Verify academic citations against real databases. Catches hallucinated references, exports BibTeX.
To add refcheck to Claude, run the install command below or copy the ready-made config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code further down. Restart your client after adding it and its tools show up in your next conversation. It needs 5 environment variables, listed below.
Install
uvx refcheck-mcp@0.1.0Environment variables
CROSSREF_EMAILSet in your MCP configS2_API_KEYSet in your MCP configELSEVIER_KEYSet in your MCP configELSEVIER_INSTTOKENSet in your MCP configIEEE_API_KEYSet in your MCP configInstall with your client
claude mcp add refcheck --env CROSSREF_EMAIL=<YOUR_CROSSREF_EMAIL> --env S2_API_KEY=<YOUR_S2_API_KEY> --env ELSEVIER_KEY=<YOUR_ELSEVIER_KEY> --env ELSEVIER_INSTTOKEN=<YOUR_ELSEVIER_INSTTOKEN> --env IEEE_API_KEY=<YOUR_IEEE_API_KEY> -- uvx refcheck-mcp@0.1.0
Run this in a terminal to add the server to Claude Code.
What this does
refcheck exposes a set of tools to Claude over the Model Context Protocol. After you add it to claude_desktop_config.json (snippet above) and restart Claude Desktop, those tools become callable inside any conversation.
Requirements
This server needs the following environment variables to be set before it can run:
CROSSREF_EMAIL S2_API_KEY ELSEVIER_KEY ELSEVIER_INSTTOKEN IEEE_API_KEY
Set these via the env object in your MCP config (see claude_desktop_config.json snippet above).
Frequently asked questions
How do I install refcheck?
Run the Claude Code command in the install section to add refcheck to Claude Code, or copy the ready-made config for your client from the install section on this page. Restart your client afterwards and the tools appear in your next conversation.
Which clients work with refcheck?
This page carries setup and config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code. Any other MCP client that accepts a standard server config can connect to refcheck as well.
Does refcheck need an API key?
Yes. Before it can run, set these environment variables: CROSSREF_EMAIL, S2_API_KEY, ELSEVIER_KEY, ELSEVIER_INSTTOKEN, IEEE_API_KEY. They go in the env block of your MCP config.
Imported from the Official MCP Registry. The details above come from the registry entry; the maker can claim this listing to correct them, add docs, and see its traffic.
Is this your MCP server?
Claim this listing to see its traffic, fix details yourself, and skip the review queue on future updates.
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