PluginBench
MCP Server
Maintained
MIT

io.github.qwe4559999/scopus-mcp MCP Server

io.github.qwe4559999/scopus-mcp

Search Scopus academic papers and retrieve author profiles via AI assistants.

What is the io.github.qwe4559999/scopus-mcp MCP server?

The Scopus MCP server provides access to the Elsevier Scopus API, enabling AI assistants to search academic papers, retrieve abstracts, and look up author profiles. It requires an Elsevier API key (typically available through institutional subscriptions) and the uv package manager.

This server integrates Scopus academic search capabilities into Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients. You can search the Scopus database using standard query syntax, retrieve detailed document information and abstracts, and look up author profiles—useful for literature reviews, research discovery, and academic analysis.

How to install io.github.qwe4559999/scopus-mcp

Copy-paste configuration for popular MCP clients.

transport: stdio
Config generated by PluginBench — verify against the source before use.
Environment / auth
  • SCOPUS_API_KEY
    required
    secret

    Your Elsevier Scopus API Key

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scopus-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "scopus-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SCOPUS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SCOPUS_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools & capabilities

Tools this server exposes to the agent.

  • search_scopus — Searches the Scopus database using standard query syntax. Arguments: query (search string), count (number of results, default 5), sort (sort order, e.g. coverDate).
  • get_abstract_details — Retrieves detailed information and abstract for a specific document. Arguments: scopus_id (the Scopus ID of the document).
  • get_author_profile — Retrieves an author's profile information. Arguments: author_id (the Scopus Author ID).

Use cases

  • Search for academic papers on a specific topic and retrieve their abstracts
  • Find and review author profiles and publication history
  • Conduct literature reviews by querying multiple papers at once
  • Discover research trends by searching papers across different time periods
  • Gather citation and publication metadata for research analysis

io.github.qwe4559999/scopus-mcp MCP server FAQ

What is the Scopus MCP server?

It's an MCP server that connects AI assistants to the Elsevier Scopus academic database, allowing you to search papers, retrieve abstracts, and look up author information.

Do I need an API key?

Yes. You must obtain an API key from the Elsevier Developer Portal. Most keys require that your organization or institution has a subscription to Elsevier database services.

How do I install it in Claude Desktop?

Edit your Claude Desktop config file (Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json; macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json), add the scopus-mcp server entry with your SCOPUS_API_KEY environment variable, and restart Claude.

How do I install it in Cursor?

Go to Cursor Settings → Features → MCP Servers, click Add New MCP Server, set Name to 'scopus-mcp', Type to 'command', Command to 'uvx scopus-mcp', and set SCOPUS_API_KEY in your system environment variables.

What do I need to run this server?

Python 3.10+, the uv package manager, and a valid Scopus API key from Elsevier.

Is this free?

The server itself is free (MIT licensed), but accessing Scopus typically requires an institutional subscription to Elsevier services.

README (reference)

Source of truth, from the repository.

Scopus MCP Server

<!-- mcp-name: io.github.qwe4559999/scopus-mcp -->

中文 | English

💡 Check out the Interaction Guide & Prompt Examples to see how to chat with this tool!

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the Elsevier Scopus API. It allows AI assistants to search for academic papers, retrieve abstracts, and look up author profiles.

Please note that requesting an Elsevier Scopus API key generally requires that your organization or institution has a subscription to Elsevier database services. Additionally, to run this tool without manual setup, your device must have the uv package manager installed.

Configuration

Setup Steps

  1. Go to Elsevier Developer Portal to apply for an API key.
  2. Create a config.json file in the project root (or copy from config.json.example) and fill in your key:
    {
      "api_key": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
    }
    
  3. Edit MCP_tool_config.json, modifying the folder path (pay attention to the slash direction).
  4. Finally, import the configuration into your MCP client (e.g., Claude Desktop) by copying the content of MCP_tool_config.json.

🚀 Quick Start (Zero Setup)

Prerequisite: You must have uv installed.

  • Windows: powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
  • macOS/Linux: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

If you use Claude Desktop, you can skip downloading the code and just configure it directly:

  1. Get Key: Get a free API Key from Elsevier Developer Portal. (⚠️ Note: Educational/Institutional email is recommended; public email domains may be rejected).
  2. Configure: Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).
  3. Add:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scopus-assistant": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "scopus-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SCOPUS_API_KEY": "PUT_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

(If you don't have uv, see Installation for manual setup)

Using with Trae

In Trae Settings -> MCP Servers -> Click Add -> Select Manual Configuration (JSON), then paste:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scopus-assistant": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "scopus-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SCOPUS_API_KEY": "PUT_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using with Cursor

  1. Open Cursor Settings -> Features -> MCP Servers.
  2. Click + Add New MCP Server.
  3. Fill in the details:
    • Name: scopus-mcp
    • Type: command (stdio)
    • Command: uvx scopus-mcp
  4. Important: You need to set SCOPUS_API_KEY in your system environment variables.

Installation

  1. Ensure you have Python 3.10+ installed.
  2. Install dependencies:
    pip install .
    

Usage

Running the Server

You can run the server using uvx (recommended) or directly with python.

# Using uvx
uvx --from . scopus-mcp

# Or directly
python -m scopus_mcp.server

Available Tools

  1. search_scopus

    • Searches the Scopus database using the standard query syntax.
    • Arguments:
      • query (string): The search query (e.g., TITLE("Artificial Intelligence")).
      • count (integer): Number of results to return (default: 5).
      • sort (string): Sort order (e.g., coverDate).
  2. get_abstract_details

    • Retrieves detailed information for a specific document.
    • Arguments:
      • scopus_id (string): The Scopus ID of the document.
  3. get_author_profile

    • Retrieves an author's profile information.
    • Arguments:
      • author_id (string): The Scopus Author ID.

Development

Run tests with:

pytest

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments & Contributors

<a href="https://github.com/qwe4559999/scopus-mcp/graphs/contributors"> <img alt="contributors" src="https://contrib.rocks/image?repo=qwe4559999/scopus-mcp" /> </a>

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