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Pubcrawl

Searches biomedical literature, drug labels, and clinical trials through an MCP-compatible assistant.

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Install Pubcrawl

Pick your client, then add it in one click or paste the config.

STDIONode.js
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pubcrawl": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pharmatools/pubcrawl"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Settings → Developer → Edit Config, merge this into mcpServers, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

Install not yet sandbox-tested— we haven't run this command through our automated sandbox yet. Not a red flag; we're working through the catalog.

Overview

The pubcrawl MCP server gives AI assistants access to PubMed, Europe PMC, FDA and UK drug labelling, and ClinicalTrials.gov. It exposes 14 deterministic tools for literature searches, abstracts, full text, citations, regulatory labels, and trial records, with identifiers and source links for verification. Reach for it when researching biomedical evidence, comparing US and UK product information, or locating clinical trials without building separate API clients.

Use cases

  • Search PubMed for recent clinical evidence
  • Compare US and UK drug labelling
  • Find recruiting trials by condition and phase
  • Retrieve open-access article full text
  • Format biomedical citations

Key features

  • PubMed and Europe PMC search
  • Structured abstracts and open-access full text
  • USPI and UK SmPC retrieval
  • US and UK label comparison
  • ClinicalTrials.gov search and trial details
  • APA, Vancouver, Harvard, and BibTeX citations

Security & health

What it can reach and how reliably it runs — from our own checks, not the maintainer’s claims.

ActiveLast checked 1d ago

Recent health check succeeded.

Supply-chain signal

No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

Critical 0High 0Medium 0Low 0

Scanned 12d ago via OSV.dev · @pharmatools/pubcrawl (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

Factual signals from GitHub, npm, and our automated checks — not a rating.

GitHub stars15Stargazers on the source repository.
npm downloads1.4kPackage downloads in the last 30 days.
Last commit6d agoMost recent push to the default branch.
Directory activity4 viewsConfig copies, upvotes, and views on AllMCPs.

How Pubcrawl works

What pubcrawl MCP server does

The pubcrawl MCP server connects an MCP-compatible AI assistant to biomedical information sources used by researchers and clinicians. Its tools cover three areas: literature, drug labelling, and clinical trials. Results include source identifiers such as PMIDs, NCT IDs, and DOIs where available, allowing retrieved information to be checked against the originating service.

Literature tools search PubMed and Europe PMC, retrieve structured abstracts or open-access full text, find related articles, format citations, and identify recent or high-impact papers. Europe PMC searches can include preprints and patents, with filters for preprints and open-access content. Drug tools resolve generic and brand names, retrieve US Prescribing Information and UK Summaries of Product Characteristics, compare those labels, and search for drugs approved for a condition. Trial tools search ClinicalTrials.gov and retrieve detailed records by NCT ID.

This makes the pubcrawl MCP server suitable for evidence discovery, regulatory copy review, literature preparation, and trial screening in the Biology, Medicine and Bioinformatics category.

How it works

Each tool is described as a thin wrapper around an official external API. The MCP client sends a natural-language request to the selected tool, and the server returns data from the relevant source rather than generating a substitute record. The available sources include PubMed, Europe PMC, openFDA, DailyMed references, the UK electronic Medicines Compendium, and ClinicalTrials.gov.

The server can also support cross-source workflows. For example, an assistant can retrieve a drug label, compare US and UK sections, and then search for related clinical trials or publications. Label comparison maps corresponding sections so differences in indications, warnings, contraindications, or dosing can be reviewed side by side.

Setup and configuration

Add the package to an MCP client configuration using npx; the client fetches it on first use, so a separate installation step is not required. A Claude Desktop configuration uses the @pharmatools/pubcrawl package with the pubcrawl server name and the npx -y arguments. After saving the configuration, restart the client to connect the server.

No API key is required for the standard setup.

Tools and capabilities

  • Search PubMed with date, article-type, and sort filters.
  • Search Europe PMC for articles, preprints, and patents.
  • Retrieve abstracts, open-access full text, related papers, and formatted citations.
  • Resolve drug names and retrieve or compare US and UK labels.
  • Search ClinicalTrials.gov and inspect trial eligibility, design, outcomes, locations, and related publications.

Limitations and notes

Full-text retrieval is described for open-access articles from PubMed Central; the material does not indicate access to paywalled full text. Drug-label and trial results depend on the underlying external sources. The optional NCBI key only affects PubMed rate limits, and no key is needed for the basic configuration.

The pubcrawl MCP server is reported as compatible with Claude Desktop and Cursor, as well as other MCP-compatible clients. The provided setup instructions specifically document Claude Desktop configuration. The project is licensed under MIT.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

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Frequently Asked Questions about Pubcrawl

Add `npx` with `-y` and `@pharmatools/pubcrawl` to your MCP client configuration. No separate install step is required.

Yes. The README provides a Claude Desktop configuration using the `pubcrawl` server name and the `@pharmatools/pubcrawl` npm package.

Yes. Cursor is listed as an MCP-compatible client for the server.

No API key is required for the standard setup. An optional free NCBI key can increase PubMed rate limits.

It can search PubMed, Europe PMC, and ClinicalTrials.gov, and retrieve drug labelling from US and UK sources.

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