Endnote MCP Server

Connect your EndNote reference library to Claude AI. Search references, read PDFs, format citations, find related papers, and generate bibliographies

Local serverstdioPython

What is the Endnote MCP MCP server?

Connect your EndNote reference library to Claude AI. Search references, read PDFs, format citations, find related papers, and generate bibliographies — all directly in Claude Desktop conversations. Exposed over MCP by the endnote mcp mcp server, that capability becomes something an assistant can invoke while it works, not something you go and do afterwards.

What it actually does

  • "Search my library for social capital and Bourdieu"
  • "Find papers about how organisations deal with uncertainty" (semantic search)
  • "Find references related to paper #3844"
  • "Give me the APA citation for reference #1234"
  • "Generate a bibliography for references 12, 45, 78, 102"
  • "Export references 12, 45, 78 as BibTeX"

Its toolset

Everything the assistant can do here goes through one of these:

  • search_references — Search by author, title, year, keywords, abstract (BM25 ranked, with DOI links)
  • search_fulltext — Search inside PDF content — find concepts, quotes, methods
  • search_library — Combined metadata + PDF search in one call
  • search_semantic — Search by meaning using AI embeddings (requires endnote-mcp[semantic])
  • get_reference_details — Full metadata for a reference (abstract, keywords, DOI, etc.)
  • get_citation — Format as APA 7th, Harvard, Vancouver, Chicago, or IEEE
  • get_bibtex — Export references as BibTeX entries for LaTeX
  • get_bibliography — Generate a formatted bibliography for multiple references
  • find_related — Find similar references (uses embeddings when available)
  • read_pdf_section — Read specific pages from a PDF attachment
  • list_references_by_topic — Broad topic-based listing
  • rebuild_index — Re-index after updating your EndNote library

Configuration

  • EndNote 20+ (any edition) - Claude Desktop app - Python 3.10+ - uv (recommended) or pip

Adding it to your client

endnote-mcp on PyPI is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.

When to reach for it

Plenty of developer tooling servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. Endnote MCP's toolset — search_references, search_fulltext, search_library and 9 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by gokmengokhan; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

Caveats

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 12 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Endnote MCP.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the endnote mcp mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
search_referencesSearch by author, title, year, keywords, abstract (BM25 ranked, with DOI links)
search_fulltextSearch inside PDF content — find concepts, quotes, methods
search_libraryCombined metadata + PDF search in one call
search_semanticSearch by meaning using AI embeddings (requires endnote-mcp[semantic])
get_reference_detailsFull metadata for a reference (abstract, keywords, DOI, etc.)
get_citationFormat as APA 7th, Harvard, Vancouver, Chicago, or IEEE
get_bibtexExport references as BibTeX entries for LaTeX
get_bibliographyGenerate a formatted bibliography for multiple references
find_relatedFind similar references (uses embeddings when available)
read_pdf_sectionRead specific pages from a PDF attachment
list_references_by_topicBroad topic-based listing
rebuild_indexRe-index after updating your EndNote library

How to install the Endnote MCP MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "endnote": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["endnote-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

  • EndNote 20+ (any edition) - Claude Desktop app - Python 3.10+ - uv (recommended) or pip

Example prompts to try

  • Use Endnote MCP to search references.
  • Use Endnote MCP to search fulltext.
  • Use Endnote MCP to search library.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Endnote MCP to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 12 tools (search_references, search_fulltext, search_library, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Endnote MCP directly.