Anna's Archive vs Arxivsub MCP
A side-by-side look at the Anna's Archive and Arxivsub MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Anna's Archive for research work as a local process; choose Arxivsub MCP 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 Anna's Archive when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
ANNAS_SECRET_KEY. - You want tools like
account_status, article_download, article_search.
Choose Arxivsub MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
ARXIVSUB_SKILL_KEY. - You want tools like
search_papers, find_similar_papers, research_insight.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 63/100 · Good | 55/100 · 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 | ANNAS_SECRET_KEY | ARXIVSUB_SKILL_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 3 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 7 | 5 |
| Full listing | View Anna's Archive | View Arxivsub MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Anna's Archive tools 7
account_statusShow the account's membership and how many fast downloads it has left in its rolling window. Check it before downloading many files.article_downloadDownload a selected paper by exactly one of doi or hash. The hash field accepts a bare MD5 or an Anna's Archive /md5/ page URL. Resolves a DOI to its hash, then returns an existing file in ANNAS_DOWNLOAD_PATH if its full MD5 matches, otherwise downloads under a unique name. Returns path and bytes; downloads_left is omitted on local reuse. Optional title and format control a new file's name.article_searchFind a paper by DOI (including DOI URLs), or search journal articles by keywords, author, title or year. DOI lookup returns one paper; keyword search returns one page. Set include_stats to add public per-file downloads, quality votes, reports, lists and comments. Compare metadata before downloading by hash or DOI.book_detailsGet the full record for a search hit: ISBNs, DOI, OCLC and other identifiers, edition, year, full description, subjects, alternative titles, problems reported for the file, and download and quality counts. Accepts a hash from book_search or article_search, or an id from metadata_search.book_downloadDownload the selected book using its MD5 hash or Anna's Archive /md5/ page URL in hash. Returns an existing file in ANNAS_DOWNLOAD_PATH if its full MD5 matches, otherwise downloads a verified copy under a unique name. Returns path and bytes; downloads_left is omitted on local reuse. Format sets the extension; it does not convert the file.book_searchSearch books, textbooks, manuals and standards by title, author or topic, optionally filtered by format, language, content type, source library or year and sorted. Returns one page with hash, format, year, fast_download and metadata. Set include_stats to add public per-file downloads, quality votes, reports, lists and comments. Pass a selected hash to book_download, or to book_details for ISBNs, edition and file problems.metadata_searchSearch library catalogs (Open Library, WorldCat, ISBNdb, Goodreads, Google Books and others) for books, including ones with no downloadable file. Use it to find ISBNs, editions and publication details, then search book_search by ISBN or title for files. Pass an id to book_details for identifiers.
Arxivsub MCP tools 5
search_papersSearch academic papers from arXiv and major AI/CV/ML/robotics/NLP conferences via arXivSub (semantic + keyword search over a structured, summarized corpus). Use for 'find papers on X', 'latest research about Y', 'recent conference work on Z', or to start a literature review. Returns each paper with a 6-part summary (what it's about, innovations, techniques, datasets, results, limitations), authors + affiliations, pdf_url, and github_url when code is available.find_similar_papersGiven ONE paper you already have (from a prior search result), return the most similar papers from the same corpus — semantic nearest neighbours, each with the full summary and code link. Use for 'more like this', 'related work', 'what else is in this line of work', or to expand a literature review. You can chain it: search -> pick a seed -> find_similar_papers -> repeat on a strong neighbour.research_insightBuild aggregate pivot statistics over the arXivSub corpora — the same engine as the website's Custom Chart. Use for trends, rankings, breakdowns and comparisons: 'how has interest in diffusion models trended', 'top institutions in RL', 'papers per month by keyword', 'avg citations by affiliation'. Returns rows of {dim, breakdown, value} for you to interpret and visualize. Requires Pro or active trial days.library_saveSave (or update) a paper in the user's personal arXivSub library. Use for 'save this', 'bookmark that paper', 'add it to my <X> collection', 'note that ...', 'mark as read'. Idempotent: saving the same paper again updates only the fields you pass and never duplicates. Cannot delete — removals are done on the website.library_listList the user's personal arXivSub library — collections and saved items, optionally filtered. Use for 'what have I saved', 'show my library', 'which papers are in my <name> collection', 'what am I reading'.
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.
Anna's Archive
{
"mcpServers": {
"anna-s-archive": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"annas-mcp"
],
"env": {
"ANNAS_SECRET_KEY": "YOUR_ANNAS_SECRET_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Arxivsub MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"arxivsub-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"arxivsub-mcp"
],
"env": {
"ARXIVSUB_SKILL_KEY": "YOUR_ARXIVSUB_SKILL_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Anna's Archive is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Arxivsub MCP belongs to Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Anna's Archive for research work and Arxivsub 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.
Anna's Archive has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Arxivsub MCP 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 anna-s-archive and arxivsub-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Anna's Archive has a quality signal of 63/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 3 GitHub stars. Arxivsub MCP has 55/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.