Semantic Scholar MCP Server

A 14-tool Semantic Scholar MCP server for academic research workflows. Direct access to 200M+ papers from Semantic Scholar - paper search, citation graph traversal, author profiles, and recommendations - from any Model Context Protocol client (e.g., Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Continue, and others). It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

People connecting cloud infrastructure tools to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Python.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-24 · ★ 14 · #22 OF 141 MAINTAINED CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

MIT · Python servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Semantic Scholar MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY before connecting.

Claude Code

claude mcp add smaniches-semantic-scholar-mcp -- uvx s2-mcp-server

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "smaniches-semantic-scholar-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "s2-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 MIT - declared in the repository

pypi package s2-mcp-server - check the name against the project README before installing (PyPI has no namespace ownership)

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

03 · What Semantic Scholar MCP Server can do

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

Latest releases

semantic-scholar-mcp-v1.7.3 · 2026-08-20

1.7.3 (2026-08-20) · close Docker context and release security changes · Security · constrain redirects to Semantic Scholar API origin

semantic-scholar-mcp-v1.7.2 · 2026-08-11

1.7.2 (2026-08-11) · construct the SBOM without executing resolved dependencies · isolate SBOM resolution from attestation authority

semantic-scholar-mcp-v1.7.1 · 2026-07-26

1.7.1 (2026-07-26) · preserve Host validation for configured HTTP access and validate author IDs

04 · Who maintains Semantic Scholar MCP Server

Semantic Scholar MCP Server is maintained by smaniches. We track 3 MCP servers from smaniches - 3 actively maintained, 21 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Nov 2025. Full record: all servers from smaniches.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/smaniches/semantic-scholar-mcp
category: cloud infrastructure - ranked #22 of 141 actively-maintained cloud infrastructure servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-20)
registry: io.github.smaniches/semantic-scholar-mcp (active, first published 2026-06-09 · 10 versions)
packages: pypi:s2-mcp-server

06 · Semantic Scholar MCP Server FAQ

What is Semantic Scholar MCP Server?

Is Semantic Scholar MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-24 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

How do I install Semantic Scholar MCP Server?

Run `uvx s2-mcp-server`. The README documents one environment variable (SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY) to set first. Set SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Semantic Scholar MCP Server run locally?

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

07 · Alternatives to Semantic Scholar MCP Server

Alternatives to Semantic Scholar MCP Server

Maintained cloud infrastructure servers if Semantic Scholar MCP Server isn't the fit.

Pairs well with

Servers that cover what Semantic Scholar MCP Server doesn't - only shown when the pairing reason fits the companion.

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