Scholar Sidekick

Official7 toolsLive

by mlava · TypeScript

Catch AI-fabricated citations (real DOI + fake title). Retraction, open-access, 10,000+ CSL styles.

io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp (MCP Server)

This MCP server for Scholar Sidekick detects AI-fabricated citations and verifies claimed references against resolved scholarly records by identifier. It can operate on a single citation or across a bibliography, and it checks retraction status and open-access availability. It resolves multiple identifier types and outputs citation styles and export formats.

🛠️ Key Features

verifyCitation cross-checks a claimed citation against its resolved record
Citation-fabrication detection
Retraction and open-access status checks
Identifier resolution across DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, arXiv, ISSN, NASA ADS bibcode, WHO IRIS URL
Convert to 10,000+ CSL styles and nine export formats

🚀 Use Cases

Validate citations produced by an AI assistant
Audit an entire bibliography for fabricated or incorrect references
Confirm whether a source is retracted and whether it is open access

⚡ Developer Benefits

Interoperable via Model Context Protocol (MCP)
Broad scholarly identifier support (e.g., Crossref/ PubMed / arXiv-related IDs)
Outputs compatible with citation workflows via many CSL styles and exports

⚠️ Limitations

The provided description emphasizes verification and resolution; no additional constraints or performance details are specified.

Topics

academicarxivbibliographybibtexcitationsclaudecrossrefcsldoimcpmodel-context-protocolpubmedzoteroagent-skillsclaude-skill

Captured live from the server via tools/list.

verifyCitation

Verify a claimed citation against the resolved record at its identifier. Detects the dominant AI-driven fabrication pattern documented by Topaz et al. (Lancet 2026): a real, resolvable identifier (DOI / PMID / PMCID / arXiv / etc.) paired with a title that does NOT correspond to the paper at that identifier. Use when the user pastes a citation and asks 'is this real?' or 'check this DOI' — most fabricated citations resolve cleanly under doi.org but their cited title and the resolved title disagree. Single citation per call. Required: `title` plus exactly one identifier (doi, pmid, pmcid, isbn, arxiv, issn, ads, or whoIrisUrl). Optional refinements: author (first-author family name), year, container (journal). Set `screenWithLlm: true` to invoke the Stage 3 LLM screen on low-confidence mismatches (catches informal-abbreviation false positives); LLM access is gated to authenticated first-party keys and paid RapidAPI tiers — anonymous callers get 400 LLM_SCREEN_FORBIDDEN. Returns: { verdict: 'matched' | 'mismatch' | 'not_found' | 'ambiguous', confidence: 'high' | 'medium' | 'low', matched: <resolved record or null>, mismatches: [{field, claimed, resolved, similarity}], candidates: [{item, registries, score}] (when title-search ran), _provenance: {stages_run, resolved_via, registries_searched, llm_screen} }. Verdict semantics: 'matched' = claim agrees with resolved record; 'mismatch' = identifier resolves but title does not match (Topaz fabrication pattern); 'ambiguous' = identifier resolves to one paper but the claimed title matches a DIFFERENT paper found via title-search (CITADEL 'citation error' subtype — wrong identifier for a real paper); 'not_found' = neither the identifier nor the title resolves anywhere. No sibling tool overlaps: resolveIdentifier returns metadata for a known-good identifier; verifyCitation is the only tool that cross-checks claimed title vs resolved metadata. Read-only and idempotent — safe to retry. Works anonymously for the non-LLM path; the Stage 3 LLM screen requires authentication — set SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from https://scholar-sidekick.com/account) or use a paid RapidAPI tier. SCHOLAR_API_KEY also raises your rate limit.

Parameters13

title	string	required	The title as it appears in the cited reference. This is the field the verifier cross-checks against the resolved record at the supplied identifier. Required.
doi	string	optional	DOI as cited (with or without https://doi.org/ prefix). Provide whichever identifier(s) the cited reference carries; the verifier uses the first one in priority order doi > pmid > pmcid > arxiv > ads > isbn > issn > whoIrisUrl.
pmid	string	optional	PubMed ID as cited (digits only, or with 'PMID:' prefix).
pmcid	string	optional	PubMed Central ID (e.g. 'PMC1234567' or 'PMCID:1234567').
isbn	string	optional	ISBN (10- or 13-digit, hyphens tolerated).
arxiv	string	optional	arXiv ID (e.g. '2301.08745' or 'arXiv:2301.08745'; old-style 'hep-ph/0501023' accepted).
issn	string	optional	ISSN for journal-level resolution.
ads	string	optional	NASA ADS bibcode (19 chars).
whoIrisUrl	string	optional	WHO IRIS URL (https://iris.who.int/...).
author	string	optional	First-author family name as cited. Refines the verdict — a title-vs-resolved-title match plus an author mismatch raises suspicion of fabrication. Pass only the family name (e.g. 'Topaz', not 'Topaz, Maxim').
year	integer	optional	Publication year as cited. Wrong year alone does not flip the verdict, but >=2-year gap from the resolved record lowers confidence.
container	string	optional	Journal or container name as cited (e.g. 'The Lancet', 'Neuroscience'). Soft signal — surfaced as a mismatch field but does not gate the verdict.
screenWithLlm	boolean	optional	Opt-in Stage 3 LLM screen. Fires only when the pre-LLM verdict is mismatch with low confidence (the informal-abbreviation false-positive bucket). Gated: requires an authenticated first-party API key or a paid RapidAPI tier; anonymous / free callers receive 400 LLM_SCREEN_FORBIDDEN. Default false.

