Papers vs Refd
A side-by-side look at the Papers and Refd MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Papers for research work as a local process; choose Refd for research over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Papers when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
Choose Refd when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
JWT_SECRET, BRIGHTDATA_API_TOKEN, BRIGHTDATA_WEBHOOK_SECRET, ADMIN_EMAILS, EXA_API_KEY, PUBLIC_BASE_URL, DASHBOARD_ORIGIN, PUBLIC_SITE_ORIGIN.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Research | Research |
| Quality signal | 40/100 · Fair | 40/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | JWT_SECRETBRIGHTDATA_API_TOKENBRIGHTDATA_WEBHOOK_SECRETADMIN_EMAILSEXA_API_KEYPUBLIC_BASE_URLDASHBOARD_ORIGINPUBLIC_SITE_ORIGIN |
Tools & capabilities
Papers tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Refd tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
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.
Papers
{
"mcpServers": {
"papers": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"agentpub"
]
}
}
}
Refd
{
"mcpServers": {
"refd": {
"url": "https://api.refd.ai/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Papers is categorized under Research and uses a local stdio subprocess. Refd belongs to Research and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Papers for research work and Refd 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.
Papers has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Refd 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 papers and refd as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Papers has a quality signal of 40/100 (Fair) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Refd has 40/100 (Fair) with 1 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars.