# openalex-mcp-server MCP server

Access the OpenAlex academic research catalog — 270M+ publications.

## Links
- Registry page: https://www.getdrio.com/mcp/io-github-cyanheads-openalex-mcp-server
- Repository: https://github.com/cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server

## Install
- Command: `npx -y @cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server`
- Endpoint: https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp
- Auth: Not captured

## Setup notes
- Package: Npm @cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server v0.6.20
- Environment variable: OPENALEX_API_KEY
- Environment variable: OPENALEX_BASE_URL (default https://api.openalex.org)
- Environment variable: MCP_LOG_LEVEL (default info)
- Package: Npm @cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server v0.6.20
- Environment variable: OPENALEX_API_KEY
- Environment variable: OPENALEX_BASE_URL (default https://api.openalex.org)
- Environment variable: MCP_HTTP_HOST (default 127.0.0.1)
- Environment variable: MCP_HTTP_PORT (default 3010)
- Environment variable: MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATH (default /mcp)
- Environment variable: MCP_AUTH_MODE (default none)
- Environment variable: MCP_LOG_LEVEL (default info)
- Remote endpoint: https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp

## Tools
- openalex_resolve_name (Openalex Resolve Name) - Resolve a name or partial name to an OpenAlex ID. Returns up to 10 matches with disambiguation hints. ALWAYS use this before filtering by entity — names are ambiguous, IDs are not. Also accepts DOIs directly for quick lookup. Endpoint: https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp
- openalex_search_entities (Openalex Search Entities) - Search, filter, sort, or retrieve by ID. Covers all OpenAlex entity types (works, authors, sources, institutions, topics, keywords, publishers, funders). Pass `id` to retrieve a single entity. Otherwise, use `query` and/or `filters` for discovery. Supports keyword search with boolean operators, exact phrase matching, and AI semantic search. Use openalex_resolve_name to resolve names to IDs before filtering. Searches and ID lookups return a curated set of fields by default; pass `select` to override with specific fields, or `["*"]` for the full record. Endpoint: https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp
- openalex_analyze_trends (Openalex Analyze Trends) - Aggregate OpenAlex entities into groups and count them. Use for trend analysis (group works by publication_year), distribution analysis (group by oa_status, type, country), and comparative analysis (group by institution or topic). Combine with filters to scope the analysis. Returns up to 200 groups per page — use cursor pagination for fields with many distinct values. Endpoint: https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp
- openalex_get_citation_graph (Openalex Get Citation Graph) - Walk the citation graph one hop from a seed work. Direction picks the edge: incoming citations (`cites`), the seed's own references (`cited_by`), or OpenAlex's algorithmically-related works (`related_to`). Note: `direction` follows OpenAlex's filter convention, which inverts the common English reading — `cites` returns works that cite the seed; `cited_by` returns works the seed cites. Results use the works schema; combine with filters/sort to narrow further. Endpoint: https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp
- openalex_describe_fields (Openalex Describe Fields) - List valid field names for an OpenAlex entity type and context (filter, group_by, or select). Use proactively before constructing a filter or group_by to avoid invalid-field 400 errors. Pass `query` to narrow the results by name similarity — useful when you have a partial or guessed field name. Endpoint: https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcp

## Resources
Not captured

## Prompts
- openalex_literature_review - Guides a systematic literature search: formulate query, search, filter, analyze citation network, synthesize findings. Arguments: topic, scope
- openalex_research_landscape - Analyzes the research landscape for a topic: volume trends, top authors/institutions, open access rates, funding sources. Arguments: topic

## Metadata
- Owner: io.github.cyanheads
- Version: 0.6.20
- Runtime: Npm
- Transports: STDIO, HTTP
- License: Not captured
- Language: Not captured
- Stars: Not captured
- Updated: Jun 4, 2026
- Source: https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io