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Paper Search

by docker ✓ verified ✓ Packaged by Docker

MCP, CLI, Skills for searching and downloading academic papers from multiple sources like arXiv, PubMed, bioRxiv, etc.

MCP server installable network: on runtime: sysbox

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Paper Search MCP Server

MCP, CLI, Skills for searching and downloading academic papers from multiple sources like arXiv, PubMed, bioRxiv, etc.

What is an MCP Server?

MCP Info

Attribute Details
Docker Image mcp/paper-search
Author openags
Repository https://github.com/openags/paper-search-mcp

Image Building Info

Attribute Details
Dockerfile https://github.com/openags/paper-search-mcp/blob/c8b642183bb725f0a7faec89e58b558df09079d1/Dockerfile
Commit c8b642183bb725f0a7faec89e58b558df09079d1
Docker Image built by Docker Inc.
Docker Scout Health Score Docker Scout Health Score
Verify Signature COSIGN_REPOSITORY=mcp/signatures cosign verify mcp/paper-search --key https://raw.githubusercontent.com/docker/keyring/refs/heads/main/public/mcp/latest.pub
Licence MIT License

Available Tools (57)

Tools provided by this Server Short Description
download_arxiv Download PDF of an arXiv paper.
download_base Download PDF for a paper from BASE.
download_biorxiv Download PDF of a bioRxiv paper.
download_citeseerx Download PDF for a paper from CiteSeerX.
download_crossref Attempt to download PDF of a CrossRef paper.
download_dblp Download PDF for a paper from dblp.
download_doaj Download PDF for a paper from DOAJ.
download_hal Download PDF for a paper from HAL.
download_iacr Download PDF of an IACR ePrint paper.
download_medrxiv Download PDF of a medRxiv paper.
download_openaire Download PDF for a paper from OpenAIRE.
download_openalex Download PDF for a paper from OpenAlex.
download_pubmed Attempt to download PDF of a PubMed paper.
download_scihub Download paper PDF via Sci-Hub (optional fallback connector).
download_semantic Download PDF of a Semantic Scholar paper.
download_ssrn Download PDF for a paper from SSRN.
download_with_fallback Try source-native download, OA repositories, Unpaywall, then optional Sci-Hub.
download_zenodo Download PDF for a paper from Zenodo.
get_crossref_paper_by_doi Get a specific paper from CrossRef by its DOI.
read_arxiv_paper Read and extract text content from an arXiv paper PDF.
read_base_paper Read and extract text content from a BASE paper.
read_biorxiv_paper Read and extract text content from a bioRxiv paper PDF.
read_citeseerx_paper Read and extract text content from a CiteSeerX paper.
read_crossref_paper Attempt to read and extract text content from a CrossRef paper.
read_dblp_paper Attempt to read and extract text content from a dblp paper.
read_doaj_paper Read and extract text content from a DOAJ paper.
read_hal_paper Read and extract text content from a HAL paper.
read_iacr_paper Read and extract text content from an IACR ePrint paper PDF.
read_medrxiv_paper Read and extract text content from a medRxiv paper PDF.
read_openaire_paper Attempt to read and extract text content from an OpenAIRE paper.
read_openalex_paper Attempt to read and extract text content from an OpenAlex paper.
read_pubmed_paper Read and extract text content from a PubMed paper.
read_semantic_paper Read and extract text content from a Semantic Scholar paper.
read_ssrn_paper Read paper content from SSRN.
read_zenodo_paper Read and extract text content from a Zenodo paper.
search_arxiv Search academic papers from arXiv.
search_base Search academic papers from BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine).
search_biorxiv Search academic papers from bioRxiv.
search_citeseerx Search academic papers from CiteSeerX digital library.
search_core Search academic papers from CORE.
search_crossref Search academic papers from CrossRef database.
search_dblp Search academic papers from dblp computer science bibliography.
search_doaj Search academic papers from DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals).
search_europepmc Search academic papers from Europe PMC.
search_google_scholar Search academic papers from Google Scholar.
search_hal Search academic papers from HAL open archive.
search_iacr Search academic papers from IACR ePrint Archive.
search_medrxiv Search academic papers from medRxiv.
search_openaire Search academic papers from OpenAIRE European Open Access infrastructure.
search_openalex Search academic papers from OpenAlex.
search_papers Unified top-level search across all configured academic platforms.
search_pmc Search academic papers from PubMed Central (PMC).
search_pubmed Search academic papers from PubMed.
search_semantic Search academic papers from Semantic Scholar.
search_ssrn Search metadata records from SSRN.
search_unpaywall Lookup a DOI via Unpaywall and return OA metadata.
search_zenodo Search academic papers from Zenodo open repository.