Raw schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "title": {
      "description": "The title as it appears in the cited reference. This is the field the verifier cross-checks against the resolved record at the supplied identifier. Required.",
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "maxLength": 2000
    },
    "doi": {
      "description": "DOI as cited (with or without https://doi.org/ prefix). Provide whichever identifier(s) the cited reference carries; the verifier uses the first one in priority order doi > pmid > pmcid > arxiv > ads > isbn > issn > whoIrisUrl.",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 200
    },
    "pmid": {
      "description": "PubMed ID as cited (digits only, or with 'PMID:' prefix).",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 50
    },
    "pmcid": {
      "description": "PubMed Central ID (e.g. 'PMC1234567' or 'PMCID:1234567').",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 50
    },
    "isbn": {
      "description": "ISBN (10- or 13-digit, hyphens tolerated).",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 50
    },
    "arxiv": {
      "description": "arXiv ID (e.g. '2301.08745' or 'arXiv:2301.08745'; old-style 'hep-ph/0501023' accepted).",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 50
    },
    "issn": {
      "description": "ISSN for journal-level resolution.",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 50
    },
    "ads": {
      "description": "NASA ADS bibcode (19 chars).",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 50
    },
    "whoIrisUrl": {
      "description": "WHO IRIS URL (https://iris.who.int/...).",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 2000
    },
    "author": {
      "description": "First-author family name as cited. Refines the verdict — a title-vs-resolved-title match plus an author mismatch raises suspicion of fabrication. Pass only the family name (e.g. 'Topaz', not 'Topaz, Maxim').",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 200
    },
    "year": {
      "description": "Publication year as cited. Wrong year alone does not flip the verdict, but >=2-year gap from the resolved record lowers confidence.",
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0,
      "maximum": 9999
    },
    "container": {
      "description": "Journal or container name as cited (e.g. 'The Lancet', 'Neuroscience'). Soft signal — surfaced as a mismatch field but does not gate the verdict.",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 500
    },
    "screenWithLlm": {
      "description": "Opt-in Stage 3 LLM screen. Fires only when the pre-LLM verdict is mismatch with low confidence (the informal-abbreviation false-positive bucket). Gated: requires an authenticated first-party API key or a paid RapidAPI tier; anonymous / free callers receive 400 LLM_SCREEN_FORBIDDEN. Default false.",
      "type": "boolean"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "title"
  ],
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"
}

auditBibliography

Verify a WHOLE bibliography in one call — the batch counterpart to verifyCitation. Each entry runs the same fabrication check (real, resolvable identifier paired with a title that does NOT match the resolved paper; Topaz et al., Lancet 2026) plus a retraction lookup, and the tool returns a per-entry verdict table and a corpus summary. Use when the user pastes a reference list, a .bib / .ris file, or asks to 'check all these citations at once' / 'audit my bibliography' / 'which of these references are fake or retracted'. Input: EITHER `bibliography` (raw BibTeX / RIS / CSL-JSON text — format auto-detected) OR `claims` (an array of pre-parsed {title + identifier} objects), not both. Capped at 25 entries per call; excess is dropped and reported via `truncated`. `checks` defaults to ['retraction'] (pass [] to skip); `screenWithLlm` opt-in per entry (same auth gating as verifyCitation). Returns: { format, entries: [{ index, sourceKey?, status: 'ok'|'error', verdict: 'matched' | 'mismatch' | 'not_found' | 'ambiguous', confidence, matched, mismatches, retraction: { checked, doi, isRetracted, hasCorrections, hasConcern, notices } | null, _provenance }], parseErrors: [{ index, error, message }], truncated, summary: { total, matched, mismatch, ambiguous, not_found, errored, retracted } }. Reading the result: `index` is 1-BASED (entry 1 is the first reference) — do not add 1 again when reporting it. `sourceKey` is the entry's own key in the source file (BibTeX cite key, RIS `ID`, CSL-JSON `id`) and is the reliable way to point a user at the offending reference; it is absent on the claims[] path. `entries` and `parseErrors` share one index space, so a given input position appears in exactly one of them — report parseErrors as UNCHECKED, never as clean. `summary.total` counts verifiable entries only, excluding parseErrors and anything past the cap; `summary.retracted` is a separate axis from the verdict counts (an entry can be both matched and retracted), so never sum those fields. A non-zero `truncated` means the audit is incomplete — split the bibliography and call again. Per-entry leniency: one entry that fails to resolve becomes status:'error' without failing the batch. This audits citation IDENTITY (does each identifier resolve to the claimed work, and is it retracted) — it does NOT check whether a source supports the claim it is cited for. Read-only and idempotent. Works anonymously for the non-LLM path; SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from https://scholar-sidekick.com/account) or a paid RapidAPI tier raises rate limits and enables the optional LLM screen.

