Crossref vs Magic MCP
A side-by-side look at the Crossref and Magic MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Crossref for research work as a local process; choose Magic MCP for architecture & design as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Crossref when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
search_works, get_work, get_journal.
Choose Magic MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Architecture & Design domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEY, API_KEY_21ST.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Architecture & Design |
| Quality signal | 60/100 · Good | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | API key required |
| Pricing | Free | Paid service |
| Required env vars | None listed | TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEYAPI_KEY_21ST |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 6,209 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 16 views 1 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 3 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Crossref | View Magic MCP |
Tools & capabilities
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.
Magic MCP tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from 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.
Crossref
{
"mcpServers": {
"crossref-2": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-crossref"
]
}
}
}
Magic MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"21st-dev-magic-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@21st-dev/cli@latest"
],
"env": {
"TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEY": "YOUR_TWENTY_FIRST_API_KEY_HERE",
"API_KEY_21ST": "YOUR_API_KEY_21ST_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Crossref is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Magic MCP belongs to Architecture & Design and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Crossref for research work and Magic MCP for architecture & design.
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.
Crossref is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Magic MCP is listed as a paid service. Auth: api key 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 crossref-2 and 21st-dev-magic-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Crossref has a quality signal of 60/100 (Good) with 3 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Magic MCP has 53/100 (Good) with 16 views, 1 installs and 6,209 GitHub stars.