Papers by Ouroboros Apps

Name: Papers by Ouroboros Apps
Author: LAHutchins91

by LAHutchins91version 1.0.1i★ –iRuns in the cloud

Registry nameio.github.LAHutchins91/papers

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Research paper search with real citations and reference formatting for AI assistants

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Runs in the cloud
Transport: Streamable HTTP
Category: Search & AI memory

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
Runs on the maker’s server: what you ask it goes through their server.
The registry lists no key to fill in.

You need

Runs in the cloudNothing to install; it connects over the internet

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Works in Claude on the web, desktop and mobile:

Open Settings → Connectors
Press Add custom connector
Paste the address below and press Add
If it asks you to sign in, sign in with the maker

https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add --transport http papers https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papers": {
      "url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "papers": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

ChatGPT connects only to servers on the internet:

Open ChatGPT on the web → Settings → Connectors (Apps)
Press Create or Add (some plans need Developer mode under Advanced first)
Paste the address below, give it a name and save
If it asks you to sign in, sign in with the maker

https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp

Menu names can differ slightly by plan and over time.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

We have not read this server’s tool list yet; we check endpoints in rotation.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 7, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account LAHutchins91, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Endpoint responds
Not checked yet; we check endpoints in rotation
… Not checked yet
Sign-in with OAuth
Not checked yet; we check endpoints in rotation
… Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Not checked yet; we read the tool list when we check the endpoint

Compared with others in Search & AI memoryi

More stars than 0% of the other 5659 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 58% of the other 5659 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 5659 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Papers by Ouroboros Apps safe?

It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

It runs in the maker’s cloud. Connect over the internet with nothing to install, but what you send passes through the maker’s servers.

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (1.0.1) reached the registry 30 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. It connects by URL, so apps that accept remote MCP servers work too, such as ChatGPT in developer mode.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Context7, Codebase Memory, Exa

Alternatives

Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.

Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

Context7

by upstash

Feeds AI the latest docs for libraries and frameworks before it answers, so code it writes does not use outdated, removed functions.

Computer or cloud★ 64,224MITUpdated yesterday

Install

Codebase Memory

by DeusData

Codebase knowledge graph for AI agents — 162 languages, sub-ms queries, 99% fewer tokens.

Runs on your computer★ 48,148MITUpdated 21 days ago

Install

Exa

by exa-labs

Connect AI agents to Exa for web search, content fetching, and multi-step research.

Runs in the cloud★ 5,213MITUpdated 2 months ago

Install

README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

Papers by Ouroboros

Papers by Ouroboros is a remote MCP server for students, researchers, writers, and clinicians who want an assistant to search and cite real papers. It is a lighter, independent alternative to Consensus, SciSpace, and Elicit.

The assistant can search OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, PubMed, Crossref, and arXiv, open a paper by DOI, PMID, or arXiv id, see what cites a paper or what that paper cites, and format APA, MLA, Chicago, or BibTeX. Every result includes a source link and an identifier that came back from one of those APIs. If an API returns nothing, Papers returns nothing. It does not fill gaps with invented citations.

Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Cursor, and any client that speaks Streamable HTTP plus OAuth 2.1 (dynamic client registration and PKCE)

Hosted server

MCP server URL: https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp (live, Streamable HTTP, OAuth sign-in)
Health: https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/health
Protected-resource metadata: https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource
Connect guide: https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/connect
Docs: https://ouroborosapps.com/docs/papers
Registry name: io.github.LAHutchins91/papers (server.json points remotes[0].url at the hosted URL above)

If you self-host, the MCP endpoint is https:// /mcp. Set APP_BASE_URL to that origin and change remotes[0].url in your copy of server.json.

Connect

Leave the client id and secret empty so the client can register itself.

Cursor, in ~/.cursor/mcp.json or a project .cursor/mcp.json:

"mcpServers": { "papers": { "url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp" } } }

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http papers https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp

Other clients: add the same URL and choose OAuth. The consent screen names the assistant and the papers scope. Tool discovery (initialize, tools/list, ping) does not require a token. Calling a tool does.

Tools

search_papers — question or keywords, with optional year range, field, open-access flag, and source (openalex, semantic_scholar, pubmed, crossref, arxiv, or all)
get_paper — one record and its abstract, by DOI, PMID, arXiv id, or OpenAlex work id
find_related_papers — cited_by or references for that identifier
format_citation — apa, mla, chicago, or bibtex from the fetched metadata

Titles are kept as the source wrote them. Author names are split from display names, so particles such as “van” can land in the wrong part and deserve a look before you publish the citation.

