A side-by-side look at the Datacite MCP Server 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 Datacite MCP Server 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.
datacite_search_works, datacite_get_work, datacite_trace_relations.zenodo_search_records, zenodo_get_record, zenodo_list_versions.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 56/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 1 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 6 | 6 |
| Full listing | View Datacite MCP Server | View Zenodo MCP Server |
datacite_search_worksSearch works by plain text or query syntax plus structured filters, in ranked pages or a full cursor walk, with optional facet countsdatacite_get_workFetch the full deposited metadata for one DOI, or learn which registration agency holds a DOI DataCite doesn'tdatacite_trace_relationsMap the relation graph around any DOI — versions, parts, supplements, derivations, citations — with each edge's sourcedatacite_search_repositoriesFind repository accounts by text, field of science, type, certificate, software, or provider, and get the `repositoryId` work search filters ondatacite_get_citationRender a DOI as a formatted citation in a CSL style and locale, or as BibTeX, RIS, CSL JSON, and other machine formatsdatacite_list_referenceLook up the vocabularies, identifier forms, and coverage rules the other tools accept, offlinezenodo_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 takePaste 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": {
"datacite-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": [
"@cyanheads/datacite-mcp-server@latest"
]
}
}
}
{
"mcpServers": {
"zenodo-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": [
"@cyanheads/zenodo-mcp-server@latest"
]
}
}
}