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

01 · Install Pubmed MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, NCBI_API_KEY before connecting.

Claude Code

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

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-pubmed-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://pubmed.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://pubmed.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 pubmed.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/pubmed-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 Pubmed 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 full article metadata by PMIDs - abstract, authors, journal, MeSH terms, grants, fetch full-text articles via a chain: NCBI PMC EFetch → Europe PMC fullTextXML → Unpaywall. Accepts PMIDs, PMCIDs, or DOIs, generate formatted citations in APA 7th, MLA 9th, BibTeX, RIS, or Vancouver (ICMJE/NLM), and find similar articles, citing articles, or references for a given PMID.

The 11 tools it gives your agent

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

pubmed_search_articles: - Search PubMed with full query syntax, field-specific filters, date ranges, pagination, and optional brief summaries
pubmed_europepmc_search: - Search Europe PMC for preprints, patents, Agricola, and EPMC-only OA records that don't surface in PubMed. Cursor-based pagination.
pubmed_europepmc_fetch: - Fetch complete Europe PMC records - including the untruncated abstract - by source + epmcId, the only identifier many preprint, patent, and Agricola records car
pubmed_fetch_articles: - Fetch full article metadata by PMIDs - abstract, authors, journal, MeSH terms, grants
pubmed_fetch_fulltext: - Fetch full-text articles via a chain: NCBI PMC EFetch → Europe PMC fullTextXML → Unpaywall. Accepts PMIDs, PMCIDs, or DOIs.
pubmed_format_citations: - Generate formatted citations in APA 7th, MLA 9th, BibTeX, RIS, or Vancouver (ICMJE/NLM)
pubmed_find_related: - Find similar articles, citing articles, or references for a given PMID
pubmed_spell_check: - Spell-check biomedical queries using NCBI's ESpell service
pubmed_lookup_mesh: - Search and explore MeSH vocabulary - tree numbers, scope notes, entry terms
pubmed_lookup_citation: - Resolve partial bibliographic references to PubMed IDs via ECitMatch
pubmed_convert_ids: - Convert between DOI, PMID, and PMCID using the PMC ID Converter API

Latest releases

v2.10.4 · 2026-08-21

native Docker build stage · Docker build stage pinned to $BUILDPLATFORM so it runs natively on the builder, restoring the linux/amd64,linux/arm64 GHCR image - the emulated amd64 leg aborted tsc, so 2.10.3 published no…

v2.10.3 · 2026-08-21

mcp-ts-core 0.12.3 and the v2 MCP SDK · pubmed_fetch_fulltext enrichment gains a truncated flag alongside the existing notice · Service log context nests under additionalContext; esummary-parser merges with withExtra…

v2.10.2 · 2026-07-26

Europe PMC abstract text and PMC-source lookup fixes · Markup strip no longer eats statistical notation (e.g. P<0.001) between a stray < and the next real tag (#94) · pubmed_europepmc_fetch resolves source: "PMC" refs…

04 · Who maintains Pubmed MCP Server

pubmed-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/pubmed-mcp-server
category: science & health - ranked #3 of 60 actively-maintained science & health servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-21)
registry: io.github.cyanheads/pubmed-mcp-server (active, first published 2025-09-15 · 76 versions)
packages: npm:@cyanheads/pubmed-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/pubmed-mcp-server

06 · Pubmed MCP Server FAQ

Is Pubmed MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-21 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Pubmed MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can fetch full article metadata by PMIDs - abstract, authors, journal, MeSH terms, grants, fetch full-text articles via a chain: NCBI PMC EFetch → Europe PMC fullTextXML → Unpaywall. Accepts PMIDs, PMCIDs, or DOIs, generate formatted citations in APA 7th, MLA 9th, BibTeX, RIS, or Vancouver (ICMJE/NLM), and find similar articles, citing articles, or references for a given PMID.

How do I install Pubmed MCP Server?

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

Does Pubmed 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 Pubmed MCP Server

Alternatives to Pubmed MCP Server

Maintained science & health servers if Pubmed MCP Server isn't the fit.

head to head · Arxiv MCP Server (blazickjp) vs Pubmed MCP Server · Pubmed MCP Server vs Paper Banana · Codescene MCP Server vs Pubmed MCP Server

More science & health MCP servers · Who Gho MCP Server · Cytoscape Desktop MCP · Apple Health MCP · Eight Sleep MCP · Garminmcp

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