Parameters5

bibliography	string	optional	Raw bibliography text to parse and audit — BibTeX, RIS, or CSL-JSON. Provide EITHER this or `claims`, not both. Format is auto-detected from the content; override with `format`. Capped at 25 entries per call (excess is dropped and reported via `truncated`).
format	string	optional	Override format auto-detection for `bibliography`.
claims	array	optional	Pre-parsed citations to audit — an alternative to `bibliography` for agents that already hold structured references. Each needs a `title` plus whatever identifiers the citation carries.
checks	array	optional	Per-entry enrichment checks. Defaults to ['retraction'] (flags retracted / corrected / expression-of-concern works via Crossref + Retraction Watch, keyed on each resolved DOI). Pass [] to skip the retraction lookup.
screenWithLlm	boolean	optional	Opt-in Stage 3 LLM screen applied per entry (same gating as verifyCitation: authenticated first-party key or paid RapidAPI tier). Default false.

Raw schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "bibliography": {
      "description": "Raw bibliography text to parse and audit — BibTeX, RIS, or CSL-JSON. Provide EITHER this or `claims`, not both. Format is auto-detected from the content; override with `format`. Capped at 25 entries per call (excess is dropped and reported via `truncated`).",
      "type": "string",
      "maxLength": 131072
    },
    "format": {
      "description": "Override format auto-detection for `bibliography`.",
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "bibtex",
        "ris",
        "csl-json"
      ]
    },
    "claims": {
      "description": "Pre-parsed citations to audit — an alternative to `bibliography` for agents that already hold structured references. Each needs a `title` plus whatever identifiers the citation carries.",
      "maxItems": 25,
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "title": {
            "description": "Title exactly as the citation claims it. Required — the audit compares this against the title of the record the identifier actually resolves to, and that comparison is the fabrication check.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 2000
          },
          "doi": {
            "description": "DOI as cited, with or without a prefix ('10.1038/nphys1170' or a doi.org URL).",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 200
          },
          "pmid": {
            "description": "PubMed ID, digits only or 'PMID:' prefixed.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 50
          },
          "pmcid": {
            "description": "PubMed Central ID, e.g. 'PMC1234567'.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 50
          },
          "isbn": {
            "description": "ISBN-10 or ISBN-13; hyphens are tolerated.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 50
          },
          "arxiv": {
            "description": "arXiv ID, e.g. '2301.00001' or 'arXiv:2301.00001'.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 50
          },
          "issn": {
            "description": "ISSN of the containing journal. Identifies a container, not a paper, so it cannot resolve an entry on its own — supply it alongside another identifier.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 50
          },
          "ads": {
            "description": "NASA ADS bibcode, e.g. '2019A&A...625A.135L'.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 50
          },
          "whoIrisUrl": {
            "description": "WHO IRIS publication URL.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 2000
          },
          "author": {
            "description": "First-author family name as cited. Refines the comparison; a disagreement here can downgrade a verdict to 'ambiguous'.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 200
          },
          "year": {
            "description": "Publication year as cited. Refinement only — it never decides a verdict alone.",
            "type": "integer",
            "minimum": 0,
            "maximum": 9999
          },
          "container": {
            "description": "Journal or book title as cited. Refinement only, same role as `year`.",
            "type": "string",
            "maxLength": 500
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "title"
        ]
      }
    },
    "checks": {
      "description": "Per-entry enrichment checks. Defaults to ['retraction'] (flags retracted / corrected / expression-of-concern works via Crossref + Retraction Watch, keyed on each resolved DOI). Pass [] to skip the retraction lookup.",
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "retraction"
        ]
      }
    },
    "screenWithLlm": {
      "description": "Opt-in Stage 3 LLM screen applied per entry (same gating as verifyCitation: authenticated first-party key or paid RapidAPI tier). Default false.",
      "type": "boolean"
    }
  },
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"
}

