io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp

scholar-sidekick-mcp

Resolve, format, and export academic citations from any AI assistant

3 592/wk 0 tools GitHub npm

No known CVEs

No license

Actively maintained

Last commit 4d ago

Works with most clients

Transport: stdio, sse, http

0 tools

Grade F

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Education Writing

Step 1

Install in your client

Config is the same across clients — only the file and path differ.

Supported in Claude Desktopstdio, sse, http · Node 18+

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholar-sidekick": {
      "env": {
        "RAPIDAPI_KEY": "your-rapidapi-key"
      },
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

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What io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp does

MCP server for Scholar Sidekick — resolve any scholarly identifier (DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, arXiv, ISSN, NASA ADS bibcode, WHO IRIS URL) into 10,000+ CSL styles or nine export formats, plus retraction, open-access, and citation-fabrication-detection checks, from any AI assistant.

Test This Server

Run this in your terminal to verify the server starts. Then let us know if it worked — your result helps other developers.

npx -y 'scholar-sidekick-mcp' 2>&1 | head -1 && echo "✓ Server started successfully"

After testing, let us know if it worked:

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Why this score

Five weighted categories — click any category to see the underlying evidence.

Score breakdown

58/100across 5 weighted dimensions

How we score →

0255075100

−42

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Compatibility

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Security

OSV.dev

No known CVEs.

Checked scholar-sidekick-mcp against OSV.dev.

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How easy was setup?Did it work reliably?How was the documentation?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp safe to use?: io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp has no known CVEs as of the latest MCPpedia security scan. It does not require authentication, so any local process can connect — keep this in mind in shared environments.
How do I install io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp?: io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp supports copy-paste install configs on its MCPpedia page for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Claude Code. Scroll to the Quick Install section and select your client.
What AI clients work with io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp?: io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp is compatible with claude-desktop, cursor, claude-code. It uses stdio and sse and http transport.
Is io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp actively maintained?: io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp is actively maintained — last commit was 4 days ago. It has 3 GitHub stars.

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Community

Discussion

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Has anyone used this with Cursor?How do you handle auth?Any alternatives?

{ "mcpServers": { "scholar-sidekick": { "env": { "RAPIDAPI_KEY": "your-rapidapi-key" }, "args": [ "-y", "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest" ], "command": "npx" } } }

Highlights

Eight identifier types out of the box — DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, NASA ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs (rare in citation tooling).

Batch-friendly resolve / format / export — each accepts a single identifier or a comma- or newline-separated list; the server normalises the list and resolves them in one round trip.

10,000+ citation styles — five hand-tuned builtins (Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE) plus any CSL style ID, with alias and dependent-style resolution.

Nine export formats — BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, plain text.

Retraction & open-access checks — checkRetraction surfaces retractions, corrections, and expressions of concern (Crossref / Retraction Watch); checkOpenAccess returns OA status and the best legal landing or PDF URL (Unpaywall). Both accept any identifier type and resolve it to a DOI under the hood.

Citation-fabrication detection — verifyCitation cross-checks a claimed citation against the resolved record at its identifier, detecting the dominant AI-driven fabrication pattern documented by Topaz et al. (Lancet 2026) — real DOI + invented title — that simple identifier resolution cannot catch. Long-form explainer at scholar-sidekick.com/citation-integrity.

Composable workflow — chain resolveIdentifier → formatCitation → exportCitation in one prompt for an end-to-end "raw IDs → exportable bibliography" pipeline.

Provenance metadata on every response — formatted output is followed by a metadata block (requestId, formatter, styleUsed, warnings) so the assistant can show users which engine produced each citation.

REST API twin — the same RapidAPI key works against the Scholar Sidekick REST API for non-MCP integrations.