Permissions, data, and limits

OAuth scope. One scope, papers. The consent screen names the assistant and that scope. It grants tool calls on this server only. It gives no access to any other account, file, or service.

Operations. All four tools are read-only lookups against public scholarly APIs (readOnlyHint: true, destructiveHint: false). There are no write or delete operations. Papers does not create, change, or remove anything on your behalf, outside the server, or in the scholarly sources.

Confirmations. Because nothing is written or deleted, no tool asks for a confirmation step. The only confirmations are the OAuth consent screen when you connect and Stripe Checkout when you start a trial.

Storage, retention, and privacy. Papers does not keep a log or history of queries. A search or identifier goes to the scholarly source that answers it and is not retained after the response. Papers stores a random account id (cookie 90 days, access token 1 hour, refresh token 30 days), single-use authorization code ids until they expire (5 minutes), and, after you start a trial, a subscription snapshot (account id, Stripe customer id, subscription id, status, period end, plan interval). Rate-limit counters are held in memory for about one to ten minutes. Connecting does not ask for your name or email. Export or deletion requests go to ouroborosplugins@gmail.com. Full policy: https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/privacy

Free limits. Tool discovery (initialize, tools/list, ping) is open. Tool calls need a 14-day trial started through Stripe Checkout, then a Pro subscription. Stripe shows the amount; this repository does not list one. Each client IP is limited to 300 MCP requests per minute. The upstream APIs also apply their own rate limits (see Rate limits below).

How it is used. A typical session: the user asks a research question, the assistant calls search_papers, opens one or two results with get_paper, follows find_related_papers to see what cites them, and finishes with format_citation in the style the user needs. Every record in the answer links back to the source that returned it.

Trial and billing

Start a 14-day trial from the account page after you connect an assistant. Stripe Checkout is the only place an amount is shown. Monthly and yearly plans use the price ids you configure. Papers does not create Stripe products.

When STRIPE_SECRET_KEY, STRIPE_PRICE_MONTHLY, and STRIPE_PRICE_YEARLY are all set, tool calls require a Stripe subscription in trialing or active status. When they are not set, GET /health reports billingConfigured: false and an OAuth-signed caller can use the tools. Set the Stripe variables before you expose a deployment publicly.

Storage

Paper search is stateless. Subscription snapshots and used authorization-code ids share one store:

`STORAGE_BACKEND`	Behavior
`memory` (default)	Process-local. Fine for tests and a single Node process. A second process can still accept a code this process already used.
`file`	One JSON document at `STORAGE_PATH` (default `data/accounts.json`). For a single Docker host.
`blob`	One private Vercel Blob at `STORAGE_BLOB_PATH` (default `papers/accounts.json`). Use this on Vercel so a code cannot be replayed across instances. Requires `BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN`.

The document is { accounts, usedCodes }. Each account is { userId, stripeCustomerId, subscriptionId, subscriptionStatus, currentPeriodEnd, plan, updatedAt }. usedCodes maps an authorization-code id to its expiry, in unix seconds. Expired ids are dropped on every write. An older file that is only a map of accounts is still read. There is no separate database schema. When billing is configured, Stripe is the source of truth: a cold process looks the customer up by metadata.papers_user_id if the snapshot is missing.

OAuth access tokens and client registrations are signed tokens, not rows. Set AUTH_SIGNING_SECRET in production so tokens survive a restart. On Vercel, set STORAGE_BACKEND=blob before the deployment is public.

Environment

Variable	Required	Purpose
`APP_BASE_URL`	Production	Public origin, no trailing slash. OAuth issuer and MCP audience.
`AUTH_SIGNING_SECRET`	Production	HMAC secret for OAuth tokens and the account cookie.
`SCHOLARLY_CONTACT_EMAIL`	Production	Mailto address in User-Agent and polite-pool parameters for OpenAlex, Crossref, and PubMed. Not shown on the public pages.
`REVIEWER_LOGIN_EMAIL`	For store review	Email typed on Reviewer sign-in. See below.
`REVIEWER_LOGIN_PASSWORD_HASH`	For store review	scrypt hash of the reviewer password. See below.
`COMP_ACCOUNT_EMAILS`	For store review	Comma-separated emails with permanent complimentary access.
`COMP_ACCOUNT_IDS`	No	Comma-separated account ids with permanent complimentary access.
`NCBI_API_KEY`	No	Higher PubMed rate limit.
`SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY`	No	Higher Semantic Scholar rate limit. Sent as `x-api-key`.
`STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`	To charge	Stripe secret key.
`STRIPE_PRICE_MONTHLY`	To charge	Existing monthly price id.
`STRIPE_PRICE_YEARLY`	To charge	Existing yearly price id.
`STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	To charge	Webhook signature secret. Point Stripe at `POST /billing/webhook`.
`STORAGE_BACKEND`	No	`memory`, `file`, or `blob`.
`STORAGE_PATH`	No	JSON file used when the backend is `file`.
`STORAGE_BLOB_PATH`	No	Blob pathname when the backend is `blob`. Defaults to `papers/accounts.json`.
`BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN`	With `blob`	Read-write token for the Vercel Blob store. The SDK reads this itself.
`PORT`	No	Defaults to `43127`.

