Requires institutional subscription
Open Access Button	Apply	Optional, free

🔧 Development

Install from source

git clone https://github.com/telagod/papermcp.git
cd papermcp/ts
npm install
npm run build
npm run dev

Project Structure

ts/
├── src/
│   ├── core/           # Core types and config
│   ├── platforms/      # Platform adapters
│   ├── plugins/        # Optional plugins
│   ├── services/       # Registry and tools
│   ├── server/         # MCP server
│   └── utils/          # HTTP, logging
└── dist/               # Compiled output

Adding a Platform

import { BasePlatformAdapter } from './baseAdapter.js';
import { addAdapterFactory } from './index.js';

class MyAdapter extends BasePlatformAdapter {
  constructor() {
    super('my-platform');
  }

  async search(query: SearchQuery): Promise<SearchResult> {
    // Implementation
  }
}

addAdapterFactory(() => new MyAdapter());

📄 License

MIT License - see for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with Model Context Protocol and MCP TypeScript SDK

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Made with ❤️ for researchers