Scholar Sidekick is available as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. This lets AI assistants such as Claude, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible clients resolve scholarly identifiers, format citations, and export bibliography files - directly within a conversation.
Add the Scholar Sidekick MCP server to your editor in one click. It runs anonymously out of the box - no key required - on a rate-limited free tier. To raise your limits, add a free first-party ssk_ key afterward (see Setup).
Both buttons install the server to run anonymously - there is nothing to paste to get started. To raise your rate limits later, set a free SCHOLAR_API_KEY (an ssk_ key from /account) - for VS Code, the config under Setup below (the one with inputs) prompts for it and stores it in secret storage. For Cursor, install the dedicated Cursor plugin. Prefer to configure by hand? See the copy-paste configs under Setup below.
The MCP server exposes six tools:
The first three tools accept multiple identifiers in a single request (separated by newlines), so batch operations work out of the box. checkRetraction, checkOpenAccess, and verifyCitation are single-identifier-per-call by design - loop one call per work for multiple papers.
10.1056/NEJMoa2033700)PMID:30049270)PMC7793608)ISBN:9780192854087)2301.08745)Identifiers are auto-detected and normalised. You can mix types freely in a single batch request.
The Scholar Sidekick MCP server works with any client that supports the Model Context Protocol, including:
Prefer a browser-based workflow without MCP? The Scholar Sidekick browser extension wraps the same API for Chrome and Edge.
Everything runs anonymously by default on a rate-limited free tier - the hosted endpoints (POST /api/mcp and the ChatGPT-app /api/apps/mcp) and the stdio server all work with no credential. To raise your limits, create a free first-party key at /account and send SCHOLAR_API_KEY (as Authorization: Bearer ssk_… against scholar-sidekick.com) - or use a RapidAPI key for paid/managed tiers. If you already have a Scholar Sidekick subscription on RapidAPI, the same key works for MCP access.
There are two ways to connect, and both expose the same six tools, talk to https://scholar-sidekick.com, and run anonymously by default on a rate-limited free tier. Add a free ssk_ key from /account to raise your limits (and enable the verifier’s LLM screen).
Point any client that speaks Streamable HTTP directly at the hosted endpoint - no npm install, no local process:
POST https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp
It works anonymously; to authenticate, send Authorization: Bearer ssk_…. In Claude Code (HTTP transport):
# Anonymous: claude mcp add --transport http scholar-sidekick https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp # Or with a free ssk_ key: claude mcp add --transport http scholar-sidekick https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp \ --header "Authorization: Bearer ssk_your-first-party-key"
In Cursor / Windsurf (remote-server config in .cursor/mcp.json) - omit headers to run anonymously:
{
"mcpServers": {
"scholar-sidekick": {
"url": "https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer ssk_your-first-party-key"
}
}
}
}VS Code uses a top-level servers key with "type": "http" and the same url / headers fields. Using the ChatGPT app? It has its own no-auth endpoint at https://scholar-sidekick.com/api/apps/mcp (a read-only, widget-backed tool surface built for the ChatGPT app).
Prefer to run the server locally? The configs below launch it over stdio with npx. The env block is optional - omit it to run anonymously, or set SCHOLAR_API_KEY to a free ssk_ key for higher limits.
One-click: download the Scholar Sidekick Desktop Extension (.mcpb) and double-click it - or Settings → Extensions → Install. It works anonymously; you can optionally enter a free ssk_ key when prompted to raise your limits.
Or configure it manually - add the following to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS). The env block is optional - omit it to run anonymously:
{
"mcpServers": {
"scholar-sidekick": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "ssk_your-first-party-key"
}
}
}
}# Anonymous (no key): claude mcp add scholar-sidekick -- npx -y scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest # Or with a free ssk_ key for higher limits: claude mcp add scholar-sidekick \ -e SCHOLAR_API_KEY=ssk_your-first-party-key \ -- npx -y scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest
Add to .cursor/mcp.json (or the Windsurf MCP config) in your project. The env block is optional - omit it to run anonymously:
{
"mcpServers": {
"scholar-sidekick": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "ssk_your-first-party-key"
}
}
}
}VS Code uses a top-level servers key (not mcpServers) and supports an inputs block. The server runs anonymously without any of this; the config below is for when you want a free ssk_ key - VS Code prompts for it the first time the server starts and stores it in secret storage (no key in the file). Add to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"inputs": [
{
"type": "promptString",
"id": "scholar_api_key",
"description": "Scholar Sidekick API key (ssk_) - optional, free, raises rate limits",
"password": true
}
],
"servers": {
"scholar-sidekick": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest"],
"env": {
"SCHOLAR_API_KEY": "${input:scholar_api_key}"
}
}
}
}Add it with the Codex CLI:
# Anonymous (no key): codex mcp add scholar-sidekick -- npx -y scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest # Or with a free ssk_ key for higher limits: codex mcp add scholar-sidekick \ --env SCHOLAR_API_KEY=ssk_your-first-party-key \ -- npx -y scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest
Or add a block to ~/.codex/config.toml (drop the env line to run anonymously):
[mcp_servers.scholar-sidekick]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "scholar-sidekick-mcp@latest"]
env = { SCHOLAR_API_KEY = "ssk_your-first-party-key" }Install a companion Agent Skill that teaches Claude Code, Cline, and other agents when and how to reach for these tools. It complements the server config above:
npx skills add mlava/scholar-sidekick-mcp
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
SCHOLAR_API_KEY | No | Free first-party ssk_ key from /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) |
Scholar Sidekick MCP has been independently rated by two MCP marketplaces:
Scholar Sidekick MCP is listed in:
See how Scholar Sidekick MCP compares to other citation MCP servers for a feature-by-feature breakdown.
The MCP integration is well suited to workflows such as:
The same principles apply as with the web tool and API: Scholar Sidekick handles the citation formatting so you can stay focused on the work.
Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant things like:
The assistant will call the appropriate Scholar Sidekick tools and return the results directly in the conversation.
The MCP server wraps the same Scholar Sidekick API that powers the web tool and RapidAPI integration. The underlying resolution, formatting, and export logic is identical. MCP simply provides a standardised interface for AI assistants to call those same endpoints.
For a higher-level walkthrough of how the resolver pipeline works under the hood, see the explainer.
