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Crossref MCP Server

Developer ToolsLow Risk10.0MCP RegistryLocal
Free

Server data from the Official MCP Registry

Search and retrieve scholarly metadata from the Crossref REST API

About

Search and retrieve scholarly metadata from the Crossref REST API

Security Report

10.0
Low Risk10.0Low Risk

Valid MCP server (3 strong, 7 medium validity signals). No known CVEs in dependencies. Package registry verified. Imported from the Official MCP Registry.

6 files analyzed · 1 issue found

Security scores are indicators to help you make informed decisions, not guarantees. Always review permissions before connecting any MCP server.

Permissions Required

This plugin requests these system permissions. Most are normal for its category.

HTTP Network Access

Connects to external APIs or services over the internet.

env_vars

Check that this permission is expected for this type of plugin.

What You'll Need

Set these up before or after installing:

Your email for Crossref polite pool (better rate limits, no key needed)Optional

Environment variable: CROSSREF_MAILTO

How to Install

Add this to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-smaboundless-crossref": {
      "env": {
        "CROSSREF_MAILTO": "your-crossref-mailto-here"
      },
      "args": [
        "crossref-mcp-server"
      ],
      "command": "uvx"
    }
  }
}

Documentation

View on GitHub

From the project's GitHub README.

CrossRef MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for searching and retrieving scholarly metadata from the CrossRef REST API — 150M+ records across all publishers and disciplines.

Built with FastMCP. No API key required.

Tools

ToolDescription
crossref_searchSearch works by keyword with filtering by year, type, and sort options
crossref_title_searchSearch specifically by title for more precise matching
crossref_author_searchSearch for works by a specific author, optionally combined with keywords
crossref_doi_lookupRetrieve full metadata for a work by DOI
crossref_journal_searchSearch for journals by name
crossref_journal_worksGet works published in a specific journal by ISSN
crossref_funder_searchSearch for funding organizations
crossref_referencesGet the reference list cited by a specific work
crossref_export_risExport recent results as RIS (for Zotero, EndNote, etc.)
crossref_export_bibtexExport recent results as BibTeX

Setup

1. Install

cd crossref-mcp-server
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure environment (optional)

CrossRef doesn't require an API key, but setting a mailto address gives you access to their faster "polite" API pool:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your email address

3. Add to Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crossref": {
      "command": "/path/to/crossref-mcp-server/venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/path/to/crossref-mcp-server/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "CROSSREF_MAILTO": "your.email@example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or if using Claude Code CLI:

claude mcp add crossref \
  /path/to/crossref-mcp-server/venv/bin/python \
  /path/to/crossref-mcp-server/server.py \
  -e CROSSREF_MAILTO=your.email@example.com

Usage examples

Once connected, you can ask Claude things like:

  • "Search CrossRef for recent papers on transformer architectures"
  • "Find works by Jane Smith on educational psychology from 2020-2024"
  • "Look up the metadata for DOI 10.1038/nature14539"
  • "Search for journals about machine learning"
  • "Get the reference list for this paper and export as RIS for Zotero"

License

MIT

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