Scholar MCP
A FastMCP server providing 29 tools for searching and retrieving scholarly papers, patents, books, and standards. It supports full-text search, citation analysis, PDF-to-markdown conversion via docling, and enrichment with metadata from OpenAlex and Open Library.
Package and access
Local package with source-attributed installation metadata. Koskamo does not execute packages during review.
What you can do with it
- Search scholarly papers by DOI, arXiv ID, or author
- Retrieve patent bibliographic and claims data via EPO OPS
- Convert PDF documents to Markdown using docling
- Enrich citations with OpenAlex venue and Open Library data
Source and maintenance
Community listingRegistry 2.0.0
- Maintenance checked
Packages and installation
Source-provided package data. Koskamo has not executed or live-probed this package.
pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp 2.0.0
pypiuvx
pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp package definition
{
"version": "2.0.0",
"transport": "stdio",
"identifier": "pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp",
"runtimeHint": "uvx",
"registryType": "pypi",
"environmentVariables": [
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL",
"default": "file:///data/state",
"description": "Persistent-state backend URL shared by every pvl-core subsystem that needs state. `memory://` is in-process and lost on restart; `file:///path` persists on one server; `redis://`, `dynamodb://` and `mongodb://` each need their matching extra. When unset, defaults to `file:///data/state` (the volume family Docker images mount), or to `memory://` (with a warning) on a host where that directory is not usable."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW",
"description": "Comma-separated explicit tool names this instance exposes; every other tool is hidden from listings and cannot be invoked. Names matching no registered tool are inert. Mutually exclusive with `tools_deny`. Takes effect through `apply_tool_visibility`."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY",
"description": "Comma-separated explicit tool names hidden from this instance (absent from listings, cannot be invoked). Names matching no registered tool are inert. Mutually exclusive with `tools_allow`. Takes effect through `apply_tool_visibility`."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME",
"description": "Rename this server instance; defaults to the project name."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION",
"description": "Concise routing context that distinguishes this deployment's material or responsibility."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA",
"description": "Deployment-specific behavioral policy added to the generated MCP instructions."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS",
"description": "Legacy: replaces all generated MCP instructions (deprecated; use _INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION for routing and _INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA for policy)."
},
{
"name": "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL",
"choices": [
"DEBUG",
"INFO",
"WARNING",
"ERROR",
"CRITICAL"
],
"default": "INFO",
"description": "Log level for FastMCP internals and app loggers (DEBUG / INFO / WARNING / ERROR / CRITICAL). The -v CLI flag overrides to DEBUG."
},
{
"name": "FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING",
"format": "boolean",
"default": "true",
"description": "Set false for plain or structured JSON log output."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN",
"description": "GitHub token used to raise rate limits when fetching standards documents from GitHub. Optional; unauthenticated requests work at reduced limits."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY",
"format": "boolean",
"default": "true",
"description": "When true, write-tagged tools (PDF download and conversion cache writes) are hidden. Set false to enable them."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY",
"description": "Semantic Scholar API key. Optional but strongly recommended: unauthenticated requests are limited to ~1 req/s. Request one at https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api#api-key-form."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL",
"description": "Base URL of a running docling-serve instance for PDF conversion (e.g. http://localhost:5001). When unset, PDF conversion tools return an error."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL",
"description": "OpenAI-compatible VLM endpoint for formula and figure enrichment during PDF conversion."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY",
"description": "API key for the VLM endpoint."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL",
"default": "gpt-4o",
"description": "Model name to use with the VLM endpoint."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR",
"format": "filepath",
"default": "/data/scholar-mcp",
"description": "Directory for the SQLite cache database (cache.db) and downloaded PDFs (pdfs/, md/)."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL",
"description": "Contact email for the OpenAlex polite pool (improves rate limits). Also enables Unpaywall lookups as a PDF fallback source."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY",
"description": "EPO Open Patent Services consumer key. Optional; patent tools are hidden when unset. Register at https://developers.epo.org/user/register."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET",
"description": "EPO Open Patent Services consumer secret. Optional; patent tools are hidden when unset."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY",
"description": "Google Books API key. Optional; book tools work unauthenticated at reduced rate limits."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S",
"format": "number",
"default": "25.0",
"description": "Seconds a long-running tool call may run in the foreground before it is promoted to a background job and a job handle is returned instead."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S",
"format": "number",
"default": "3600.0",
"description": "Seconds a background-job record (working or finished) is retained for polling before it expires from the store."
},
{
"name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT",
"format": "number",
"default": "256",
"description": "Maximum live background jobs per calling subject; further promotions are rejected until older records expire."
}
]
}Tools
Reported by the attributed source; not independently observed by Koskamo.
Connect from your client
Each snippet configures the same source-provided package; replace placeholders before use.
Cursor
Cursor configuration
{
"mcpServers": {
"scholar-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp==2.0.0"
],
"env": {
"SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS>",
"FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL>",
"FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING>",
"SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT>"
}
}
}
}Cline
Cline configuration
{
"mcpServers": {
"scholar-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp==2.0.0"
],
"env": {
"SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS>",
"FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL>",
"FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING>",
"SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT>"
}
}
}
}VS Code
VS Code configuration
{
"servers": {
"scholar-mcp": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp==2.0.0"
],
"env": {
"SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS>",
"FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL>",
"FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING>",
"SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT>"
}
}
}
}Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop configuration
{
"mcpServers": {
"scholar-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp==2.0.0"
],
"env": {
"SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS>",
"FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL>",
"FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING": "<YOUR_FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING>",
"SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S>",
"SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT": "<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT>"
}
}
}
}Let your agent find its tools
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