PubScope MCP Server

Connect your AI assistant to PubScope — free journal intelligence for researchers. This remote MCP (Model Context Protocol) server gives Claude, Cursor, VS Code and any MCP-compatible client live access to 46,000+ verified academic journals: trust scores, SJR quartiles, indexing status (Scopus / Web of Science / DOAJ), APCs, and reference verification — instead of guessing from training data.

Code

Endpoint:  https://pubscope.org/api/mcp
Transport: Streamable HTTP
Auth:      none — no API key required
Cost:      free (fair-use rate limits)

Full setup guide: pubscope.org/mcp

Tools

Tool	Arguments	What it does
`search_journals`	`query`, `quartile?`, `open_access_only?`, `max_results?`	Search 46,000+ journals by title, ISSN or topic. Returns trust score, SJR quartile, indexing (Scopus / WoS / DOAJ), open-access status and APC.
`get_journal`	`issn`	Full profile of one journal — trust score breakdown, indexing credentials, publisher, quartile, APC and integrity flags.
`compare_journals`	`issns` (2–4)	Side-by-side comparison of 2–4 journals on trust, quartile, indexing and cost.
`check_citations`	`references`	Verify a pasted reference list against Crossref, OpenAlex and the Retraction Watch database — flags fabricated, unresolvable and retracted references.

Setup

Claude (web & desktop)

Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector → paste the endpoint URL. No authentication — leave the OAuth fields empty.

Code

https://pubscope.org/api/mcp

Claude Code (CLI)

Terminal

claude mcp add --transport http pubscope https://pubscope.org/api/mcp

Cursor

Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server, or add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pubscope": {
      "url": "https://pubscope.org/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code (GitHub Copilot)

bash

code --add-mcp '{"name":"pubscope","type":"http","url":"https://pubscope.org/api/mcp"}'

Any other MCP client (stdio bridge)

Clients that only speak stdio can bridge to the remote server with mcp-remote:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pubscope": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://pubscope.org/api/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Things to try

"Find Q1 open-access journals on medical image segmentation and compare the top three."
"Is Medical Image Analysis indexed in Web of Science? What's its trust score?"
"Here's my reference list — check every citation for fabrication and retractions."
"Compare 1361-8415 and 1533-7928 on cost and indexing."

Data & integrity

Every fact the server returns comes from verifiable third-party sources — Scimago (SJR), DOAJ, Web of Science membership records, OpenAlex, Crossref and the Retraction Watch database. Nothing is fabricated, and absence from an index is never presented as a risk verdict. Methodology: pubscope.org/methodology.

Fair use

The server is free and unauthenticated, with per-IP rate limits to keep it available for everyone. For higher-volume or commercial access, get in touch.

About

PubScope is a free academic journal intelligence platform: journal verification, AI-powered journal finding, manuscript review-readiness scanning and citation checking. pubscope.org

License

This documentation repository is MIT-licensed. The PubScope service itself is subject to its terms.