checkRetraction

Check whether a single scholarly work has been retracted, corrected, or had an expression of concern raised. Use when the user asks 'has this paper been retracted?' or wants to verify a paper's standing before citing it (clinical, regulatory, evidence-synthesis contexts). For multi-paper bibliography audits (clinical guidelines, systematic reviews), loop one call per identifier — the tool intentionally rejects batch input to keep retraction-status results unambiguous per work. Sourced from Crossref `updated-by` (which mirrors Retraction Watch). Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup; ISBN inputs always return doi=null and reason='no_doi' since books are not in the retraction graph. arXiv inputs check the linked published-journal DOI when arXiv records one; a preprint without one returns doi=null and reason='no_doi' (preprints are outside the Crossref retraction graph — arXiv marks withdrawals on the abstract page instead). Single identifier per call — does NOT accept comma/newline batches; loop one call per identifier for multiple papers. Returns: { doi, resolvedFrom?, reason?, result } where result has isRetracted, hasCorrections, hasConcern (booleans), notices (array of {type, label, doi, date, source} where type is a raw Crossref update type such as 'retraction', 'correction', 'erratum' or 'expression_of_concern'), and title; result is null when no DOI could be resolved and reason explains why ('no_doi'). No sibling tool overlaps this — resolveIdentifier returns metadata but not retraction status. Read-only and idempotent — safe to retry. Works anonymously against the public Scholar Sidekick API (rate-limited free tier); set SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from https://scholar-sidekick.com/account) for higher limits, or RAPIDAPI_KEY for paid RapidAPI tiers. Rate limits follow your tier; Crossref is queried server-side with its own caching.

Parameters1

string

required

A single scholarly identifier to check. 1–500 characters. Non-DOI inputs are resolved to a DOI server-side before the lookup; if no DOI can be derived, the tool returns doi=null with reason='no_doi'. Pass exactly one identifier — comma/newline batches are NOT accepted by this tool; loop one call per identifier for multiple papers. Accepted: DOI, PMID, PMCID, arXiv ID, or NASA ADS bibcode (with or without prefixes). ISBN inputs are accepted but always return doi=null since books are not in the retraction graph.

Raw schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "id": {
      "description": "A single scholarly identifier to check. 1–500 characters. Non-DOI inputs are resolved to a DOI server-side before the lookup; if no DOI can be derived, the tool returns doi=null with reason='no_doi'. Pass exactly one identifier — comma/newline batches are NOT accepted by this tool; loop one call per identifier for multiple papers. Accepted: DOI, PMID, PMCID, arXiv ID, or NASA ADS bibcode (with or without prefixes). ISBN inputs are accepted but always return doi=null since books are not in the retraction graph.",
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "maxLength": 500
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "id"
  ],
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"
}

checkOpenAccess

Check whether a single scholarly work is openly accessible and where to find the best legal version. Use when the user asks 'is this open access?', 'where can I read this for free?', or wants the OA license/version before reusing or redistributing. Sourced from Unpaywall. Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ISBN/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup; inputs that don't map to a DOI return doi=null and reason='no_doi'. arXiv inputs check the linked published-journal DOI when arXiv records one; a preprint without one returns doi=null and reason='no_doi' (Unpaywall does not index arXiv preprints, which are freely readable on arXiv regardless). Single identifier per call — does NOT accept comma/newline batches; loop one call per identifier for multiple papers. Returns: { doi, resolvedFrom?, reason?, result } where result has isOa (boolean), oaStatus ('gold' | 'green' | 'hybrid' | 'bronze' | 'closed'), title, bestLocation ({url, hostType: 'publisher' | 'repository', license, version: 'submittedVersion' | 'acceptedVersion' | 'publishedVersion'} or null), and locations (array of the same shape); result is null when no DOI could be resolved and reason explains why ('no_doi'). No sibling tool overlaps this — resolveIdentifier returns metadata but not OA status. Read-only and idempotent — safe to retry. Works anonymously against the public Scholar Sidekick API (rate-limited free tier); set SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from https://scholar-sidekick.com/account) for higher limits, or RAPIDAPI_KEY for paid RapidAPI tiers. Rate limits follow your tier; Unpaywall is queried server-side with its own caching.

Parameters1

string

required

A single scholarly identifier to check. 1–500 characters. Non-DOI inputs are resolved to a DOI server-side before the lookup; if no DOI can be derived, the tool returns doi=null with reason='no_doi'. Pass exactly one identifier — comma/newline batches are NOT accepted by this tool; loop one call per identifier for multiple papers. Accepted: DOI, PMID, PMCID, arXiv ID, ISBN, or NASA ADS bibcode (with or without prefixes).

Raw schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "id": {
      "description": "A single scholarly identifier to check. 1–500 characters. Non-DOI inputs are resolved to a DOI server-side before the lookup; if no DOI can be derived, the tool returns doi=null with reason='no_doi'. Pass exactly one identifier — comma/newline batches are NOT accepted by this tool; loop one call per identifier for multiple papers. Accepted: DOI, PMID, PMCID, arXiv ID, ISBN, or NASA ADS bibcode (with or without prefixes).",
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "maxLength": 500
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "id"
  ],
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"
}

