Altmetric MCP vs Computer Board
A side-by-side look at the Altmetric MCP and Computer Board MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Altmetric MCP for monitoring work as a local process; choose Computer Board for monitoring over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Altmetric MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Monitoring domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY, ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY, ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET. - You want tools like
get_citation_counts, get_citation_details, search_citations.
Choose Computer Board when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Monitoring domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You have the keys it needs:
COMPUTER_BOARD_CONFIG, COMPUTER_BOARD_CLI.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Monitoring | Monitoring |
| Quality signal | 59/100 · Good | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEYALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEYALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET | COMPUTER_BOARD_CONFIGCOMPUTER_BOARD_CLI |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 7 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 12 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Altmetric MCP | View Computer Board |
Tools & capabilities
Altmetric MCP tools 12
get_citation_countsAttention metrics by identifier (DOI, PubMed ID, etc.)get_citation_detailsFull mention text, author details (incl. Dimensions Researcher IDs), metadatasearch_citationsSearch attention data across all outputs by timeframeget_batch_attention_dataAttention metrics for many DOIs at once, rankedtranslate_identifiersTranslate identifiers (DOI, PMID, etc.) to Altmetric IDsexplore_research_outputsSearch and filter research outputsexplore_attention_summaryAggregated attention metrics by source and dateexplore_mentionsIndividual mention details with filteringexplore_demographicsAudience geographic and demographic dataexplore_mention_sourcesSource/outlet analysis for mentionsexplore_journalsJournal metrics, rankings, and searchlist_departmentsList your institution's departments and their IDs
Computer Board 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.
Altmetric MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"altmetric-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"altmetric-mcp"
],
"env": {
"ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY": "YOUR_ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY_HERE",
"ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY": "YOUR_ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY_HERE",
"ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET": "YOUR_ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Computer Board
{
"mcpServers": {
"black942026-computer-board": {
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:3000/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Altmetric MCP is categorized under Monitoring and uses a local stdio subprocess. Computer Board belongs to Monitoring and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Altmetric MCP for monitoring work and Computer Board for monitoring.
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.
Altmetric MCP has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Computer Board is listed as free. Auth: no auth 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 altmetric-mcp and black942026-computer-board as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Altmetric MCP has a quality signal of 59/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 7 GitHub stars. Computer Board has 53/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.