OpenAlex

Claude Code

1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:

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

1. Start Claude Code, type /mcp, pick openalex and choose Authenticate. A browser window opens for the OurResearch (OpenAlex) sign-in.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project, not just this one.

Claude Desktop

1. Open Settings → Connectors and click Add custom connector.
2. Name it OpenAlex and paste this URL:

https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp

1. Click Add, then Connect, and sign in when OurResearch (OpenAlex) asks.

Claude Desktop's JSON config file only starts local servers. Remote servers go through Connectors, and connectors you add on claude.ai show up here too.

claude.ai

1. Open the connector form on claude.ai. This button fills in the name and URL for you:

Add to claude.ai a11y.new_tab

1. Check that the URL reads https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp and click Add.
2. Click Connect and sign in when OurResearch (OpenAlex) asks.

Free plans allow one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise plans an owner adds it under Organization settings → Connectors.

ChatGPT

1. On chatgpt.com, open Settings → Security and login and turn on Developer mode.
2. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins and click + to create an app for a remote MCP server.
3. Paste https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp as the server URL and choose OAuth. ChatGPT sends you to OurResearch (OpenAlex) to sign in.

Developer mode is available on the web for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education accounts.

Cursor

Add to Cursor a11y.new_tab

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

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

Cursor shows Needs login next to the server. Click it to sign in.

VS Code

Install in VS Code a11y.new_tab

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"openalex","type":"http","url":"https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"}'

Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:

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

VS Code asks you to sign in the first time the server starts.

Devin Desktop

1. Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):

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

1. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade and sign in when asked.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf. It reads serverUrl (or url) for remote servers.

Codex

codex mcp add openalex --url https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp
codex mcp login openalex

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

[mcp_servers.openalex]
url = "https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp"

Gemini CLI

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

Then, inside Gemini CLI, run /mcp auth openalex to sign in.

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients accept this shape. Some name the URL field differently: serverUrl in Devin Desktop, httpUrl in Gemini CLI's settings file.

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

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings. Cline needs "type": "streamableHttp", or it assumes SSE.

Client only starts local servers? Bridge it with npx -y mcp-remote https://mcp.openalex.org/mcp.

listing.em.badge

[![OpenAlex on mcp.tc](https://mcp.tc/i/openalex/badge.svg)](https://mcp.tc/i/openalex)

<a href="https://mcp.tc/i/openalex"><img src="https://mcp.tc/i/openalex/badge.svg" alt="OpenAlex on mcp.tc" height="20"></a>

listing.em.badge_note

listing.em.widget

<script src="https://mcp.tc/w/openalex.js" async></script>

listing.em.widget_note

iframe

<iframe src="https://mcp.tc/embed/openalex" title="OpenAlex on mcp.tc" width="420" height="200" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write" style="border:0;border-radius:8px;max-width:100%"></iframe>

listing.em.iframe_note

JSON

listing.em.json

https://mcp.tc/i/openalex.json

listing.em.fields