OpenAlex MCP server

OpenAlex is the official remote MCP server from openalex.org. It answers at https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp over streamable HTTP and asks you to sign in with your openalex.org account before it lists its tools, so your client opens a login the first time it connects. Our probes reached it 4 of 4 times since 23 September 2026; the last check, on 7 November 2026, got the sign-in challenge, so it is up.

Search 250M+ research papers, citations and author profiles. Free OpenAlex account; OAuth sign-in.

Description as the publisher wrote it.

What OpenAlex needs before it works

A sign-in. The server refused to list its tools to an anonymous client and answered with an authentication challenge, which is how an MCP server protected by OAuth behaves. Add it with one of the setups below; the first connection opens a login for your openalex.org account, and the tools appear once you have approved it.

Add OpenAlex to your AI client

Every block below points at https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp. Pick your client and copy.

claude mcp add --transport http openalex https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "url": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "servers": {
    "openalex": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "context_servers": {
    "openalex": {
      "url": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "serverUrl": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "url": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

name: OpenAlex
version: 0.0.1
schema: v1
mcpServers:
  - name: OpenAlex
    type: streamable-http
    url: https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "httpUrl": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openalex": {
      "url": "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}

goose://extension?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmcp.openalex.org%2Fmcp&type=streamable_http&id=openalex&name=OpenAlex

Is OpenAlex up right now?

It answered our last check on 7 November 2026 in 126 ms. Over 4 checks since 23 September 2026 it answered 4. Status here comes from Neuronto's own probes, not from the publisher.

MCP servers similar to OpenAlex

Questions about OpenAlex

Is there an official OpenAlex MCP server?

Yes. It is published by openalex.org and served from mcp.openalex.org, the vendor's own domain: https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp.

How do I sign in to OpenAlex?

Add the server with a setup above. The first time your client connects it opens the sign-in page for openalex.org; approve it and the tools load.

Is OpenAlex down?

It answered our last check on 7 November 2026 in 126 ms. Over 4 checks since 23 September 2026 it answered 4.

How do I add OpenAlex to Cursor?

Put the server under mcpServers in ~/.cursor/mcp.json with the URL https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp. The exact JSON is above, with the same setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, Gemini CLI and the rest.

Does OpenAlex need an API key?

It needs a sign-in rather than a key you paste: the server answered with an authentication challenge, so your client runs the login when it first connects.

Where this comes from

Publisher: org.openalex. Endpoint host: mcp.openalex.org. ARD identifier: urn:air:org.openalex:mcp:openalex. First indexed 22 September 2026. The tools are exactly what the server returned; nothing on this page is inferred from its name. Ranking in Neuronto search is never for sale.