Crossref

Overview

Crossref is a Model Context Protocol server that lets you search and retrieve scholarly metadata directly from the Crossref REST API. Any MCP-compatible AI assistant can call Crossref's tools during conversations or agent runs, letting the model decide when to tap into bibliographic data and publication information.

It runs locally on your machine via the Python package crossref-mcp-server, installed with uvx crossref-mcp-server. No credentials or configuration are required — it works out of the box, communicating with your MCP client over stdio. The server is published under the MIT license at version v1.0.0, with source code available at SMABoundless/crossref-mcp-server on GitHub.

Crossref is listed in the Development category on mcp.site and works with any MCP client, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed and others. If you maintain this server, claim your listing to verify ownership, earn the Verified badge, and keep the details current.

Installation

// claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "crossref": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "crossref-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}