How to use
- Copy the installation command and review the source package before installing it in your own agent environment.
- Check the source document for required tools, credentials and supported hosts.
- Describe your input and desired deliverable; review the output against the source material.
npx skills add https://github.com/openags/paper-search-mcp --skill paper-searchBefore you start
- Installation does not include a model subscription, API allowance or permission to access your files.
- Repository stars and installation counts describe activity, not an independent quality or security test.
Rendered from the source repository. Headings, examples, code, tables, links, and referenced images are preserved.
Paper Search
Search, download, and read academic papers via the paper-search CLI.
CLI Usage
All commands run via:
paper-search <command> [args]If paper-search is not available, install it with uv tool install paper-search-mcp. Optional API keys can be configured in ~/.config/paper-search-mcp/.env.
Search
paper-search search "<query>" -n <max_per_source> -s <sources> -y <year>-n: results per source (default: 5)-s: comma-separated sources or "all" (default: all)-y: year filter for Semantic Scholar (e.g. "2020", "2018-2022")
For speed, prefer targeted sources (-s arxiv,semantic,crossref) over "all" unless broad coverage is needed.
Download PDF
paper-search download <source> <paper_id> [-o ./downloads]Read (extract text)
paper-search read <source> <paper_id> [-o ./downloads]List sources
paper-search sourcesOutput
search and download return JSON. read returns plain text. Config warnings go to stderr and can be ignored.
Sources
arxiv, pubmed, biorxiv, medrxiv, google_scholar, iacr, semantic, crossref, openalex, pmc, core, europepmc, dblp, openaire, citeseerx, doaj, base, zenodo, hal, ssrn, unpaywall
Optional (env vars): ieee (IEEE_API_KEY), acm (ACM_API_KEY)
Workflow
- Search with targeted sources to find papers
- Present results as a table: title, authors, year, source, DOI/URL
- If the user wants full text, use
read <source> <paper_id> - If the user wants the PDF, use
download <source> <paper_id>and report the saved path
