--- title: "OpenAlex MCP Server: review, setup & limitations · Undominated.ai" canonical: https://undominated.ai/mcp-servers/openalex/ description: "Official OpenAlex server for checking whether a citation exists and for counting scholarly works, with profile-edit tools also registered." --- # OpenAlex MCP Server: review, setup & limitations · Undominated.ai > Official OpenAlex server for checking whether a citation exists and for counting scholarly works, with profile-edit tools also registered. [← Explore all mcp servers](/mcp-servers/) RESEARCH LITERATURE / OurResearch # OpenAlex MCP Server Official OpenAlex server for checking whether a citation exists and for counting scholarly works, with profile-edit tools also registered. [See setup guidance ↓](#setup)[Original source ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server) SOURCE REVIEW Reviewed 2026-10-14 Evidence 4 linked sources Publisher OurResearch Licence [MIT ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/LICENSE) Revision d33332f26519 [Read what was—and wasn’t—checked ↓](#review) “The official OpenAlex server for the Model Context Protocol. Connect it to Claude (or any MCP client) and ask questions about the scholarly literature …” [OurResearch · upstream description ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/README.md) Our analysis follows below. 01 / THE REASONING ## Why this made the selection. - resolve_references is the publisher tool for checking whether a citation exists, which is the failure mode when a model paper’s references are paraphrased. - search_works is written to echo the canonical query and a link that reproduces it, so a literature count can be cited instead of restated. ### A good fit for - Preview and retain canonical OQL for a reproducible literature query before retrieving paginated works. - Resolve DOI/PMID references in bounded batches while checking match confidence and author identity. ### Weigh up before choosing - The README says all tools are read-only and that the Claude paste needs no login. src/server.ts at this commit calls registerCurationTools unconditionally, and that module registers claim_author_profile and submit_curations. The signing-in section says every query uses the connected key. - Keyword search, expert search and alert tools are feature-flagged. Which flags the hosted worker sets was not visible in the files. No query was run. - List responses shorten abstracts and author lists; they are not complete bibliographic exports. Read work details before checking a disputed attribution. - Profile claims and curation are authenticated writes, and account information can include email/key-budget context. Do not interpret a research query surface as anonymous or wholly read-only. 02 / THE REVIEW RECORD ## What we actually inspected. Source review has boundaries. A clear record is more useful than a “safe” badge. ### Material inspected - README.md - src/server.ts registration block - src/curationTools.ts claim and submit tools - LICENSE - 2026-10-14 reread of retained pinned setup/configuration evidence for the specific operational details added in this batch. ### Our findings - registerCurationTools is not behind a feature flag. Keyword, expert and alert registration are. - The README endpoint is https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp. The read-only sentence conflicts with the curation tools in the same commit. - Retained README/tool descriptions provide preview counts, canonical OQL and rerun URLs, reference-resolution limits and curation prerequisites. Key identity, paging and truncated fields are now explicit in the workflow. ### Not established by this review - The server was not installed or connected. No OAuth login, literature query, curation write or credit spend was performed. - No authenticated session, installation, permission bypass or package-to-source parity test was performed. The review applies to the material and revision named here. A newer upstream release can change its behavior. 03 / PUT IT TO WORK ## Connect a server deliberately. [Upstream setup instructions ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/README.md) DOCUMENTED COMMAND claude mcp add --transport http openalex https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp Copy command ↗ Copying does not execute this command. It may retrieve a newer version than the reviewed source. - Run the README's Claude Code command, or point any Streamable HTTP client at https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp. - Expect an OAuth sign-in even where the connector blurb says no login is needed. This review did not connect. ### Before you start - An MCP client that can complete OAuth against OpenAlex - An OpenAlex account whose key budget you are willing to spend ### Compatibility Streamable HTTP MCP clients · Claude Code, using the README command ### Implementation TypeScript ### Transports Streamable HTTP ### OpenAlex account; searches spend the key budget and curation tools can edit the connected profile - Read scholarly metadata available to the connected key - claim_author_profile and submit_curations can change the connected user’s own author profile ### Cost model MIT server source. The README says queries spend the connected key’s budget. The pricing page was not opened and no amount was recomputed. 04 / FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE ## The source trail. Our notes are separate from the original resource. Check upstream before adopting a new version. - [Publisher README at reviewed revision ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/README.md) Checked 2026-10-14 https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/README.md Supports: summary, install, transports, limitations, configExample, access, bestFor, review, compatibility - [Server registration ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/src/server.ts) Checked 2026-10-07 https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/src/server.ts Supports: review, access - [Curation tools ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/src/curationTools.ts) Checked 2026-10-07 https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/src/curationTools.ts Supports: review, access - [MIT licence ↗](https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/LICENSE) Checked 2026-10-07 https://github.com/ourresearch/openalex-mcp-server/blob/d33332f26519065c6b6c75f2f101bce10d95a8c5/LICENSE Supports: license KEEP COMPARING ## Other approaches to consider. Related by category or shared topics. These are alternatives to inspect, not a measured quality order. [### arXiv MCP Server ↗ Reads arXiv source that has been saved locally and builds BibTeX from arXiv metadata rather than from a PDF scrape.](/mcp-servers/arxiv-mcp-server/)[### Zotero MCP ↗ Reads the caller’s own Zotero library. It is a community server, not a Zotero product.](/mcp-servers/zotero-mcp/)[### Airtable MCP Server ↗ Hosted Airtable server exposing bases, records, tables, interfaces and automations as tools over Streamable HTTP. Every connection is scoped to authorised bases and the server enforces existing Airtable permissions, so a read-only base stays read-only through MCP.](/mcp-servers/airtable/) [AI Tools ↗](/tools/)[Skills ↗](/skills/)[Agents ↗](/agents/)[MCP Servers ↗](/mcp-servers/)[Workflows ↗](/workflows/) ## Continue your investigation - [Inspect resource evidence](/tools/) - [Choose a host](/agents/) - [Inspect reusable workflows](/skills/) - [Use Undominated data](/api/)