Anna's Archive vs Paper Chaser MCP
A side-by-side look at the Anna's Archive and Paper Chaser 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 Paper Chaser 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 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 Paper Chaser MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
PAPER_CHASER_TOOL_PROFILE, PAPER_CHASER_HIDE_DISABLED_TOOLS, PAPER_CHASER_ENABLE_SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR, PAPER_CHASER_ENABLE_ARXIV, PAPER_CHASER_ENABLE_CORE. - You want tools like
research, follow_up_research, resolve_reference.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 63/100 · Good | 49/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | ANNAS_SECRET_KEY | PAPER_CHASER_TOOL_PROFILEPAPER_CHASER_HIDE_DISABLED_TOOLSPAPER_CHASER_ENABLE_SEMANTIC_SCHOLARPAPER_CHASER_ENABLE_ARXIVPAPER_CHASER_ENABLE_CORE |
| 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 | 63 |
| Full listing | View Anna's Archive | View Paper Chaser 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.
Paper Chaser MCP tools 63
researchDefault trust-graded entrypoint for discovery, known-item recovery, citation repair, and regulatory routing.follow_up_researchGrounded follow-up over a saved `searchSessionId`; returns explicit abstention/insufficient-evidence states when needed.resolve_referenceResolve citation-like input (citation, DOI, arXiv, URL, title fragment, regulatory reference) into the safest next anchor.inspect_sourceInspect one `sourceId` from a guided result set for provenance, trust state, and direct-read follow-through.get_runtime_statusGuided runtime summary for active profile, transport, smart-provider state, and warnings.search_papers_smartConcept-level discovery with query expansion, multi-provider fusion, reranking, reusable `searchSessionId`, and an evidence-first expert contract (`resultStatus`, `answerability`, `routingSummary`, `evidence`, `leads`, `evidenceGaps`, `structuredSources`, `coverageSummary`, `failureSummary`). Legac…ask_result_setGrounded QA, claim checks, and comparisons over a saved `searchSessionId`.map_research_landscapeCluster a saved result set into themes, gaps, disagreements, and next-search suggestions.expand_research_graphExpand paper anchors or a saved session into a citation/reference/author graph with frontier ranking.search_papersBrokered single-page search (default: Semantic Scholar → arXiv → CORE → SerpApi). Read `brokerMetadata.nextStepHint`; ScholarAPI is also available as an explicit opt-in broker target.search_papers_bulkPaginated bulk search (Semantic Scholar) up to 1,000 papers/call with boolean query syntax.search_papers_semantic_scholarSingle-page Semantic Scholar-only search with full filter support.- +51 more on 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.
Anna's Archive
{
"mcpServers": {
"anna-s-archive": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"annas-mcp"
],
"env": {
"ANNAS_SECRET_KEY": "YOUR_ANNAS_SECRET_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Paper Chaser MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"paper-chaser-mcp": {
"url": "https://api.core.ac.uk/docs/v3"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Anna's Archive is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Paper Chaser MCP belongs to Research and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Anna's Archive for research work and Paper Chaser 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. Paper Chaser 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 paper-chaser-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. Paper Chaser MCP has 49/100 (Fair) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.