Lens vs Find Research Papers
A side-by-side look at the Lens and Find Research Papers MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Lens for research work over a hosted endpoint; choose Find Research Papers 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 Lens when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
create_digital_twin_lens, add_lens_knowledge, get_lens_status.
Choose Find Research Papers when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_papers, get_paper, get_research_method.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 53/100 · Good | 59/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | 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 | 0 | 6 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 3 | 7 |
| Full listing | View Lens | View Find Research Papers |
Tools & capabilities
Lens tools 3
create_digital_twin_lensCreate a shareable Mindola lens (AI clone) from a profile the user has approved in this conversation. Call this only after summarizing the proposed lens for the user and receiving explicit confirmation. Use only information the user provided or confirmed in the conversation; do not claim access to hidden memory, private chats, or external accounts.add_lens_knowledgeAdd text notes or URLs to a Mindola lens created in this conversation (before it is claimed). Content runs through the standard ingest pipeline so the lens can answer from it, with citations.get_lens_statusCheck a Mindola lens: its share URL, whether it has been claimed, and how much of its knowledge has finished ingesting (ready / pending / failed).
Find Research Papers tools 7
search_papersSearch scholarly literature across multiple sources (arXiv, OpenAlex, Crossref, Semantic Scholar, PubMed)get_paperResolve one paper by identifier and return its metadata plus references (papers it cites) and citations (papers citing it) — works even for paywalled papersget_research_methodHouse method for using this server: tiers, rules, source quirks, and verification stepslist_sourcesList every scholarly source the server can search, with coverage, key requirements, and rate limitsskills_listList this server's skills (playbooks): guidance for interpreting results and recovering from errors. Fetch one with skill_readskill_readFetch the full content of one skill by name (see skills_list). Read 'interpreting-errors' whenever a tool returns an error or skipped sourcescheck_for_updatesCheck PyPI for newer versions of find-research-papers-mcp and get upgrade instructions.
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.
Lens
{
"mcpServers": {
"lens-2": {
"url": "https://app.mindola.ai/mcp/lens"
}
}
}
Find Research Papers
{
"mcpServers": {
"find-research-papers": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"find-research-papers-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Lens is categorized under Research and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Find Research Papers belongs to Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Lens for research work and Find Research Papers 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.
Lens has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Find Research Papers 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 lens-2 and find-research-papers as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Lens has a quality signal of 53/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Find Research Papers has 59/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 6 GitHub stars.