Crossref vs Zenodo MCP Server
A side-by-side look at the Crossref and Zenodo MCP Server 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 Zenodo MCP Server 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 Zenodo MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
zenodo_search_records, zenodo_get_record, zenodo_list_versions.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 60/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 1 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 3 | 6 |
| Full listing | View Crossref | View Zenodo MCP Server |
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.
Zenodo MCP Server tools 6
zenodo_search_recordsSearch deposits by keyword plus type, community, funder, grant, ORCID, file type, license, access, and date filters, with facet countszenodo_get_recordResolve one deposit from a record id, DOI, concept DOI, or URL to its full metadata, first 25 files, and an optional citationzenodo_list_versionsList every version of a deposit's version series, newest firstzenodo_list_filesPage a deposit's file manifest, or list the members of one of its `.zip` fileszenodo_read_fileRead a byte-capped text excerpt of one file or `.zip` memberzenodo_lookup_vocabularyResolve community, funder, grant, license, and resource-type names to the ids search filters take
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"
]
}
}
}
Zenodo MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"zenodo-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": [
"@cyanheads/zenodo-mcp-server@latest"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Crossref is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Zenodo MCP Server belongs to Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Crossref for research work and Zenodo MCP Server 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. Zenodo MCP Server 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 crossref-2 and zenodo-mcp-server 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. Zenodo MCP Server has 56/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars.