Alexandria vs Deep Research MCP
A side-by-side look at the Alexandria and Deep Research MCP 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 Deep Research MCP for research over a hosted endpoint. 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 Deep Research MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
RESEARCH_PROVIDER, RESEARCH_API_KEY, RESEARCH_BASE_URL, RESEARCH_MODEL, RESEARCH_TIMEOUT, RESEARCH_POLL_INTERVAL, OPENAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | BYOK (pay the provider) |
| Required env vars | None listed | RESEARCH_PROVIDERRESEARCH_API_KEYRESEARCH_BASE_URLRESEARCH_MODELRESEARCH_TIMEOUTRESEARCH_POLL_INTERVALOPENAI_API_KEYGEMINI_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2 | 112 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 1 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Alexandria | View Deep Research MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Alexandria tools 1
library_list_sourcesList all 152 sources with descriptions and full-text capabilities
Deep Research MCP tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from 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"
]
}
}
}
Deep Research MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"pminervini-deep-research-mcp": {
"url": "https://api.openai.com/v1"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Alexandria is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Deep Research MCP belongs to Research and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Alexandria for research work and Deep Research MCP 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. Deep Research MCP is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. 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 pminervini-deep-research-mcp 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. Deep Research MCP has 56/100 (Good) with 5 views, 0 installs and 112 GitHub stars.