resolveIdentifier

Resolve scholarly identifiers to structured CSL JSON metadata (title, authors, journal, year, identifiers). Use when the user wants raw bibliographic data to inspect, transform, or feed into another tool — not a formatted citation. Common single-shot conversions: PMID → PMCID, arXiv → DOI, ISBN → CSL JSON, WHO IRIS URL → structured metadata. Accepts DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, arXiv ID, ISSN, NASA ADS bibcode, or WHO IRIS URL, with or without prefixes (PMID:, arXiv:, ISBN hyphens, https://doi.org/...). Pass a single identifier or a comma/newline-separated batch — one round trip per call. Returns: a JSON array of CSL items, each with id, type, title, author[], issued.date-parts, container-title, DOI/PMID/PMCID/ISBN/ISSN/URL when available. Use formatCitation instead when the user wants a finished citation string in a specific style; use exportCitation when they want a downloadable bibliography file. Read-only and idempotent — safe to retry. Works anonymously against the public Scholar Sidekick API (rate-limited free tier); set SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from https://scholar-sidekick.com/account) for higher limits, or RAPIDAPI_KEY for paid RapidAPI tiers. Rate limits follow your tier; the underlying REST API caches repeated identical requests and surfaces cache state in the x-scholar-cache response header.

Parameters1

text

string

required

One or more identifiers to resolve (DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, ADS bibcodes) separated by newlines or commas

Raw schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "text": {
      "description": "One or more identifiers to resolve (DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, ADS bibcodes) separated by newlines or commas",
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "text"
  ],
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"
}

formatCitation

Format scholarly identifiers into a finished citation in a specific style. Use when the user wants a paste-ready citation string for a manuscript, slide, message, footnote, or in-line reference. Style defaults to vancouver if unspecified; ask the user before defaulting if any ambiguity exists (e.g. 'Harvard' and 'Chicago' have multiple variants — confirm which one). Supports five hand-tuned builtins (vancouver, ama, apa, ieee, cse) plus any of 10,000+ CSL style IDs (chicago-author-date, harvard-cite-them-right, modern-language-association, nature, bmj, the-lancet, etc.). Alias and dependent-style resolution apply, so 'harvard' resolves to 'harvard-cite-them-right' and the canonical ID is reported back as styleUsed. Output defaults to text; pass output=html for marked-up HTML or output=json for structured CSL items. Accepts the same identifier formats as resolveIdentifier (DOI/PMID/PMCID/ISBN/arXiv/ISSN/ADS/WHO IRIS, prefixes tolerated), single or comma/newline-separated batch — one round trip per call. Returns: one of { text, html, items } depending on the output parameter, followed by a metadata block ({formatter: 'builtin' | 'csl', styleUsed, requestId, warnings?}) appended as a second text content item — surface this to the user when they care about reproducibility. Use resolveIdentifier instead when the user wants raw metadata to inspect or transform; use exportCitation when they want a downloadable bibliography file. Read-only and idempotent — safe to retry. Works anonymously against the public Scholar Sidekick API (rate-limited free tier); set SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from https://scholar-sidekick.com/account) for higher limits, or RAPIDAPI_KEY for paid RapidAPI tiers. Rate limits follow your tier.

Parameters5

text	string	required	One or more identifiers (DOIs, PMIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, etc.) separated by newlines or commas
style	string	optional	Citation style: vancouver (default), ama, apa, ieee, cse, or any CSL style ID
lang	string	optional	Locale for formatting (e.g. en-US, en-GB, fr-FR)
footnote	boolean	optional	Format as footnotes instead of bibliography entries
output	string	optional	Output format (default: text)

Raw schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "text": {
      "description": "One or more identifiers (DOIs, PMIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, etc.) separated by newlines or commas",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "style": {
      "description": "Citation style: vancouver (default), ama, apa, ieee, cse, or any CSL style ID",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "lang": {
      "description": "Locale for formatting (e.g. en-US, en-GB, fr-FR)",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "footnote": {
      "description": "Format as footnotes instead of bibliography entries",
      "type": "boolean"
    },
    "output": {
      "description": "Output format (default: text)",
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "text",
        "html",
        "json"
      ]
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "text"
  ],
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"
}

exportCitation

Export scholarly identifiers to a bibliography file format ready to write to disk or paste into a reference manager. Use when the user wants a file (.bib, .ris, .nbib, .xml, .rdf, .csv) for Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, RefWorks, BibTeX/LaTeX, Pandoc, or Excel. Format parameter is required: bib (BibTeX — LaTeX), ris (RIS — most widely supported by reference managers), csl (CSL JSON — Pandoc/Quarto), endnote-xml, endnote-refer, refworks, medline (NBIB — PubMed round-trips, clinical workflows), zotero-rdf, csv (spreadsheet-friendly), or txt (plain-text bibliography rendered with the optional style parameter — txt is the only format that uses style; the others have their own structured shape and ignore it). Accepts the same identifier formats as resolveIdentifier (DOI/PMID/PMCID/ISBN/arXiv/ISSN/ADS/WHO IRIS, prefixes tolerated), single or comma/newline-separated batch — one round trip per call. Returns: { content: string, format: string } where content is the entire bibliography in the requested format as a single string — write it to a file (.bib/.ris/.nbib/etc.) or paste it directly into the target tool. Use formatCitation instead when the user wants in-line citation text (manuscript, slide); use resolveIdentifier when they want raw structured metadata. Read-only and idempotent — safe to retry. Works anonymously against the public Scholar Sidekick API (rate-limited free tier); set SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from https://scholar-sidekick.com/account) for higher limits, or RAPIDAPI_KEY for paid RapidAPI tiers. Rate limits follow your tier.

