Altmetric MCP Server

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI agents to access Altmetric APIs for tracking the attention and reach of research outputs across news outlets, policy documents, social media, and other online platforms.

Altmetric monitors where research is being discussed beyond traditional academic citations - from mainstream media coverage to policy citations, patent references, and social media engagement - providing a comprehensive view of real-world research impact.

There are two ways to connect:

• Hosted server (recommended) - point your AI client at https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp and sign in with your Altmetric account. No API keys to copy or store, and you automatically get the tools for whatever you have access to (Explorer, Detail Pages, or both). Start here.
• Run locally - run the server on your own machine with your own API keys, over stdio. For offline use or when you'd rather manage keys directly. See Run locally with your own API keys below.

Connect to the hosted server (recommended)

The easiest way to use Altmetric in your AI client is the hosted server at https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp. Point your client at that URL and sign in with your Altmetric account when prompted - the client runs a standard OAuth flow in your browser, so there are no API keys to copy or store. You get exactly the tools your account has access to.

Claude Desktop

1. Open Settings → Customize → Connectors and click Add custom connector.
2. Name it Altmetric and enter the URL https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp.
3. Click Add, then Connect, and sign in when the browser window opens.

Verify by asking Claude: "Use the Altmetric tools to look up the attention score for DOI 10.1038/nature12373"

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http altmetric https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp

Then run /mcp inside Claude Code, select altmetric, and authenticate - a browser window opens for sign-in.

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json (per project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Altmetric": {
      "url": "https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cursor runs a browser sign-in the first time the server is used.

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code 1.101 or later):

{
  "servers": {
    "Altmetric": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Open the Command Palette, run MCP: List Servers, select Altmetric, and start it; sign in when prompted.

ChatGPT

Open Settings → Connectors → Advanced and turn on Developer mode, then Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, enter https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp, and complete the OAuth sign-in. Requires a paid plan (Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, or Edu); custom connectors aren't available on the free tier. All Altmetric tools are read-only, so the read-only restriction on Plus/Pro plans doesn't limit them.

Other MCP clients

Any client that supports the Streamable HTTP transport with OAuth can connect. Point it at https://mcp.altmetric.com/mcp. On the first request the server returns 401 with a WWW-Authenticate header pointing at its discovery document (/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource), which the client uses to run the OAuth flow against Altmetric Explorer automatically.

How sign-in works

The hosted server is an OAuth 2.1 resource server. Your client obtains a bearer token from Altmetric Explorer (the authorization server) for the mcp scope. The server exchanges that token for your account's entitlements and calls the Altmetric APIs on your behalf - your bearer token is never forwarded to those APIs. The advertised toolset reflects your entitlements, so you only ever see the tools for the products you can use.

Run locally with your own API keys

Prefer to run the server yourself - offline, or managing API keys directly? Run it over std

... View full README on GitHub