What is the key difference between Paperboy and Source Library?

Paperboy belongs to the Research category with local stdio execution, while Source Library belongs to the Research category with cloud HTTP/SSE execution.

How do I install Paperboy or Source Library in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Paperboy and Source Library free or paid?

Paperboy operates under a Free / Open Source model (API Key required). Source Library operates under a BYOK (Pay Provider Direct) model (API Key required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Paperboy lists 6 tools with 3 views and 7 GitHub stars. Source Library lists 6 tools with 2 views and 17 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Paperboy and Source Library together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Paperboy vs Source Library

In-depth architectural comparison of the Paperboy and Source Library MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Paperboy

Research · Local stdio

Quality: 45/100 (Fair) | Auth: API Key required

Source Library

Research · Remote HTTP/SSE

Quality: 44/100 (Fair) | Auth: API Key required

Verdict Summary: Choose Paperboy if you need specialized Research tools running via a local process. Choose Source Library if your workspace requires Research integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Paperboy when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: API Key required (Free / Open Source).
You have access to required keys: ZOTERO_API_KEY, ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID, SMTP_HOST, SMTP_PORT, SMTP_USERNAME, SMTP_PASSWORD, DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN, DROPBOX_FOLDER.
Primary tools included: Search papers by arXiv ID, DOI, or title with fuzzy matching, Recommend related papers using Semantic Scholar citation graph, Queue papers in Zotero Reading Queue collection with duplicate protection.

Explore Paperboy Details

Choose Source Library when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Paperboy michaelellis003 Research	Source Library Research
Summary	Send research papers from Claude to a Kindle or Kobo, with Zotero as the source of truth. Searches arXiv and OpenAlex, recommends related work via the Semantic Scholar citation graph, queues papers in a Zotero collection, and delivers the PDFs by email or Dropbox. Receipts report file sizes and name anything that could not be sent.	Search rare historical texts with OCR, translations & DOI citations.
Category & Scope	Research

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Paperboy Tools (6)

Search papers by arXiv ID, DOI, or title with fuzzy matching

Recommend related papers using Semantic Scholar citation graph

Queue papers in Zotero Reading Queue collection with duplicate protection

Send papers via SMTP email or Dropbox API with device-specific constraints

Catalog books by ISBN, DOI, or title as Zotero book items

Attach PDFs with metadata and optionally send to e-reader

Source Library Tools (6)

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Paperboy Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "michaelellis003-paperboy": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "michaelellis003-paperboy"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "YOUR_ZOTERO_API_KEY_HERE",
        "ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID": "YOUR_ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID_HERE",
        "SMTP_HOST": "YOUR_SMTP_HOST_HERE",
        "SMTP_PORT": "YOUR_SMTP_PORT_HERE",
        "SMTP_USERNAME": "YOUR_SMTP_USERNAME_HERE",
        "SMTP_PASSWORD": "YOUR_SMTP_PASSWORD_HERE",
        "DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN": "YOUR_DROPBOX_ACCESS_TOKEN_HERE",
        "DROPBOX_FOLDER": "YOUR_DROPBOX_FOLDER_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Source Library Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "source-library": {
      "url": "https://img.shields.io/badge/License-AGPL%20v3-blue.svg)](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0"
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Paperboy is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Source Library belongs to Research using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select Paperboy when you need capabilities focused on research and Source Library when you require tools for research.

More alternatives to Paperboy More alternatives to Source Library Research category hub