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Quick Start Guide

Get your OpenAlex MCP server running in under 5 minutes!

Step 1: Install Dependencies

npm install

Step 2: Build the Project

npm run build

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

  1. Open your Claude Desktop config file:

    • MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
    • Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

  2. Add the OpenAlex server configuration (replace with your actual path):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/yourusername/path/to/openalex-research-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "OPENALEX_EMAIL": "your.email@example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}
  1. Restart Claude Desktop

Step 4: Test It Out!

Try these prompts in Claude Desktop:

Find influential papers

Find the top 10 most cited papers on quantum computing from the last 5 years

Analyze research trends

Show me how AI safety research has evolved from 2020 to 2024

Citation network analysis

Get the citation network for the paper with DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.1706.03762

Author collaboration analysis

Who are the main collaborators of Yann LeCun?

Geographic research mapping

Which countries are leading research in renewable energy?

Available Tools

The server provides 18 specialized tools:

Literature Search:

  • search_works - Advanced search for papers
  • get_work - Get detailed paper information
  • get_related_works - Find similar papers
  • search_by_topic - Explore specific research domains
  • autocomplete_search - Fast typeahead search

Citation Analysis:

  • get_work_citations - Who cites this paper
  • get_work_references - What this paper cites
  • get_citation_network - Complete citation graph
  • get_top_cited_works - Most influential papers

Author & Institutions:

  • search_authors - Find researchers
  • get_author_works - Author's publications
  • get_author_collaborators - Co-authorship networks
  • search_institutions - Find universities/organizations

Research Trends:

  • analyze_topic_trends - Track research evolution
  • compare_research_areas - Compare different fields
  • get_trending_topics - Discover emerging areas
  • analyze_geographic_distribution - Global research mapping

Entity Lookup:

  • get_entity - Get any OpenAlex entity
  • search_sources - Find journals/venues

Tips

  • Add your email to get better rate limits (100K requests/day)
  • Use Boolean operators in searches: "AI" AND (safety OR ethics)
  • Filter by year ranges to focus on recent research
  • Sort by citation count to find influential work
  • Use per_page parameter to get more results (max 200)

Troubleshooting

Server not showing up in Claude Desktop?

  • Check that the path in your config is absolute, not relative
  • Verify the build was successful: ls build/index.js
  • Restart Claude Desktop completely

Rate limit errors?

  • Make sure OPENALEX_EMAIL is set in your config
  • Slow down your requests if hitting 10 requests/second

No results found?

  • Try broader search terms
  • Check spelling and use Boolean operators
  • Try searching by DOI or OpenAlex ID directly

Next Steps

  • Read the full README.md for detailed documentation
  • Check out OpenAlex API docs for more filtering options
  • Join the polite pool by adding your email for better performance

Happy researching! 🔬📚