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

01 · Install Orcid MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting.

Claude Code

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

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-orcid-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://orcid.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://orcid.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 orcid.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/orcid-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 Orcid 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 fetch funding records: grants, contracts, awards, and salary awards, with funder names, grant numbers, and funding periods, and fetch peer review activity: convening organizations, reviewer role, review type, completion dates, and ISSN-keyed group identifiers.

The 9 tools it gives your agent

Extracted from the project's README - what orcid-mcp-server lets an agent do.

orcid_search_researchers: - Search the ORCID registry using structured field params (name, affiliation, keyword, ROR ID, DOI, PMID). All params are ANDed into a Solr query against the expa
orcid_get_profile: - Fetch a researcher's public profile: name, biography, keywords, researcher URLs, and external identifiers (Scopus Author ID, ResearcherID, Loop, etc.).
orcid_get_works: - Retrieve works (publications, datasets, software, preprints) for a researcher. Returns summaries with put-codes, titles, types, dates, journal names, and extern
orcid_get_work_detail: - Fetch full detail records for 1–100 works by their put-codes in a single bulk request (from orcid_get_works). Returns abstracts, all contributors with CRediT ro
orcid_get_affiliations: - Fetch affiliation records for a researcher. Accepts a types list to filter which sections to return: employment, education, invited-positions, distinctions, mem
orcid_get_funding: - Fetch funding records: grants, contracts, awards, and salary awards, with funder names, grant numbers, and funding periods.
orcid_get_peer_reviews: - Fetch peer review activity: convening organizations, reviewer role, review type, completion dates, and ISSN-keyed group identifiers.
orcid_get_research_resources: - List research resources associated with a researcher - compute allocations, equipment access, lab facilities, and data resources. Sparsely populated; most resea
orcid_resolve_researcher: - Disambiguate an ambiguous author name to a verified ORCID iD. Returns a ranked list of candidates (5 by default, up to 20 via rows) with transparent signals: na

Latest releases

v0.2.13 · 2026-07-27

Upstream URL redaction and institution overlap fix · Non-404 upstream failures no longer leak the raw ORCID API URL to clients, across every record-fetch tool, both resources, and both search tools (#31)…

v0.2.12 · 2026-07-27

affiliation, work, and peer-review normalizer fixes · orcid_get_affiliations unwraps the live activities-group summary wrapper - every field (organization, role, department, dates) now populates instead of only type…

v0.2.11 · 2026-07-17

search truncation disclosure, profile researcherUrls, description accuracy · orcid_search_researchers now discloses the 10,000-offset retrieval ceiling imposed by the ORCID Public API via a truncated flag and nextStart…

04 · Who maintains Orcid MCP Server

orcid-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/orcid-mcp-server
category: other - ranked #284 of 848 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-07-27)
registry: io.github.cyanheads/orcid-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-05-26 · 19 versions)
packages: npm:@cyanheads/orcid-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/orcid-mcp-server

06 · Orcid MCP Server FAQ

Is Orcid MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-07-27 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Orcid MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can fetch funding records: grants, contracts, awards, and salary awards, with funder names, grant numbers, and funding periods, and fetch peer review activity: convening organizations, reviewer role, review type, completion dates, and ISSN-keyed group identifiers.

How do I install Orcid MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/orcid-mcp-server`. The README documents 2 environment variables (MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL) to set first. Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Orcid 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 Orcid MCP Server

Alternatives to Orcid MCP Server

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

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