Anna's Archive vs IlyaGusev Academia MCP
A side-by-side look at the Anna's Archive and IlyaGusev Academia 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 IlyaGusev Academia MCP for research. 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 IlyaGusev Academia MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You have the keys it needs:
WORKSPACE_DIR, OPENROUTER_API_KEY, EXA_API_KEY, BRAVE_API_KEY, TAVILY_API_KEY, PORT, ENABLE_AUTH, TOKENS_FILE. - You want tools like
arxiv_search, arxiv_download, anthology_search.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 63/100 · Good | 48/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | ANNAS_SECRET_KEY | WORKSPACE_DIROPENROUTER_API_KEYEXA_API_KEYBRAVE_API_KEYTAVILY_API_KEYPORTENABLE_AUTHTOKENS_FILE |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 3 | 93 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 7 | 11 |
| Full listing | View Anna's Archive | View IlyaGusev Academia 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.
IlyaGusev Academia MCP tools 11
arxiv_searchQuery arXiv with field-specific queries and filters.arxiv_downloadFetch a paper by ID and convert to structured text (HTML/PDF modes).anthology_searchSearch ACL Anthology with fielded queries and optional date filtering.hf_datasets_searchFind Hugging Face datasets with filters and sorting.s2_get_citationsList papers citing a given arXiv paper (Semantic Scholar Graph).s2_get_referencesList papers referenced by a given arXiv paper.visit_webpageFetch and normalize a web page.web_searchUnified search wrapper; available when at least one of Exa/Brave/Tavily keys is set.compile_latexCompile LaTeX to PDF in `WORKSPACE_DIR`.read_pdfExtract text per page from a PDF.document_qaAnswer questions over provided document chunks (requires LLM).
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"
}
}
}
}
IlyaGusev Academia MCP
No confirmed install command for IlyaGusev Academia MCP yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
Frequently asked questions
Anna's Archive is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. IlyaGusev Academia MCP belongs to Research and uses an install path we have not confirmed yet. Pick Anna's Archive for research work and IlyaGusev Academia 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. IlyaGusev Academia MCP has no confirmed install command yet — follow its own setup instructions.
Anna's Archive has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. IlyaGusev Academia MCP 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 anna-s-archive and ilyagusev-academia-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. IlyaGusev Academia MCP has 48/100 (Fair) with 3 views, 0 installs and 93 GitHub stars.