Parameters4

text	string	required	One or more identifiers (DOIs, PMIDs, ISBNs, etc.) separated by newlines or commas
format	string	required	Export format
style	string	optional	Citation style (used only for txt export)
lang	string	optional	Locale for formatting (e.g. en-US)

Raw schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "text": {
      "description": "One or more identifiers (DOIs, PMIDs, ISBNs, etc.) separated by newlines or commas",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "format": {
      "description": "Export format",
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "bib",
        "ris",
        "csv",
        "csl",
        "endnote-refer",
        "endnote-xml",
        "refworks",
        "medline",
        "zotero-rdf",
        "txt"
      ]
    },
    "style": {
      "description": "Citation style (used only for txt export)",
      "type": "string"
    },
    "lang": {
      "description": "Locale for formatting (e.g. en-US)",
      "type": "string"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "text",
    "format"
  ],
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"
}

README.md15 KBView on GitHub

Scholar Sidekick MCP Server

MCP server for Scholar Sidekick — catch AI-fabricated citations, one at a time or across a whole bibliography, from any AI assistant. It also checks retraction and open-access status, and resolves any scholarly identifier (DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, arXiv, ISSN, NASA ADS bibcode, WHO IRIS URL) into 10,000+ CSL styles or nine export formats.

Highlights

Citation-fabrication detection — verifyCitation cross-checks a claimed citation against the resolved record at its identifier, detecting the dominant AI-driven fabrication pattern documented by Topaz et al. (Lancet 2026) — real DOI + invented title — that simple identifier resolution cannot catch. Long-form explainer at scholar-sidekick.com/citation-integrity.
Whole-bibliography audit — auditBibliography runs that same check plus a retraction lookup across an entire reference list in one call, taking raw BibTeX, RIS, or CSL JSON and returning a per-entry verdict table with a corpus summary.
Retraction & open-access checks — checkRetraction surfaces retractions, corrections, and expressions of concern (Crossref / Retraction Watch); checkOpenAccess returns OA status and the best legal landing or PDF URL (Unpaywall). Both accept any identifier type and resolve it to a DOI under the hood.
Eight identifier types out of the box — DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, NASA ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs (rare in citation tooling).
Batch-friendly resolve / format / export — each accepts a single identifier or a comma- or newline-separated list; the server normalises the list and resolves them in one round trip.
10,000+ citation styles — five hand-tuned builtins (Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE) plus any CSL style ID, with alias and dependent-style resolution.
Nine export formats — BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, plain text.
Composable workflow — chain resolveIdentifier → formatCitation → exportCitation in one prompt for an end-to-end "raw IDs → exportable bibliography" pipeline.
Provenance metadata on every response — formatted output is followed by a metadata block (requestId, formatter, styleUsed, warnings) so the assistant can show users which engine produced each citation.
No key required — works anonymously against the public Scholar Sidekick API (rate-limited free tier); add a free first-party ssk_ key for higher limits, or a RapidAPI key for paid/managed tiers.
Hosted HTTP endpoint (no install) — prefer not to run a local stdio server? Connect any HTTP-capable MCP client straight to https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp (Streamable HTTP, same 7 tools). See Hosted HTTP endpoint.
REST API twin — the same endpoints are available as the Scholar Sidekick REST API for non-MCP integrations.

Tools

Tool	Description
verifyCitation	Verify a claimed citation against the resolved record at its identifier. Detects the Topaz et al. (Lancet 2026) fabrication pattern — real DOI + invented title — that `resolveIdentifier` alone cannot catch. Returns one of four verdicts (`matched` / `mismatch` / `ambiguous` / `not_found`) plus per-field similarity scores and the resolved record so the user can see where the cited title and the actual paper diverged. Optional Stage 3 LLM screen rescues informal-abbreviation false positives (paid plans / first-party authentication only). One citation per call.
auditBibliography	Run the `verifyCitation` check plus a retraction lookup across a whole bibliography in one call. Accepts raw BibTeX, RIS, or CSL-JSON text, or a pre-parsed `claims[]` array; returns a per-entry verdict table and a corpus summary. Capped at 25 entries per call.
resolveIdentifier	Resolve DOIs, PMIDs, PMCIDs, ISBNs, arXiv IDs, ISSNs, ADS bibcodes, and WHO IRIS URLs to structured bibliographic metadata (CSL JSON). Accepts a single identifier or a comma/newline-separated batch.
formatCitation	Format one or many identifiers into Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE, or any of 10,000+ CSL styles. Output as text, HTML, or JSON. Returns formatted citations plus a provenance metadata block.
exportCitation	Export one or many identifiers to BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, EndNote (XML/Refer), RefWorks, MEDLINE, Zotero RDF, CSV, or plain text — ready to write to disk or hand to a reference manager.
checkRetraction	Check whether a single work has been retracted, corrected, or had an expression of concern raised. Sourced from Crossref `updated-by` (Retraction Watch). Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.
checkOpenAccess	Check whether a single work is openly accessible and where to find the best legal version. Sourced from Unpaywall. Returns OA status (gold/green/hybrid/bronze/closed), best landing/PDF URL, license, and version. Resolves DOI/PMID/PMCID/arXiv/ISBN/ADS inputs to a DOI before lookup. One identifier per call.

