PaperMCP

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

English | 简体中文

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❌ 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

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🛠️ Installation

<details> <summary><b>Install in Claude Desktop</b></summary>

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"
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Cline</b></summary>

Add to Cline MCP settings:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Zed</b></summary>

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

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Continue</b></summary>

Add to Continue config:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Sourcegraph Cody</b></summary>

Add to Cody settings:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Cursor</b></summary>

Add to Cursor MCP settings:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Windsurf</b></summary>

Add to Windsurf config:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Roo Cline</b></summary>

Add to Roo Cline settings:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in OpenHands</b></summary>

Add to OpenHands config:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Void</b></summary>

Add to Void settings:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Claude Code</b></summary>

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"]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Gemini CLI</b></summary>

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

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Codex CLI</b></summary>

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in OpenCode</b></summary>

Add to .opencode.json:

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

</details>

<details> <summary><b>Install in Crush CLI</b></summary>

Add to Crush config:

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

</details>

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📚 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.

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🚀 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

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🔧 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());

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📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with Model Context Protocol and MCP TypeScript SDK

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