MCP server for Semantic Scholar to search for papers
Setup
Choose your client, copy the config, then fill in any required environment variables.
claude mcp add semantic-scholar-api --env SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY='<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>' -- uv run --with mcp mcp run /path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.semantic-scholar-api]
command = "uv"
args = ["run", "--with", "mcp", "mcp", "run", "/path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py"]
env = { SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY = "<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>" }
# codex mcp add semantic-scholar-api --env SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY='<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>' -- uv run --with mcp mcp run /path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-scholar-api": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"run",
"--with",
"mcp",
"mcp",
"run",
"/path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py"
],
"env": {
"SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.vscode/mcp.json
{
"servers": {
"semantic-scholar-api": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"run",
"--with",
"mcp",
"mcp",
"run",
"/path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py"
],
"env": {
"SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}~/.gemini/settings.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-scholar-api": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"run",
"--with",
"mcp",
"mcp",
"run",
"/path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py"
],
"env": {
"SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-scholar-api": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"run",
"--with",
"mcp",
"mcp",
"run",
"/path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py"
],
"env": {
"SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}.trae/mcp.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"semantic-scholar-api": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"run",
"--with",
"mcp",
"mcp",
"run",
"/path/to/semantic-scholar-plugin.py"
],
"env": {
"SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "<SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Environment variables
SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY
Replace the placeholders with your own credentials and keep them out of version control.