Alexandria vs Orcid
A side-by-side look at the Alexandria and Orcid 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 Orcid for research. 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 Orcid when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You have the keys it needs:
ORCID_CLIENT_ID, ORCID_CLIENT_SECRET. - You want tools like
orcid_search, orcid_read_record, orcid_read_works.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 40/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | ORCID_CLIENT_IDORCID_CLIENT_SECRET |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 1 | 5 |
| Full listing | View Alexandria | View Orcid |
Tools & capabilities
Alexandria tools 1
library_list_sourcesList all 152 sources with descriptions and full-text capabilities
Orcid tools 5
orcid_searchSearch for researchers by name, affiliation, keyword, DOI, or advanced Solr queryorcid_read_recordRead a researcher's full profile (bio, employment, education, keywords)orcid_read_worksGet publications from a researcher's ORCID recordorcid_export_risExport retrieved works as RIS (for Zotero, EndNote, etc.)orcid_export_bibtexExport retrieved works as BibTeX
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"
]
}
}
}
Orcid
No confirmed install command for Orcid yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
Frequently asked questions
Alexandria is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Orcid belongs to Research and uses an install path we have not confirmed yet. Pick Alexandria for research work and Orcid 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. Orcid has no confirmed install command yet — follow its own setup instructions.
Alexandria has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Orcid 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 orcid 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. Orcid has 40/100 (Fair) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.