---
title: Scholar Sidekick Developer Resources
description: Every Scholar Sidekick developer resource in one place - REST API docs, OpenAPI spec, authentication, MCP server, CLI, SDKs and editor extensions, changelog, status, and source code.
doc_version: "1.0"
last_updated: "2026-06-09"
---

# Scholar Sidekick Developer Resources

> Every Scholar Sidekick developer resource in one place: REST API docs, OpenAPI spec,
> authentication, MCP server, CLI, SDKs and editor extensions, changelog, status, and source code.
> Last updated: 2026-06-09
> HTML version: https://scholar-sidekick.com/developers

Everything you need to build on Scholar Sidekick - the citation resolver, formatter, exporter, and verifier for scholarly identifiers (DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, ISSN, arXiv, ADS bibcode, WHO IRIS URL). Each surface below wraps the same REST API, so output is identical whether you call it over HTTP, MCP, or the CLI.

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## REST API

The HTTP API every other surface wraps. Start here for endpoints, parameters, and examples.

- API documentation: https://scholar-sidekick.com/docs
- API documentation (Markdown): https://scholar-sidekick.com/docs.md
- OpenAPI spec (YAML): https://scholar-sidekick.com/openapi/openapi.yml
- OpenAPI spec (JSON): https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/openapi
- OpenAPI spec (.well-known canonical): https://scholar-sidekick.com/.well-known/openapi.yaml
- Postman workspace: https://www.postman.com/scholar-sidekick/scholar-sidekick/overview

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## MCP & AI agents

Connect Scholar Sidekick to Claude, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible assistant.

- MCP server guide: https://scholar-sidekick.com/mcp
- MCP server guide (Markdown): https://scholar-sidekick.com/mcp.md
- MCP server card (SEP-1649): https://scholar-sidekick.com/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json
- Agent integration guide (AGENTS.md): https://scholar-sidekick.com/AGENTS.md
- Agent Skills index: https://scholar-sidekick.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json
- Agent card (A2A): https://scholar-sidekick.com/.well-known/agent-card.json

The MCP server exposes six tools (resolve, format, export, verify, retraction, open-access) and runs anonymously with no API key. Hosted Streamable-HTTP endpoint: `POST https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp`.

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## Clients & editor integrations

Use the API from the terminal, your editor, or your reference manager.

- Command-line CLI (npm): https://www.npmjs.com/package/scholar-sidekick-cli - the `scholar` command wraps the REST API; `npm i -g scholar-sidekick-cli`, no key for the free tier
- VS Code extension: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=scholar-sidekick.scholar-sidekick-vscode - lints a .bib for fabricated citations, retractions, and open-access status; also on Open VSX
- Gemini CLI extension: https://github.com/mlava/scholar-sidekick-gemini - Gemini CLI / Antigravity plugin wrapping the MCP server and CLI commands
- Browser extension: https://scholar-sidekick.com/extension - Chrome, Edge, and Firefox add-on built on the same API
- All integrations: https://scholar-sidekick.com/integrations - Obsidian, Zotero, Cursor, and the rest

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## Authentication & limits

Anonymous access works with no key at the lowest rate-limit tier. For higher limits, create a free first-party API key (`ssk_`) and send it as `Authorization: Bearer ssk_…`.

- API keys (account): https://scholar-sidekick.com/account
- Authentication & rate limits: https://scholar-sidekick.com/docs#pricing
- RapidAPI listing (managed/paid tiers): https://rapidapi.com/scholar-sidekick-scholar-sidekick-api/api/scholar-sidekick

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## Reliability & determinism

Scholar Sidekick is built as deterministic citation infrastructure. These surfaces let you depend on it.

- Changelog: https://scholar-sidekick.com/changelog - output- and verdict-affecting changes tagged with `transform_version` / `verify_version` bumps
- Engineering principles: https://scholar-sidekick.com/engineering-principles
- Verification kit: https://scholar-sidekick.com/verification - copy-paste curl commands proving reproducibility, provenance headers, and edge-case behaviour
- Status & uptime: https://status.scholar-sidekick.com
- API Terms: https://scholar-sidekick.com/legal/api-terms

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## Source code

The clients and adapters are open source on GitHub.

- MCP server: https://github.com/mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp
- CLI: https://github.com/mlava/scholar-sidekick-cli
- VS Code extension: https://github.com/mlava/scholar-sidekick-vscode
- Gemini extension: https://github.com/mlava/scholar-sidekick-gemini
- Agent Skills: https://github.com/mlava/scholar-sidekick-skills

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## Related

- API Docs: https://scholar-sidekick.com/docs
- MCP Server: https://scholar-sidekick.com/mcp
- llms.txt: https://scholar-sidekick.com/llms.txt

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.