Alexandria vs OokCite
A side-by-side look at the Alexandria and OokCite MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Alexandria for research work as a local process; choose OokCite for research as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Alexandria when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
library_list_sources.
Choose OokCite when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
validate_doi, lookup_isbn, reverse_lookup.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 57/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2 | 2 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 1 | 38 |
| Full listing | View Alexandria | View OokCite |
Tools & capabilities
Alexandria tools 1
library_list_sourcesList all 152 sources with descriptions and full-text capabilities
OokCite tools 38
validate_doiCheck if a DOI exists (anti-hallucination)lookup_isbnLook up a book by ISBNreverse_lookupFind a paper from messy citation text; returns original query, confidence, and titlebatch_resolveResolve many citation strings in one request (max 50)enhanced_searchCorpus search with author / category / citation facetshealth_checkCheck API availability and healthformat_citationFormat a DOI in any of 2900+ CSL styles (no API key for a single citation)verify_referencesBatch-check DOIs, and any bibliographic claim passed with thembatch_formatFormat multiple citations at oncesearch_stylesFind CSL style IDs by namelist_stylesPage through the full CSL style listgroup_citeGenerate grouped in-text markers (e.g. [1-3])- +26 more on the listing page
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Alexandria
{
"mcpServers": {
"alexandria": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@the-40-thieves/alexandria-mcp"
]
}
}
}
OokCite
{
"mcpServers": {
"ookcite": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@turtletech/ookcite-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Alexandria is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. OokCite belongs to Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Alexandria for research work and OokCite for research.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Alexandria has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. OokCite has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add alexandria and ookcite as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Alexandria has a quality signal of 52/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 2 GitHub stars. OokCite has 57/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 2 GitHub stars.