Crossref MCP Server - install, status & alternatives [2026]

01 · Install Crossref MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. CROSSREF_MAILTO is optional or environment-specific per the README.

Claude Code

claude mcp add cyanheads-crossref-mcp-server -- npx -y @cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-crossref-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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 no standard license detected - usage rights unclear; check the repo before commercial use

npm package @cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server - published under the repo owner's npm scope (@cyanheads)

registry namespace io.github.cyanheads is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Crossref MCP Server can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can find funders registered in the Crossref Funder Registry by name, bare registry ID, or funder DOI, and resolve a DOI prefix (e.g. 10.1038) to its owning publisher - name and member ID, chaining into crossref_get_member.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what Crossref MCP Server lets an agent do.

Crossref

7 tools - e.g. Resolve a DOI to its full Crossref metadata record: title, authors, affiliations, abstract (when deposited), journal, publication date, type, license, full-text; Search the Crossref works index by free…

crossref_get_work · crossref_search_works · crossref_get_references · crossref_search_journals · crossref_search_funders · crossref_get_member…

Include

1 tool - e.g. true also returns a page of the journal's most recent works by publication date

include_works

Latest releases

v0.3.9 · 2026-08-10

get_work date-fallback fix · crossref_get_work now resolves its publication date through the same shared helper as the three search tools, instead of a chain that stopped early when a preferred source named no date…

v0.3.8 · 2026-08-10

Fix ROR/date crash, escape content[] Markdown, dedupe JATS alternatives · Escape every content[] value so a bracket or character reference normalization deliberately kept isn't consumed a second time by the client's…

v0.3.7 · 2026-08-10

unified JATS/reference markup strip, link-address fixes · refersplit and valueless-attribute tags handled correctly in stripReferenceMarkup, plus a ReDoS-safe attribute regex and memoized link-closer scan (#52)…

04 · Who maintains Crossref MCP Server

crossref-mcp-server is maintained by cyanheads. We track 125 MCP servers from cyanheads - 124 actively maintained, 1,730 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Dec 2024. Full record: all servers from cyanheads.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server
category: API integration - ranked #50 of 250 actively-maintained API integration servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-10)
registry: io.github.cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-05-23 · 25 versions)
packages: npm:@cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server

06 · Crossref MCP Server FAQ

Is Crossref MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-10 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Crossref MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can find funders registered in the Crossref Funder Registry by name, bare registry ID, or funder DOI, and resolve a DOI prefix (e.g. 10.1038) to its owning publisher - name and member ID, chaining into crossref_get_member.

How do I install Crossref MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/crossref-mcp-server`. The README documents 3 environment variables (MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, CROSSREF_MAILTO) to set first. Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. CROSSREF_MAILTO is optional or environment-specific per the README. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Crossref MCP Server run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Crossref MCP Server

Alternatives to Crossref MCP Server

Maintained API integration servers if Crossref MCP Server isn't the fit.

More API integration MCP servers · Eia Energy MCP Server · Socrata MCP Server · Justicelibre · AiPayGen - 65+ AI Tools as an MCP Server · Hibp

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