Scopus MCP Server

Scopus MCP server is a locally run integration for AI assistants that speak the Model Context Protocol. Search Scopus abstracts, authors, and export citations via Elsevier API.

What you get

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for searching Scopus, Elsevier's abstract and citation database covering 90M+ records across science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts & humanities.

What the assistant can call

Once Scopus is connected, these are the calls the assistant has available:

• scopus_search — Search by keyword, title, author, affiliation, DOI, or advanced query
• scopus_abstract — Retrieve full abstract and metadata for a specific record
• scopus_author — Look up author profiles (h-index, document count, subject areas)
• scopus_author_papers — List an author's publications
• scopus_export_ris — Export results as RIS (for Zotero, EndNote, etc.)
• scopus_export_bibtex — Export results as BibTeX

Setting it up

Setup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client.

Configuration and credentials

You will need one environment variable: SCOPUS_API_KEY. The server will not start without them, which is usually why the tools fail to appear on a first run. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.

Choosing this one

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. Scopus's toolset — scopus_search, scopus_abstract, scopus_author and 3 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by SMABoundless; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

Before you rely on it

• 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.
• Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
• MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the scopus mcp server does with a few real requests.