Do not commit secrets. Copy what you need into the host’s environment, not into the repo.

Run locally

npm install

npm run dev

Open http://127.0.0.1:43127. Health is GET /health.

npm test

npm run typecheck

Tests call the public APIs that do not need keys. Stripe is not called. Semantic Scholar often answers 429 from shared IP space; the tool reports that rate limit and does not substitute a made-up paper.

Deploy

Vercel: vercel.json builds api/index.ts and routes every path to that function, including logo.jpg in the function bundle. Repository files such as /package.json and /src/* are not served as static files. Set the environment variables above, set APP_BASE_URL to the deployment origin, set STORAGE_BACKEND=blob, and update server.json remotes[0].url to https:// /mcp. Create the Blob store in the Vercel project and leave its read-write token in BLOB_READ_WRITE_TOKEN. Stripe’s webhook endpoint is POST /billing/webhook.

Docker:

docker build -t papers-mcp .

docker run --rm -p 43127:43127 -e APP_BASE_URL=http://127.0.0.1:43127 -e AUTH_SIGNING_SECRET=replace-me -e SCHOLARLY_CONTACT_EMAIL=you@example.com papers-mcp

The container listens on 43127.

Rate limits

Requests are spaced per host: OpenAlex about 10/s, Crossref about 4/s, PubMed about 3/s without an NCBI key, Semantic Scholar about 1/s without a key, and arXiv at least 3 seconds between calls. A descriptive User-Agent is always sent. The contact email is included only when SCHOLARLY_CONTACT_EMAIL is set.

License

MIT. Copyright Lawrence Hutchins. See LICENSE.

Contact

Public support, privacy, export, and deletion: ouroborosplugins@gmail.com

Privacy: /privacy
Terms: /terms
Support: /support
Site: https://ouroborosapps.com

The public pages always show that mailbox. SCHOLARLY_CONTACT_EMAIL is sent only in scholarly API polite-use headers. It is not printed on the site. SUPPORT_EMAIL is not read.

server.json, glama.json, and .cursor-plugin/plugin.json have no contact-email field. The registry schema used by server.json does not define one.

Store-reviewer sign-in

Reviewers sign in on the OAuth consent screen with Reviewer sign-in. There is no separate sign-up, no second factor, and no card. Set these on the host (Vercel project → Settings → Environment Variables), for Production and for any Preview URL a reviewer will open. Do not commit the values.

Variable	Format
`REVIEWER_LOGIN_EMAIL`	One email address, the value the reviewer types. Lowercased when compared.
`REVIEWER_LOGIN_PASSWORD_HASH`	One line: `scrypt$16384$8$1$ $` . Salt is 16 bytes. Hash is 32 bytes. scrypt parameters are N=16384, r=8, p=1.
`COMP_ACCOUNT_EMAILS`	Comma-separated emails. Include `REVIEWER_LOGIN_EMAIL`. Each email grants a permanent entitlement to the stable account id derived from it.
`COMP_ACCOUNT_IDS`	Optional comma-separated account ids. Use the derived reviewer id, or an anonymous account id you want to comp.

Login checks the email and password hash. The allowlist is what skips the trial and Stripe. Set COMP_ACCOUNT_EMAILS to the same address as REVIEWER_LOGIN_EMAIL, or put the derived id in COMP_ACCOUNT_IDS. A normal anonymous account is unchanged and still needs a trial when billing is configured.

Generate the hash (the password is an argument, not a file in the repo):

node --i

Only the beginning is shown; read the rest in the repo

Papers by Ouroboros Apps

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Search & AI memoryi

Common questions

Alternatives

Context7

Codebase Memory

Exa

README from the maker

Papers by Ouroboros

Hosted server

Connect

Tools

Permissions, data, and limits

Trial and billing

Storage

Environment

Run locally

Deploy

Rate limits

License

Contact

Store-reviewer sign-in