Tools Details

Tool: download_arxiv

Download PDF of an arXiv paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string arXiv paper ID (e.g., '2106.12345').
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_base

Download PDF for a paper from BASE.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string BASE paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_biorxiv

Download PDF of a bioRxiv paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string bioRxiv DOI.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_citeseerx

Download PDF for a paper from CiteSeerX.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string CiteSeerX paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_crossref

Attempt to download PDF of a CrossRef paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string CrossRef DOI (e.g., '10.1038/nature12373').
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_dblp

Download PDF for a paper from dblp.

Note: dblp doesn't provide direct PDF access.
This function returns an informative message.
Parameters Type Description
paper_id string dblp paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_doaj

Download PDF for a paper from DOAJ.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string DOAJ paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_hal

Download PDF for a paper from HAL.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string HAL paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_iacr

Download PDF of an IACR ePrint paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string IACR paper ID (e.g., '2009/101').
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_medrxiv

Download PDF of a medRxiv paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string medRxiv DOI.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_openaire

Download PDF for a paper from OpenAIRE.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string OpenAIRE paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_openalex

Download PDF for a paper from OpenAlex.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string OpenAlex paper ID.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_pubmed

Attempt to download PDF of a PubMed paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string PubMed ID (PMID).
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_scihub

Download paper PDF via Sci-Hub (optional fallback connector).

Parameters Type Description
identifier string DOI, title, PMID, or paper URL.
base_url string optional Sci-Hub mirror URL.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF.
Tool: download_semantic

Download PDF of a Semantic Scholar paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string Semantic Scholar paper ID, Paper identifier in one of the following formats:
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: download_ssrn

Download PDF for a paper from SSRN.

Note: SSRN connector is metadata-only and download is not supported.
Parameters Type Description
paper_id string SSRN paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (unused).
Tool: download_with_fallback

Try source-native download, OA repositories, Unpaywall, then optional Sci-Hub.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string Source-native paper identifier.
source string Source name (arxiv, biorxiv, medrxiv, iacr, semantic, crossref, pubmed, pmc, core, europepmc, citeseerx, doaj, base, zenodo, hal, ssrn).
doi string optional Optional DOI used for repository/unpaywall/Sci-Hub fallback.
save_path string optional Directory to save downloaded files.
scihub_base_url string optional Sci-Hub mirror URL for fallback.
title string optional Optional title used for repository/Sci-Hub fallback when DOI is unavailable.
use_scihub boolean optional Whether to fallback to Sci-Hub after OA attempts fail.
Tool: download_zenodo

Download PDF for a paper from Zenodo.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string Zenodo paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory to save the PDF (default: './downloads').
Tool: get_crossref_paper_by_doi

Get a specific paper from CrossRef by its DOI.

Parameters Type Description
doi string Digital Object Identifier (e.g., '10.1038/nature12373').
Tool: read_arxiv_paper

Read and extract text content from an arXiv paper PDF.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string arXiv paper ID (e.g., '2106.12345').
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_base_paper

Read and extract text content from a BASE paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string BASE paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_biorxiv_paper

Read and extract text content from a bioRxiv paper PDF.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string bioRxiv DOI.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_citeseerx_paper

Read and extract text content from a CiteSeerX paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string CiteSeerX paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_crossref_paper

Attempt to read and extract text content from a CrossRef paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string CrossRef DOI (e.g., '10.1038/nature12373').
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_dblp_paper

Attempt to read and extract text content from a dblp paper.

Note: dblp doesn't provide direct paper content access.
This function returns an informative message.
Parameters Type Description
paper_id string dblp paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF would be saved (unused).
Tool: read_doaj_paper

Read and extract text content from a DOAJ paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string DOAJ paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_hal_paper

Read and extract text content from a HAL paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string HAL paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_iacr_paper

Read and extract text content from an IACR ePrint paper PDF.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string IACR paper ID (e.g., '2009/101').
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_medrxiv_paper

Read and extract text content from a medRxiv paper PDF.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string medRxiv DOI.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_openaire_paper

Attempt to read and extract text content from an OpenAIRE paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string OpenAIRE paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_openalex_paper

Attempt to read and extract text content from an OpenAlex paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string OpenAlex paper ID.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_pubmed_paper

Read and extract text content from a PubMed paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string PubMed ID (PMID).
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF would be saved (unused).
Tool: read_semantic_paper

Read and extract text content from a Semantic Scholar paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string Semantic Scholar paper ID, Paper identifier in one of the following formats:
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: read_ssrn_paper

Read paper content from SSRN.

