Crossref vs Dsh Lit Search
A side-by-side look at the Crossref and Dsh Lit Search 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 Dsh Lit Search 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 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 Dsh Lit Search 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
lit_search, lit_cite, lit_bib.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 60/100 · Good | 55/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | No auth required |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 3 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Crossref | View Dsh Lit Search |
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.
Dsh Lit Search tools 4
lit_searchKeyword search merged across Crossref / OpenAlex / Semantic Scholar, deduplicated by DOI, with citation counts. Options: `limit`, `year_from`, `year_to`, `sort` (citations/date/relevance).lit_citeFormat a citation for a DOI: `gbt7714` (default, Chinese standard), `gbt7714-numeric`, `apa`, `bibtex`.lit_bibBatch BibTeX entries for a list of DOIs (reports which DOIs failed).lit_relatedRelated works for a DOI via OpenAlex.
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"
]
}
}
}
Dsh Lit Search
{
"mcpServers": {
"dsh-lit-search": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"dsh-lit-search-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Crossref is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Dsh Lit Search belongs to Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Crossref for research work and Dsh Lit Search 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.
Crossref is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. Dsh Lit Search 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 crossref-2 and dsh-lit-search 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. Dsh Lit Search has 55/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.