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Studydiff

Compares two scientific studies, identifies differing methods, and supports each claim with verbatim source text.

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Install Studydiff

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": {
    "studydiff": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "studydiff-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

We couldn’t confirm it starts correctly

The install command started, but didn't respond the way we expected when we tried to talk to it.

npx -y studydiff-mcp

initialize succeeded but no response to tools/list.

This is an experimental automated check and can have false negatives — missing environment variables, a slow cold install, etc. It doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong. Last checked 7d ago.

Overview

The studydiff MCP server compares two scientific papers by extracting their study designs and identifying dimensions that differ. It grounds extracted values and explanations in verbatim source sentences, marking unreported fields instead of inferring them. Reach for it when reviewing conflicting literature before planning an experiment, but treat its difference list as evidence for investigation rather than a ranked explanation.

Use cases

  • Compare two papers with conflicting conclusions
  • Inspect methodological differences before planning an experiment
  • Trace extracted study values back to source sentences
  • Rule out explanations based on identical study dimensions

Key features

  • Compares two scientific study designs
  • Lists divergent methodological dimensions
  • Provides verbatim evidence for extracted claims
  • Marks unstated fields as not reported
  • Runs deterministic grounding checks
  • Avoids ranking a primary disagreement driver

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.

8/8 checks healthy over the last 46d

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No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

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Scanned 2d ago via OSV.dev · studydiff-mcp (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

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

GitHub stars1Stargazers on the source repository.
npm downloads155Package downloads in the last 30 days.
Last commit21d agoMost recent push to the default branch.
Install checkInconclusiveStarted but did not complete the MCP handshake in our test.
Directory activity1 viewsConfig copies, upvotes, and views on AllMCPs.

How Studydiff works

What the studydiff MCP server does

The studydiff MCP server examines two scientific studies that appear to disagree. It extracts details of each study’s design, compares those details, and presents the dimensions where the papers diverge. Examples described by the project include cell type, dose, follow-up period, assay, and analysis choices.

Each reported value is accompanied by the sentence from the source that supports it. If a paper does not state a field, the result marks it as not reported rather than filling the gap with an inference. Identical dimensions are also useful: they can help rule out some methodological explanations for the disagreement.

The intended user is a bench scientist deciding which of two conflicting papers to examine more closely before designing an experiment. The project also provides a live demo and an npm package named studydiff-mcp.

How it works

The comparison starts with two studies. StudyDiff extracts design information from each source, identifies divergent dimensions, and associates extracted values with verbatim evidence. A deterministic grounding check then verifies that extracted values and explanations are supported by quoted source text and traceable numbers. Statements that fail this check are downgraded before they can be used as explanations.

The current behavior deliberately avoids naming one primary driver of the disagreement. An earlier ranking approach used a fixed priority that placed assay differences first. Evaluation showed that this ranking selected assay in a way indistinguishable from repeatedly guessing assay, including on cases where the established cause was something else. The application therefore presents divergent dimensions as an unranked list. Selecting the most important cause still requires domain knowledge outside the tool.

Tools and capabilities

The documented capabilities are:

  • Compare the designs of two scientific studies.
  • Extract study details and expose differences between the papers.
  • Show verbatim source sentences for extracted values and explanations.
  • Mark information absent from the source as not reported.
  • Use identical dimensions to help rule out possible causes.
  • Apply deterministic grounding checks to extracted claims.

The project’s benchmark separates extraction from explanation ranking. On both the development and held-out sets described in the README, the prior ranking identified none of 25 non-assay established causes. The extracted candidate list nevertheless contained the established cause in 10 of 15 development cases and 11 of 15 held-out cases, according to the reported oracle ceilings.

Limitations and notes

The studydiff MCP server does not reliably determine which difference caused a disagreement. Its published evaluation reports strict top-1 accuracy of 13.3% on both a 15-case development set and a separate 15-case held-out set.

Those figures measure the former ranked-driver behavior, not the current unranked presentation. They are important when deciding how much to rely on the output: use the results to inspect methodological differences and their supporting passages, not as an authoritative causal verdict.

The README includes commands for reproducing the benchmark offline and for checking benchmark integrity, including npm run eval and npm run eval:selftest.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

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Frequently Asked Questions about Studydiff

studydiff is an MCP server that compares two scientific studies by extracting their designs and identifying divergent dimensions, with each value and explanation tied to verbatim source text. Its main capabilities are study comparison, evidence quoting, and deterministic grounding checks that mark unstated fields as not reported.

It identifies Node 20 or newer and links an npm package named `studydiff-mcp`, so confirm the repository’s current setup instructions before installing.

No, studydiff does not reliably select the cause of a disagreement or establish which paper is correct. Its current output is an unranked list of divergent dimensions with supporting quotes, leaving causal interpretation to the user’s domain knowledge.

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