Openalex MCP Server - install, status & alternatives [2026]

01 · Install Openalex MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. OPENALEX_API_KEY is optional or environment-specific per the README.

Claude Code

claude mcp add cyanheads-openalex-mcp-server --transport http https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyanheads-openalex-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp

transport: streamable-http

endpoint alive - responded to MCP initialize · probed 2026-09-17

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions · remote - your agent's requests go to openalex.caseyjhand.com

endpoint auth accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize - no credentials needed to connect

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server - published under the repo owner's npm scope (@cyanheads)

registry namespace io.github.cyanheads is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Openalex MCP Server can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID across all 8 entity types, resolve a name or an identifier (DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, ISSN, OpenAlex ID) to an OpenAlex ID, and list valid filter, group_by, and select field names for an entity type.

The 5 tools it gives your agent

Extracted from the project's README - what openalex-mcp-server lets an agent do.

openalex_search_entities: - Search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID across all 8 entity types
openalex_analyze_trends: - Group-by aggregation for trend and distribution analysis
openalex_resolve_name: - Resolve a name or an identifier (DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, ISSN, OpenAlex ID) to an OpenAlex ID
openalex_get_citation_graph: - Walk the citation graph one hop from a seed work: cites, cited_by, or related_to
openalex_describe_fields: - List valid filter, group_by, and select field names for an entity type

Latest releases

v0.7.13 · 2026-09-13

Framework adoption and plugin configuration · Plugin settings now expose OpenAlex configuration across Claude Code, Codex, and MCPB installs. · HTTP links normalize trailing slashes, the landing curl uses a compatible…

v0.7.12 · 2026-09-09

PMCID recovery and PubMed Central URL support · A PubMed Central URL normalizes to a PMCID like the bare form, instead of forwarding verbatim as a work ID (#67) · A PMCID 404 now says OpenAlex indexes none and points…

v0.7.11 · 2026-09-09

ID resolution, summary_stats select, and non-truncating field ranking · Scheme-prefixed and PubMed-URL identifiers now resolve instead of 404ing, across search_entities, resolve_name, and get_citation_graph (#66)…

04 · Who maintains Openalex MCP Server

openalex-mcp-server is maintained by cyanheads. We track 125 MCP servers from cyanheads - 119 actively maintained, 1,816 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Dec 2024. Full record: all servers from cyanheads.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server
category: other - ranked #67 of 945 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-09-18.
release cadence: 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-13)
registry: io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-03-24 · 45 versions)
packages: npm:@cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server

06 · Openalex MCP Server FAQ

Is Openalex MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-13 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Openalex MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID across all 8 entity types, resolve a name or an identifier (DOI, ORCID, ROR, PMID, ISSN, OpenAlex ID) to an OpenAlex ID, and list valid filter, group_by, and select field names for an entity type.

How do I install Openalex MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server`. The README documents 3 environment variables (MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, OPENALEX_API_KEY) to set first. Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. OPENALEX_API_KEY is optional or environment-specific per the README. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Openalex MCP Server require authentication?

No - the endpoint accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize when probed on 2026-09-17; you can connect without credentials.

07 · Alternatives to Openalex MCP Server

Alternatives to Openalex MCP Server

Maintained other servers if Openalex MCP Server isn't the fit.

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