What is the key difference between Thoth and Upriver?

Thoth belongs to the Research category with cloud HTTP/SSE execution, while Upriver belongs to the Research category with cloud HTTP/SSE execution.

How do I install Thoth or Upriver 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 Thoth and Upriver free or paid?

Thoth operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). Upriver operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Thoth lists 6 tools with 2 views and 1 GitHub stars. Upriver lists 2 tools with 1 views and 0 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Thoth and Upriver 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

Thoth vs Upriver

In-depth architectural comparison of the Thoth and Upriver 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

Thoth

Research · Remote HTTP/SSE

Quality: 35/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Upriver

Research · Remote HTTP/SSE

Quality: 47/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Thoth if you need specialized Research tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose Upriver 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 Thoth when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: Read-only literature-review access, Per-claim citation audit results, Review drafts with quality scores.

Explore Thoth Details

Choose Upriver when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the Research domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: breakout_search_topics, breakout_list_topics.

Explore Upriver Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Thoth Research	Upriver Research
Summary	Read-only MCP over an agentic SLR workspace with per-claim citation verification	Know what's gaining traction online: breakout topics in tech, sports & politics, with citations.
Category & Scope	Research	Research
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Thoth Tools (6)

Read-only literature-review access

Per-claim citation audit results

Review drafts with quality scores

Discovery paper and screening status

Generated search queries and provider errors

OAuth 2.1 with PKCE authentication

Upriver Tools (2)

breakout_search_topics

Search breakout topics by keyword.

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).

Thoth Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thoth": {
      "url": "https://thoth-slr.vercel.app/api/mcp/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Upriver Configuration