A side-by-side look at the Citation Network MCP and Octagon Deep Research MCP 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 Octagon Deep Research MCP for research as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
SCOPUS_API_KEY.OCTAGON_API_KEY.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 36/100 · Fair | 44/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Freemium |
| Required env vars | SCOPUS_API_KEY | OCTAGON_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 93 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Citation Network MCP | View Octagon Deep Research MCP |
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
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.
{
"mcpServers": {
"citation-network-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"scopus-plus-mcp"
],
"env": {
"SCOPUS_API_KEY": "YOUR_SCOPUS_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
{
"mcpServers": {
"octagonai-octagon-deep-research-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"octagon-deep-research-mcp"
],
"env": {
"OCTAGON_API_KEY": "YOUR_OCTAGON_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}