All seven tools are read-only (readOnlyHint: true, destructiveHint: false). The exact tools/list payload — descriptions, JSON Schemas, and annotations — is committed as tools.json and ships in the npm tarball, so you can review the full tool surface without running anything.

Setup

No key required. The server works anonymously against the public Scholar Sidekick API (https://scholar-sidekick.com) at a rate-limited free tier — just install and go. To raise your limits, create a free first-party ssk_ key at scholar-sidekick.com/account and set SCHOLAR_API_KEY. For paid/managed tiers, subscribe on RapidAPI and set RAPIDAPI_KEY (which routes calls through the RapidAPI gateway).

Prefer zero install? There's also a hosted HTTP endpoint at https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp (Streamable HTTP) — connect any HTTP-capable MCP client directly, no npx needed. See Hosted HTTP endpoint below. The stdio package documented here is the local-install alternative (and the path for RapidAPI-keyed users).

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows). No key, no env block:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholar-sidekick": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Only if you want higher rate limits, add an env block with a free ssk_ key from scholar-sidekick.com/account:

json

"env": { "SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "ssk_your-first-party-key" }

Claude Code

bash

# Anonymous (no key):
claude mcp add scholar-sidekick -- npx -y scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest

# With a free first-party key for higher limits:
claude mcp add scholar-sidekick \
  -e SCHOLAR_API_KEY=ssk_your-first-party-key \
  -- npx -y scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest

Claude Code plugin (server + skill in one step)

This repo is also a Claude Code plugin marketplace. Installing the plugin wires up the MCP server and the companion agent skill together — no separate claude mcp add, no env block:

bash

/plugin marketplace add mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp
/plugin install scholar-sidekick@scholar-sidekick

The plugin runs the server anonymously (no key). For higher rate limits, add a free ssk_ key from scholar-sidekick.com/account via claude mcp add as shown above, or use the hosted endpoint below.

Cursor / VS Code / Windsurf

Add to .cursor/mcp.json or .vscode/mcp.json. No key needed:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholar-sidekick": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

For higher rate limits, add "env": { "SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "ssk_your-first-party-key" }.

Run in a container (sandboxed)

The server speaks MCP over stdio and needs outbound HTTPS to the Scholar Sidekick API and nothing else — no filesystem access, no shell. If your policy is that MCP servers don't get host access, build the image in this repo and run it isolated:

bash

docker build -t scholar-sidekick-mcp .

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholar-sidekick": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "--read-only", "--cap-drop", "ALL", "--security-opt", "no-new-privileges",
        "scholar-sidekick-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

-i is required — that's the stdio pipe. Add "-e", "SCHOLAR_API_KEY", to the args only if you are passing a key for higher limits. No image is published to a registry; build it locally so you're running a bundle you built from source you can read.

Agent skill (optional)

Install a companion Agent Skill that teaches Claude Code, Cline, and other agents when and how to use these tools — it complements the server config above:

bash

npx skills add mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp

Hosted HTTP endpoint (no install)

Don't want to run a local stdio server? Scholar Sidekick is also a hosted Streamable HTTP MCP at https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp — the same seven tools, no npx, no local process. It works anonymously (rate-limited free tier); add an Authorization: Bearer ssk_… header (a free key from scholar-sidekick.com/account) for higher limits.

Point any HTTP-capable MCP client at it:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholar-sidekick": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

In Claude Desktop, use Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector (or "Add HTTP server") and paste the URL. Add the bearer token in the client's header/auth field if you have one.

Discovery: /.well-known/mcp.json (SEP-1649 server card) lists this endpoint plus the no-auth ChatGPT Apps endpoint at /api/apps/mcp. The stdio package above remains the local-install alternative and the path for RapidAPI-keyed users.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`SCHOLAR_API_KEY`	No	Free first-party `ssk_` key from scholar-sidekick.com/account; raises rate limits and enables the verifier's LLM screen. Sent as `Authorization: Bearer`.
`RAPIDAPI_KEY`	No	RapidAPI subscription key for paid/managed tiers; when set, calls route through the RapidAPI gateway.
`RAPIDAPI_HOST`	No	RapidAPI host (defaults to `scholar-sidekick.p.rapidapi.com`)
`SCHOLAR_SIDEKICK_URL`	No	Override the API base URL (defaults to `https://scholar-sidekick.com`, or the RapidAPI gateway when `RAPIDAPI_KEY` is set).
`SCHOLAR_SIDEKICK_TIMEOUT_MS`	No	Request timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000)

No key at all → anonymous, rate-limited free tier. With both SCHOLAR_API_KEY and RAPIDAPI_KEY set, RapidAPI takes precedence.

