Pubcrawl MCP Server

An MCP server that gives AI assistants access to PubMed, Europe PMC, FDA & UK drug labelling, and ClinicalTrials.gov. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

People connecting science & health tools to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-04 · ★ 13 · #32 OF 60 MAINTAINED SCIENCE & HEALTH · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

MIT · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Pubcrawl

before you install - you'll need

NCBI_API_KEY

Environment variables documented in the project's README - it lists which are required and which have defaults.

Claude Code

claude mcp add nickjlamb-pubcrawl -- npx -y @pharmatools/pubcrawl

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nickjlamb-pubcrawl": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pharmatools/pubcrawl"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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 MIT - declared in the repository

npm package @pharmatools/pubcrawl - the @pharmatools scope differs from the repo owner (nickjlamb); confirm it's the project's official package

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

03 · What Pubcrawl can do

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

Latest releases

v2.5.0 · 2026-07-30

v2.5.0 - consistent author lists, release-gated retrieval · Changed · search_europepmc now returns authors as a string[], matching search_pubmed - any code consuming both tools now gets a consistent shape. Surfaced by…

v2.4.0 · 2026-07-30

v2.4.0 - Europe PMC, tests, and a project glow-up · Highlights · New tool search_europepmc - search Europe PMC alongside PubMed: preprints (bioRxiv, medRxiv) and patents, with abstract snippets, citation counts…

v2.3.0 · 2026-06-15

PubCrawl v2.3.0 · Thirteen tools, one install: PubMed literature, US/UK drug labels, and clinical trials - real data, real citations. · New tool · resolve_drug_name - convert a brand name to its generic, or a generic…

04 · Who maintains Pubcrawl

pubcrawl is maintained by nickjlamb. We track 4 MCP servers from nickjlamb - 4 actively maintained, 23 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Feb 2026. Full record: all servers from nickjlamb.

redacta-mcp Pseudonymise and restore patient identifiers & PII in text - local, HIPAA Safe Harbor mode. ★ 8

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/nickjlamb/pubcrawl
category: science & health - ranked #32 of 60 actively-maintained science & health servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 4 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-07-30)
registry: io.github.nickjlamb/pubcrawl (active, first published 2026-02-16 · 3 versions)
packages: npm:@pharmatools/pubcrawl

06 · Pubcrawl FAQ

What is Pubcrawl?

An MCP server that gives AI assistants access to PubMed, Europe PMC, FDA & UK drug labelling, and ClinicalTrials.gov. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

Is Pubcrawl still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-04 and it shipped 4 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

How do I install Pubcrawl?

Run `npx -y @pharmatools/pubcrawl`. The README documents one environment variable (NCBI_API_KEY) to set first. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Pubcrawl 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 Pubcrawl

Alternatives to Pubcrawl

Maintained science & health servers if Pubcrawl isn't the fit.

More science & health MCP servers · Redacta MCP · DICOM/HL7/FHIR Interoperability MCP Server · Omophub MCP · Kaiord · Patsnap Patent & Literature Search

More TypeScript MCP servers · Swissgroceries MCP · Agentic Ads · Nifra docs · UI Beats · see all