Tools

Tool	Description
resolveIdentifier	Resolve DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs to structured bibliographic metadata (CSL JSON). Accepts a single identifier or a comma/newline-separated batch.
formatCitation	Format one or many identifiers into Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE, or any of 10,000+ CSL styles. Output as text, HTML, or JSON. Returns formatted citations plus a provenance metadata block.
exportCitation	Export one or many identifiers to BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, or plain text — ready to write to disk or hand to a reference manager.
checkRetraction	Check whether a single work has been retracted, corrected, or had an expression of concern raised. Sourced from Crossref `updated-by` (Retraction Watch). Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.
checkOpenAccess	Check whether a single work is openly accessible and where to find the best legal version. Sourced from Unpaywall. Returns OA status (gold/green/hybrid/bronze/closed), best landing/PDF URL, license, and version. Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ISBN/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.
verifyCitation	Verify a claimed citation against the resolved record at its identifier. Detects the Topaz et al. (Lancet 2026) fabrication pattern — real DOI + invented title — that `resolveIdentifier` alone cannot catch. Returns one of four verdicts (

Tool

Description

resolveIdentifier

Resolve DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs to structured bibliographic metadata (CSL JSON). Accepts a single identifier or a comma/newline-separated batch.

formatCitation

Format one or many identifiers into Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE, or any of 10,000+ CSL styles. Output as text, HTML, or JSON. Returns formatted citations plus a provenance metadata block.

exportCitation

Export one or many identifiers to BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, or plain text — ready to write to disk or hand to a reference manager.

checkRetraction

Check whether a single work has been retracted, corrected, or had an expression of concern raised. Sourced from Crossref updated-by (Retraction Watch). Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.

checkOpenAccess

Check whether a single work is openly accessible and where to find the best legal version. Sourced from Unpaywall. Returns OA status (gold/green/hybrid/bronze/closed), best landing/PDF URL, license, and version. Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ISBN/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.

verifyCitation

Verify a claimed citation against the resolved record at its identifier. Detects the Topaz et al. (Lancet 2026) fabrication pattern — real DOI + invented title — that resolveIdentifier alone cannot catch. Returns one of four verdicts (

Frequently Asked Questions

Is io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp safe to use?

io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp has no known CVEs as of the latest MCPpedia security scan. It does not require authentication, so any local process can connect — keep this in mind in shared environments.

How do I install io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp?

io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp supports copy-paste install configs on its MCPpedia page for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Claude Code. Scroll to the Quick Install section and select your client.

What AI clients work with io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp?

io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp is compatible with claude-desktop, cursor, claude-code. It uses stdio and sse and http transport.

Is io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp actively maintained?

io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp is actively maintained — last commit was 4 days ago. It has 3 GitHub stars.

Highlights

Eight identifier types out of the box — DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, NASA ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs (rare in citation tooling).

Batch-friendly resolve / format / export — each accepts a single identifier or a comma- or newline-separated list; the server normalises the list and resolves them in one round trip.

10,000+ citation styles — five hand-tuned builtins (Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE) plus any CSL style ID, with alias and dependent-style resolution.

Nine export formats — BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, plain text.

Composable workflow — chain resolveIdentifier → formatCitation → exportCitation in one prompt for an end-to-end "raw IDs → exportable bibliography" pipeline.

REST API twin — the same RapidAPI key works against the Scholar Sidekick REST API for non-MCP integrations.

Tools

Tool	Description
resolveIdentifier	Resolve DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs to structured bibliographic metadata (CSL JSON). Accepts a single identifier or a comma/newline-separated batch.
formatCitation	Format one or many identifiers into Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE, or any of 10,000+ CSL styles. Output as text, HTML, or JSON. Returns formatted citations plus a provenance metadata block.
exportCitation	Export one or many identifiers to BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, or plain text — ready to write to disk or hand to a reference manager.
checkRetraction	Check whether a single work has been retracted, corrected, or had an expression of concern raised. Sourced from Crossref `updated-by` (Retraction Watch). Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.
checkOpenAccess	Check whether a single work is openly accessible and where to find the best legal version. Sourced from Unpaywall. Returns OA status (gold/green/hybrid/bronze/closed), best landing/PDF URL, license, and version. Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ISBN/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.
verifyCitation	Verify a claimed citation against the resolved record at its identifier. Detects the Topaz et al. (Lancet 2026) fabrication pattern — real DOI + invented title — that `resolveIdentifier` alone cannot catch. Returns one of four verdicts (

Tool

Description

resolveIdentifier

Resolve DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs to structured bibliographic metadata (CSL JSON). Accepts a single identifier or a comma/newline-separated batch.

formatCitation

Format one or many identifiers into Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE, or any of 10,000+ CSL styles. Output as text, HTML, or JSON. Returns formatted citations plus a provenance metadata block.

exportCitation

Export one or many identifiers to BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, or plain text — ready to write to disk or hand to a reference manager.

checkRetraction

checkOpenAccess

verifyCitation

io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp

Install in your client