Supported Citation Styles

Scholar Sidekick supports 10,000+ CSL styles, including all major formats used in academic publishing:

Style	Keyword
Vancouver	`vancouver`
APA (7th ed.)	`apa`
AMA	`ama`
IEEE	`ieee`
CSE	`cse`
Chicago (author-date)	`chicago-author-date`
Harvard	`harvard-cite-them-right`
MLA	`modern-language-association`
Turabian	`turabian-fullnote-bibliography`
Nature	`nature`
BMJ	`bmj`
Lancet	`the-lancet`

Any CSL style ID can be passed as the style parameter.

Example Usage

Once connected, ask your AI assistant:

Single identifier

"Format 10.1056/NEJMoa2033700 in Vancouver style"
"Resolve PMID:30049270 and export as BibTeX"
"Give me a Chicago citation for arXiv:2301.08745"

Batch input (comma- or newline-separated — every tool handles it)

"Format these as APA: 10.1056/NEJMoa2033700, PMID:30049270, ISBN:9780192854087"
"Resolve all of these and tell me which are journal articles vs books: 10.1056/NEJMoa2033700, ISBN:9780192854087, PMC7793608"

End-to-end workflow (the assistant chains resolveIdentifier → formatCitation → exportCitation in one prompt)

"Resolve these three identifiers, format each in AMA, and export the set as BibTeX: 10.1056/NEJMoa2033700, PMID:30049270, ISBN:9780192854087"
"Build me a Nature-style bibliography from this list and give me a .bib file at the end: PMID:30049270, arXiv:2301.08745, 10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2"

Retraction & open-access checks (one identifier per call)

"Has 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31180-6 been retracted?" → returns isRetracted: true with the retraction notice and date
"Is the NumPy paper (10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2) open access? Where can I read it for free?" → returns OA status plus the best legal PDF URL with license and version
"Check whether arXiv:2301.08745 has any corrections or expressions of concern." → resolves arXiv → DOI, then queries Retraction Watch

Supported Identifiers

DOIs (e.g. 10.1056/NEJMoa2033700)
PubMed IDs (e.g. PMID:30049270)
PubMed Central IDs (e.g. PMC7793608)
ISBNs (e.g. ISBN:9780192854087)
arXiv IDs (e.g. 2301.08745)
ISSNs and eISSNs
NASA ADS bibcodes
WHO IRIS URLs

Provenance & Determinism

Every formatCitation and exportCitation response is followed by a metadata block so the assistant — and the user — can see exactly which engine produced each citation:

formatter — builtin (one of Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE — hand-tuned in TypeScript) or csl (citeproc-js with a CSL stylesheet).
styleUsed — the canonical style ID after alias and dependent-style resolution (e.g. asking for harvard resolves to harvard-cite-them-right).
requestId — for support, reproducibility, and log correlation.
warnings — populated when a fallback was used or the requested style was a dependent of another.

Identifier resolution is deterministic given the same inputs and pinned upstream metadata. Repeated identical requests are cache-hit on the underlying REST API and surface that via the x-scholar-cache header.

REST API

For programmatic access outside of MCP clients, the same capabilities are available as a REST API at scholar-sidekick.com — anonymously, with a free first-party ssk_ key (Authorization: Bearer), or via RapidAPI for paid tiers. Whichever credential you use here works there too.

Development

bash

npm install
npm run build    # Bundle to dist/mcp-server.mjs
npm test         # Run tests
npm run typecheck

License

MIT

Install

Tools (7)

verifyCitationauditBibliographycheckRetractioncheckOpenAccessresolveIdentifierformatCitationexportCitation

Add to VS Code Add to Cursor

claude_desktop_config.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholar-sidekick-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "scholar-sidekick-mcp@0.8.11"
      ]
    }
  }
}

io.github.mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp (MCP Server)

🛠️ Key Features

🚀 Use Cases

⚡ Developer Benefits

⚠️ Limitations

Topics

verifyCitation

auditBibliography

checkRetraction

checkOpenAccess

resolveIdentifier

formatCitation

exportCitation

Scholar Sidekick MCP Server

Highlights

Tools

Setup

Claude Desktop

Claude Code

Claude Code plugin (server + skill in one step)

Cursor / VS Code / Windsurf

Run in a container (sandboxed)

Agent skill (optional)

Hosted HTTP endpoint (no install)

Environment Variables

Supported Citation Styles

Example Usage

Supported Identifiers

Provenance & Determinism

REST API

Development

License

Install

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