Crossref Mcp
by jtl-neocommunityv0.1.0
An MCP server that wraps the Crossref REST API and exposes scholarly metadata lookups as read-only tools for works, members, journals, funders, types, licenses, and prefixes. It supports stdio and Streamable HTTP transports, with optional API-key auth, Redis caching, and rate limiting.
From the registry: MCP server wrapping the Crossref REST API for scholarly metadata.
Install & configure
Prerequisites
- optionalInstall uvInstall the uv Python package manager/runtime to run the published package via uvx.https://docs.astral.sh/uv/
- optionalOptional: set a Crossref polite-pool emailCreate or choose an email address to use for CROSSREF_MAILTO. This is recommended by the server to join Crossref's polite pool.https://api.crossref.org/swagger-ui/index.html#/
Install in your client
Paste into the AI you're chatting with — it will figure out the rest
Please install the `crossref-mcp` MCP server into my current AI client (that's you).
Optional prerequisites:
- Install uv — Install the uv Python package manager/runtime to run the published package via uvx. (https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)
- Optional: set a Crossref polite-pool email — Create or choose an email address to use for CROSSREF_MAILTO. This is recommended by the server to join Crossref's polite pool. (https://api.crossref.org/swagger-ui/index.html#/)
Canonical MCP server config (stdio transport):
- command: `uvx`
- args: ["crossref-mcp"]
- optional environment variables:
- `CROSSREF_MAILTO`: Email address for Crossref's polite pool; recommended by the README. (example: `<[email protected]>`)
- `CROSSREF_PLUS_TOKEN`: Crossref Plus API token, sent as a header. (example: `<your-crossref-plus-token>`)
- `CROSSREF_BASE_URL`: Crossref API base URL. (example: `<your-crossref-base-url>`)
- `CROSSREF_TIMEOUT`: Per-request timeout in seconds. (example: `<timeout-seconds>`)
- `MCP_TRANSPORT`: Transport mode; defaults to stdio. (example: `stdio`)
- `MCP_API_KEY`: If set for HTTP mode, clients must send a matching X-API-Key header. Not needed for stdio. (example: `<your-mcp-api-key>`)
- `LOG_LEVEL`: Log level for server logs written to stderr. (example: `<log-level>`)
- `REDIS_URL`: Enable Redis cache and shared rate limiting. (example: `<your-redis-url>`)
- `CACHE_TTL`: Cache TTL in seconds. (example: `<cache-ttl-seconds>`)
- `RATELIMIT_BACKEND`: Rate limit backend: in-memory or redis. (example: `redis`)
Note: README also documents Streamable HTTP via container at /mcp, but the simplest portable install path is stdio with `uvx crossref-mcp`. For HTTP deployments, set MCP_TRANSPORT=http in the server environment and optionally protect /mcp with MCP_API_KEY sent as X-API-Key.
Add this MCP server to my current client's config in the correct format for you. If you need secrets or credentials I haven't provided, ASK me — do not invent values or leave raw placeholders. After adding it, tell me how to verify the server is connected.Note: README also documents Streamable HTTP via container at /mcp, but the simplest portable install path is stdio with `uvx crossref-mcp`. For HTTP deployments, set MCP_TRANSPORT=http in the server environment and optionally protect /mcp with MCP_API_KEY sent as X-API-Key.
Tools (18)
search_works
Search Crossref works metadata.
get_work
Get a work by DOI.
get_work_references
Get references for a work, capped at 50.
get_work_quality
Get the registration agency / quality information for a work.
search_members
Search Crossref members.
get_member
Get a member by ID.
get_member_works
List works for a member.
search_journals
Search Crossref journals.
get_journal
Get a journal by ISSN.
get_journal_works
List works for a journal.
search_funders
Search Crossref funders.
get_funder
Get a funder by ID.
get_funder_works
List works for a funder.
list_types
List Crossref work types.
get_type
Get a Crossref work type.
Environment variables
CROSSREF_MAILTOrequiredEmail address used for Crossref's polite pool.CROSSREF_PLUS_TOKENrequiredCrossref Plus API token sent as a header.MCP_API_KEYrequiredIf set, HTTP requests must include a matching X-API-Key header.Packages
crossref-mcp
pypiv0.1.0transport: stdio
docker.io/heyinnaneo/crossref-mcp:0.1.0
ocitransport: stdio
Details
- Language
- Python
- License
- MIT
- Released
- Jun 3, 2026
- Last commit
- Jun 10, 2026
- Registry name
- io.github.jtl-neo/crossref-mcp