Fulltext Article Downloader MCP Server
fulltext-article-downloader is a Python package for programmatically downloading the full text of research articles from a DOI, arXiv id, PubMed Central id or OpenReview id. It chains together publisher APIs, open-access indexes and repositories in a fallback sequence, checks that what came back is really the requested article, and can be used from Python, from the command line, or by an AI agent through an MCP…
People who work with Unpaywall and Fulltext and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Python.
VERIFIED ACTIVE
LAST COMMIT 2026-09-17 · ★ 21 · #29 OF 93 MAINTAINED WEB SCRAPING · VERIFIED 2026-09-18
BSD-3-Clause · Python servers · how we verify → /methodology
01 · Install Fulltext Article Downloader
before you install - you'll need
Set UNPAYWALL_EMAIL before connecting. FULLTEXT_OUTPUT_DIR is optional or environment-specific per the README.
Claude Code
claude mcp add computron-fulltext-article-downloader -- uvx fulltext-article-downloader Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config
{
"mcpServers": {
"computron-fulltext-article-downloader": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"fulltext-article-downloader"
]
}
}
} Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.
Using another client? Same JSON, different key
Claude Desktop · mcpServers
Cursor · mcpServers
VS Code · servers
Windsurf · mcpServers
Zed · context_servers
Cline · mcpServers
Roo Code · mcpServers
Continue · mcpServers
LibreChat · mcpServers
Gemini CLI · mcpServers
Codex CLI · mcp_servers
Full setup guides: every client.
02 · Evidence
Security posture
What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.
runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions
license BSD-3-Clause - declared in the repository
pypi package fulltext-article-downloader - check the name against the project README before installing (PyPI has no namespace ownership)
registry namespace io.github.computron is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner
03 · Who maintains Fulltext Article Downloader
fulltext-article-downloader is maintained by computron. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to May 2025.
04 · Facts
- category
- web scraping - ranked #29 of 93 actively-maintained web scraping servers as of 2026-09-18.
- registry
- io.github.computron/fulltext-article-downloader (active, first published 2026-09-15 · 2 versions)
- packages
- pypi:fulltext-article-downloader
05 · Fulltext Article Downloader FAQ
What is Fulltext Article Downloader?
fulltext-article-downloader is a Python package for programmatically downloading the full text of research articles from a DOI, arXiv id, PubMed Central id or OpenReview id. It chains together publisher APIs, open-access indexes and repositories in a fallback sequence, checks that what came back is really the requested article, and can be used from Python, from the command line, or by an AI agent through an MCP…
Is Fulltext Article Downloader still maintained?
Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-17. We re-verify nightly.
How do I install Fulltext Article Downloader?
Run `uvx fulltext-article-downloader`. The README documents 2 environment variables (UNPAYWALL_EMAIL, FULLTEXT_OUTPUT_DIR) to set first. Set UNPAYWALL_EMAIL before connecting. FULLTEXT_OUTPUT_DIR is optional or environment-specific per the README. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.
Does Fulltext Article Downloader run locally?
Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via uvx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.
06 · Alternatives to Fulltext Article Downloader
Alternatives to Fulltext Article Downloader
Maintained web scraping servers if Fulltext Article Downloader isn't the fit.
- Firecrawl MCP Server MCP server for Firecrawl - web search, scraping, and biomedical/arXiv paper search. ★ 7,478 · 2026-09-18
- Apify MCP Server Extract data from any website with thousands of scrapers, crawlers, and automations on Apify Store ⚡ ★ 7,456 · 2026-09-17
- Wigolo Local-first web intelligence MCP server for AI coding agents ★ 5,284 · 2026-09-17
- Exa Fast, intelligent web search and web crawling. New mcp tool: Exa-code is a context tool for coding ★ 5,013 · 2026-08-21
- Tavily MCP MCP server for advanced web search using Tavily ★ 2,390 · 2026-09-16
- Open Brand Extract brand assets (logos, colors, backdrop images, brand name) from any website URL ★ 797 · 2026-05-12
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