FastMCP server for scholarly papers, patents, books and standards with docling PDF conversion
To add Scholar MCP 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 24 environment variables, listed below.
Install
uvx pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp@2.0.0Environment variables
SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URLSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOWSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENYSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAMESet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTIONSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRASet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONSSet in your MCP configFASTMCP_LOG_LEVELSet in your MCP configFASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGINGSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKENSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLYSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEYSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URLSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URLSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEYSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODELSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIRSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAILSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEYSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRETSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEYSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_SSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_SSet in your MCP configSCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECTSet in your MCP configInstall with your client
claude mcp add scholar --env SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS> --env FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL=<YOUR_FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL> --env FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING=<YOUR_FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING> --env SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S> --env SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT=<YOUR_SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT> -- uvx pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp@2.0.0
Run this in a terminal to add the server to Claude Code.
What this does
Scholar MCP 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:
SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT
Set these via the env object in your MCP config (see claude_desktop_config.json snippet above).
Frequently asked questions
How do I install Scholar MCP?
Run the Claude Code command in the install section to add Scholar MCP 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 Scholar MCP?
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 Scholar MCP as well.
Does Scholar MCP need an API key?
Yes. Before it can run, set these environment variables: SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW, SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY, SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME, SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION, SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA, SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS, FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL, FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING, SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN, SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY, SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY, SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY, SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL, SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR, SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL, SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY, SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET, SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY, SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S, SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S, SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT. 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.
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