Openalex MCP Server

@cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server Access the OpenAlex academic research catalog - 270M+ publications through MCP. STDIO & Streamable HTTP. Its 8 documented tools cluster into openalex, cites, cited, related.

People connecting this server to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-22 · ★ 12 · #70 OF 848 MAINTAINED OTHER · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

Apache-2.0 · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Openalex MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

OPENALEX_API_KEY is optional or environment-specific per the README.

Claude Code

claude mcp add cyanheads-openalex-mcp-server --transport http https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-openalex-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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

https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp

transport: streamable-http

endpoint alive - responded to MCP initialize · probed 2026-08-25

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 · remote - your agent's requests go to openalex.caseyjhand.com

endpoint auth accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize - no credentials needed to connect

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @cyanheads/openalex-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 Openalex 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 search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID across all 8 entity types, resolve a name or an identifier (DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, PMCID, ISSN, OpenAlex ID) to an OpenAlex ID, and list valid filter, group_by, and select field names for an entity type - call before building a query to avoid invalid-field errors.

Capability map

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

Openalex

5 tools - e.g. Search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID across all 8 entity types.; Group-by aggregation for trend and distribution analysis.; Resolve a name or an identifier (DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, PMCID, ISSN, OpenAlex…

openalex_search_entities · openalex_analyze_trends · openalex_resolve_name · openalex_get_citation_graph · openalex_describe_fields

Cites

1 tool - e.g. works that cite the seed (incoming citations)

cites

Cited

1 tool - e.g. works the seed cites (its reference list)

cited_by

Related

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

related_to

Latest releases

v0.7.9 · 2026-08-22

Core 0.12 adoption · Tool inputs reject undeclared keys; output schemas advertise structured error responses. · OpenAlex errors preserve truncation disclosure; Docker and project guidance align with SDK v2.…

v0.7.8 · 2026-07-27

search_entities id-lookup validation scope fix · pre-flight validations (semantic_per_page_cap, sample_with_cursor, · seed_without_sample) no longer reject an id lookup over search-only · constraints its singleton path…

v0.7.7 · 2026-07-26

resolve_name identifier front door · openalex_resolve_name resolves identifiers directly - OpenAlex ID, DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, PMCID, ISSN, bare or URL form - via a deterministic by-ID lookup instead of autocomplete's…

04 · Who maintains Openalex MCP Server

openalex-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.

  1. mcp-ts-core Agent-native TypeScript framework for building MCP servers with declarative definitions. ★ 148
  2. obsidian-mcp-server Read, write, search, and surgically edit Obsidian notes, tags, and frontmatter via MCP. ★ 668
  3. git-mcp-server Comprehensive Git MCP server enabling native git tools including clone, commit, worktree, & more. ★ 235
  4. pubmed-mcp-server Search PubMed/Europe PMC, fetch articles and full text (PMC/EPMC/Unpaywall), citations, MeSH terms. ★ 137
  5. clinicaltrialsgov-mcp-server Search ClinicalTrials.gov - find studies, retrieve results, match patients to eligible trials. ★ 90
  6. mcp-ts-template TypeScript template for building MCP servers with declarative tooling, observability, and auth. ★ 148

05 · Facts

repository
github.com/cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server
category
other - ranked #70 of 848 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence
10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-22)
registry
io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-03-24 · 41 versions)
packages
npm:@cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server

06 · Openalex MCP Server FAQ

Is Openalex MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-22 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Openalex MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID across all 8 entity types, resolve a name or an identifier (DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, PMCID, ISSN, OpenAlex ID) to an OpenAlex ID, and list valid filter, group_by, and select field names for an entity type - call before building a query to avoid invalid-field errors.

How do I install Openalex MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server`. The README documents one environment variable (OPENALEX_API_KEY) to set first. OPENALEX_API_KEY is optional or environment-specific per the README. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Openalex MCP Server require authentication?

No - the endpoint accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize when probed on 2026-08-25; you can connect without credentials.

07 · Alternatives to Openalex MCP Server

Alternatives to Openalex MCP Server

Maintained other servers if Openalex MCP Server isn't the fit.

  1. Heyputer MCP Server Puter MCP enables AI tools to interact with Puter: manage files, websites, workers, and more ★ 43,204 · 2026-08-24
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  3. Zotero MCP (54yyyu) Search, read, annotate, and add to your Zotero research library, local or web. ★ 4,780 · 2026-08-25
  4. Firebase MCP Gives AI development tools Firebase-specific capabilities and expertise. ★ 4,460 · 2026-08-25
  5. Microsoft Fabric MCP Server MCP tools for interacting with Microsoft Fabric ★ 3,598 · 2026-08-21
  6. Ship Swift 40+ production-ready SwiftUI recipes for building full-stack iOS apps via MCP. ★ 2,968 · 2026-08-09

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