Citation Network MCP vs Crossref
A side-by-side look at the Citation Network MCP and Crossref MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Citation Network MCP for research work as a local process; choose Crossref 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 Citation Network MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
SCOPUS_API_KEY.
Choose Crossref when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_works, get_work, get_journal.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 36/100 · Fair | 59/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Not declared |
| Required env vars | SCOPUS_API_KEY | None listed |
Tools & capabilities
Citation Network MCP tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Crossref tools 3
search_worksSearch academic papers, books, and datasets via Crossref. For "search works titled X" / finding a SPECIFIC paper by its title, pass `title` (title-scoped — ranks the exact paper first). Beyond keyword search you can SORT by citation count or publication date and FILTER by date range, work type, author, and JOURNAL (`journal` = a journal name like "Progress in Materials Science" or an ISSN; results are restricted to that journal only) — e.g. "most-cited papers on transformers" (sort=citations), "papers on LLMs since 2024" (from_date=2024-01-01), "recent journal articles by an author". Returns titles, authors, journal, DOIs, citation counts, and dates.get_workGet full metadata for a publication by DOI (e.g., "10.1038/nature12373"). Returns title, authors, abstract, journal, publisher, citations, and subjects.get_journalGet the 5 most recent works from a journal by ISSN (e.g., "2041-1723"). Returns titles, authors, DOIs, and publication dates.
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.
Citation Network MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"citation-network-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"scopus-plus-mcp"
],
"env": {
"SCOPUS_API_KEY": "YOUR_SCOPUS_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Crossref
{
"mcpServers": {
"crossref-2": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-crossref"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Citation Network MCP is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Crossref belongs to Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Citation Network MCP for research work and Crossref 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.
Citation Network MCP is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Crossref 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 citation-network-mcp and crossref-2 as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Citation Network MCP has a quality signal of 36/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Crossref has 59/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.