Semantic Scholar MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to Semantic Scholar's academic paper database through their API. The semantic scholar mcp mcp server wraps that behind the Model Context Protocol, so an assistant can use it through 2 defined tools rather than through you.

What it actually does

• Paper Search — Search for academic papers with filters for year, fields of study, and open access
• Paper Details — Get comprehensive information about specific papers including abstracts, authors, and citation counts
• Author Information — Retrieve detailed author data including affiliations, h-index, and citation metrics
• Citation Export — Generate citations in multiple formats (BibTeX, APA, MLA, Chicago)

Its toolset

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

• Required — query (search terms)
• Optional — fields, limit, offset, year, fieldsOfStudy, openAccessPdf

Configuration

You will need one environment variable: SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_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.

Adding it to your client

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

When to reach for it

Among the database access options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Semantic Scholar MCP's toolset — Required, Optional — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by FujishigeTemma; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

This entry was verified against Semantic Scholar MCP's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.

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.
• 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 semantic scholar mcp mcp server does with a few real requests.