How do I connect Openalex MCP Server to Claude?

The listing records `docker run -e OPENALEX_API_KEY=your-key -p 3010:3010 openalex-mcp-server` as its setup step. Run it, then follow the repository's instructions for the client configuration; the listing names Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code as compatible clients.

Is Openalex MCP Server free?

The listed licence is Apache-2.0. Check the upstream terms for permitted use and commercial requirements; a public repository does not by itself mean the software is free or open source. Connected APIs and hosted services may have separate charges.

What can Openalex MCP Server do?

Openalex MCP Server documents 10 tools to the agent, including cited_by, cites, display_name. The descriptions above come from project documentation. A live handshake does not test individual tool behavior.

Openalex MCP Server

Unclaimed

by cyanheads

Access the OpenAlex academic research catalog - 270M+ publications through MCP. STDIO & Streamable HTTP.

Install

$docker run -e OPENALEX_API_KEY=your-key -p 3010:3010 openalex-mcp-server

Set up this server

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This server needs project-specific setup. Follow the project instructions; no reusable public launch command is available yet.

Project instructions

academic-researchacademic-searchbibliometricscitation-analysiscyanheadsliterature-searchmcpmcp-servermodel-context-protocolopenalexscholarly-datascholarly-researchtypescript

Is this your MCP server?

This listing was auto-indexed from the public record. Claim it to edit the page, set compatibility and unlock growth tools. Takes under two minutes.

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Security profile

Claimed and verified servers get a weekly static scan that shows what the code can reach: external services, environment variables, shell commands, agent configuration folders, plus any dependencies with known advisories. Claim this listing to get one. How the security profile works

10 of 10 tools

Documented tools (10)

From project documentation. A server handshake does not verify each tool’s description or behavior.

cited_by

works the seed cites (its reference list)

cites

works that cite the seed (incoming citations)

display_name

is nullable — OpenAlex holds no title for paratext and other untitled records, which pass through instead of failing the whole page

group_by

returns the subset of the filter set OpenAlex can aggregate — raw date fields, .search operators, and from/to range modifiers are excluded

openalex_analyze_trends

Group-by aggregation for trend and distribution analysis.

openalex_describe_fields

List valid filter, groupby, and select field names for an entity type — call before building a query to avoid invalid-field errors.

openalex_get_citation_graph

Walk the citation graph one hop from a seed work: cites, citedby, or relatedto.

openalex_resolve_name

Resolve a name or an identifier (DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, PMCID, ISSN, OpenAlex ID) to an OpenAlex ID.

openalex_search_entities

Search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID across all 8 entity types.

related_to

OpenAlex algorithmic "related works" (~8-30 typical, may be empty for less-cited seeds)

Tool change history

Compared across complete checks of the same configuration. Tools were listed, not invoked. Input-schema changes are not measured here.

No complete tool checks yet.

FAQ

Questions about Openalex MCP Server

How do I connect Openalex MCP Server to Claude?: The listing records `docker run -e OPENALEX_API_KEY=your-key -p 3010:3010 openalex-mcp-server` as its setup step. Run it, then follow the repository's instructions for the client configuration; the listing names Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code as compatible clients.
Is Openalex MCP Server free?: The listed licence is Apache-2.0. Check the upstream terms for permitted use and commercial requirements; a public repository does not by itself mean the software is free or open source. Connected APIs and hosted services may have separate charges.
What can Openalex MCP Server do?: Openalex MCP Server documents 10 tools to the agent, including cited_by, cites, display_name. The descriptions above come from project documentation. A live handshake does not test individual tool behavior.