OpenAlex MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for accessing OpenAlex scholarly research database with OSINT-focused tools.

Overview

OpenAlex MCP Server provides AI applications with direct access to OpenAlex's comprehensive database of 240M+ scholarly works, researchers, institutions, and funding information. Built specifically with OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) capabilities in mind.

Features

Core Search Tools

• Search Works: Find scholarly publications with advanced filters
• Get Work Details: Comprehensive information including funding, collaborations, citations
• Search Authors: Find researchers and their profiles
• Search Institutions: Discover research organizations worldwide

OSINT-Focused Tools

• Search by Funder: Track research funding patterns by organization
• Search by Country: Analyze geographic research patterns
• Citation Network Analysis: Map information flow and influence
• Author Collaborators: Discover research networks and partnerships
• Institutional Collaborations: Map inter-institutional partnerships
• Temporal Trends: Track research evolution over time
• Institution Research Tracking: Monitor specific organization outputs

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• UV package manager (recommended) or pip

Setup

# Clone or download the repository
cd openalex-mcp

# Install dependencies using UV (recommended)
uv sync

# Or using pip
pip install -e .

Configuration

Claude Desktop Integration

Add to your Claude Desktop config file:

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/openalex-mcp",
        "run",
        "openalex-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENALEX_EMAIL": "your.email@example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

• OPENALEX_EMAIL (optional but recommended): Your email for the "polite pool" with better rate limits

Usage Examples

Basic Research Search

Search for works about "quantum computing" published after 2020

OSINT: Funding Analysis

Show me research funded by DARPA in the last 3 years

OSINT: Geographic Patterns

Find AI research from China published between 2020-2024

OSINT: Network Mapping

Get the citation network for work W2741809807

OSINT: Collaboration Analysis

Find the top collaborators of author A5023888391

OSINT: Institutional Intelligence

Show me MIT's research on cybersecurity from 2023

OSINT: Temporal Analysis

Get publication trends for "neural networks" from 2015 to 2024

OSINT: Institutional Networks

Find institutions that frequently collaborate with Stanford University

Available Tools

Tool	Purpose	OSINT Use Case
search_works	Search publications	General research discovery
get_work_details	Full work information	Deep dive on specific research
search_by_funder	Find funded research	Track funding patterns
search_by_country	Geographic research	Analyze national research priorities
get_citation_network	Citation relationships	Map influence and information flow
get_author_collaborators	Find co-authors	Discover research networks
search_works_by_institution	Institution research	Monitor organizational output
get_temporal_trends	Time-series analysis	Track research evolution
get_institutional_collaborations	Institution networks	Map organizational partnerships
search_authors	Find researchers	Identify domain experts
get_author_details	Author information	Researcher profiling
search_institutions	Find organizations	Discover research centers
get_institution_details	Institution data	Organization intelligence
health_check	API status	System monitoring

API Information

• Base URL: https://api.openalex.org
• Authentication: None required
• Rate Limits: 100,000 requests/day, 10 requests/second
• Polite Pool: Add your email for better performance
• Cost: Completely free

Data Sources

OpenAlex indexes:

• 240M+ scholarly works
• 90M+ authors
• 100K+ institutions
• Funding information from major grant agencies
• Citation relationships
• Open access availability

OSINT Use Cases

1. Research Funding Intelligence: Track which organizations fund specific research areas
2. Geopolitical Analysis: Monitor research priorities by country
3. Network Mapping: Discover collaboration patterns between researchers and institutions
4. Influence Analysis: Map citation networks to understand information flow
5. Institutional Intelligence: Monitor research output from specific organizations
6. Trend Analysis: Track emerging research topics over time
7. Expert Identification: Find leading researchers in specific domains
8. Partnership Discovery: Identify institutional collaboration patterns

Development

# Run tests
uv run pytest

# Run server locally
uv run openalex-mcp

# Format code
uv run black src/

Troubleshooting

Server not connecting

• Verify the path in your Claude config is absolute
• Check that UV is installed: uv --version
• Restart Claude Desktop after config changes

Rate limit errors

• Add your email to OPENALEX_EMAIL for polite pool access
• Reduce request frequency
• Consider Premium plan for higher limits

Empty results

• Verify entity IDs are correct format (e.g., W2741809807)
• Check filter parameters are valid
• Try broader search queries

Resources

• OpenAlex Documentation
• OpenAlex API Reference
• Model Context Protocol
• FastMCP Framework

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open issues or pull requests on GitHub.

Acknowledgments

• OpenAlex for providing free, open scholarly data
• FastMCP framework for simplified MCP server development
• Model Context Protocol specification