Note: SSRN connector is metadata-only and read is not supported.
Parameters Type Description
paper_id string SSRN paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (unused).
Tool: read_zenodo_paper

Read and extract text content from a Zenodo paper.

Parameters Type Description
paper_id string Zenodo paper identifier.
save_path string optional Directory where the PDF is/will be saved (default: './downloads').
Tool: search_arxiv

Search academic papers from arXiv.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
sort_by string optional Sort criterion — 'relevance', 'submittedDate', or 'lastUpdatedDate' (default: 'relevance').
sort_order string optional Sort direction — 'descending' or 'ascending' (default: 'descending').
Tool: search_base

Search academic papers from BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine).

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_biorxiv

Search academic papers from bioRxiv.

Note: bioRxiv API filters by category name within the last 30 days, not full-text
keyword search. Use a category keyword such as 'bioinformatics', 'neuroscience',
'cell biology', etc.
Parameters Type Description
query string Category name to filter by (e.g., 'bioinformatics', 'neuroscience').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_citeseerx

Search academic papers from CiteSeerX digital library.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_core

Search academic papers from CORE.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_crossref

Search academic papers from CrossRef database.

CrossRef is a scholarly infrastructure organization that provides 
persistent identifiers (DOIs) for scholarly content and metadata.
It's one of the largest citation databases covering millions of 
academic papers, journals, books, and other scholarly content.
Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning', 'climate change').
filter string optional CrossRef filter string (e.g., 'has-full-text:true,from-pub-date:2020').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10, max: 1000).
order string optional Sort order ('asc' or 'desc').
sort string optional Sort field ('relevance', 'published', 'updated', 'deposited', etc.).
Tool: search_dblp

Search academic papers from dblp computer science bibliography.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_doaj

Search academic papers from DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals).

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_europepmc

Search academic papers from Europe PMC.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_google_scholar

Search academic papers from Google Scholar.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_hal

Search academic papers from HAL open archive.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_iacr

Search academic papers from IACR ePrint Archive.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'cryptography', 'secret sharing').
fetch_details boolean optional Whether to fetch detailed information for each paper (default: True).
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_medrxiv

Search academic papers from medRxiv.

Note: medRxiv API filters by category name within the last 30 days, not full-text
keyword search. Use a category keyword such as 'infectious_diseases',
'cardiovascular_medicine', 'oncology', etc.
Parameters Type Description
query string Category name to filter by (e.g., 'infectious_diseases', 'oncology').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_openaire

Search academic papers from OpenAIRE European Open Access infrastructure.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_openalex

Search academic papers from OpenAlex.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_papers

Unified top-level search across all configured academic platforms.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string.
max_results_per_source integer optional Max results to fetch from each selected source.
sources string optional Comma-separated source names or 'all'.
year string optional Optional year filter for Semantic Scholar only.
Tool: search_pmc

Search academic papers from PubMed Central (PMC).

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_pubmed

Search academic papers from PubMed.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
sort string optional Sort order — 'relevance' or 'pub_date' (default: 'relevance').
Tool: search_semantic

Search academic papers from Semantic Scholar.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
year string optional Optional year filter (e.g., '2019', '2016-2020', '2010-', '-2015').
Tool: search_ssrn

Search metadata records from SSRN.

Note: SSRN connector is metadata-only and does not support direct PDF download.
Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).
Tool: search_unpaywall

Lookup a DOI via Unpaywall and return OA metadata.

Unpaywall is DOI-centric and does not support generic keyword search.
This tool extracts the first DOI from `query` and returns at most one record.
Parameters Type Description
query string DOI string or text containing a DOI.
max_results integer optional Kept for API consistency; Unpaywall returns max 1 record.
Tool: search_zenodo

Search academic papers from Zenodo open repository.

Parameters Type Description
query string Search query string (e.g., 'machine learning').
max_results integer optional Maximum number of papers to return (default: 10).

Use this MCP Server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "paper-search": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "mcp/paper-search"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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