# Papers by Ouroboros Apps (remote · papers-mcp.vercel.app)

Research paper search with real citations and reference formatting for AI assistants

- Trust score: 91/100 (high trust)
- Change this week: +3
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- remote · `papers-mcp.vercel.app`: 91/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/lahutchins91-papers/papers-mcp.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/lahutchins91-papers/papers-mcp)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `required`
- Version: `1.0.1`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-11-05.

- **Endpoint Security**: 94/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - Authorisation is enforced on tool calls, advertised via RFC 9728 protected-resource metadata. Discovery is public, which costs nothing: no tool can be invoked without a token.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
  - The authorisation server offers only Dynamic Client Registration (RFC 7591), which MCP 2026-07-28 deprecated in favour of Client ID Metadata Documents.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 70/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Tool/resource definitions use about 496 tokens (~124/item across 4 items; 4 tools + 0 resources), lean.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 100/100
  - No destabilizing schema changes in the last 30 days.
- **Tool Coverage**: 82/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 38% of tool parameters carry a description.
  - Structured output schemas are declared (100% of tools); any adoption earns full credit.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 4 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 5 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.

## Install

### How do I install the Papers by Ouroboros Apps MCP server?

Papers by Ouroboros Apps is a hosted endpoint at https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http lahutchins91-papers 'https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lahutchins91-papers": {
      "url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "lahutchins91-papers": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.lahutchins91-papers]
url = "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "lahutchins91-papers": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add lahutchins91-papers --url 'https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  lahutchins91-papers:
    url: "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "lahutchins91-papers": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add lahutchins91-papers -t streamable-http -u 'https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lahutchins91-papers": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-11-04 (score 91, +1)

- [security] Stability: 0.97 → pass

### 2026-11-02 (score 90, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 90 to 93. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 27 days of observed history at the previous scan, 28 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-31 (score 89, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 83 to 87. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 25 days of observed history at the previous scan, 26 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-28 (score 88, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 73 to 77. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 22 days of observed history at the previous scan, 23 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-26 (score 87, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 67 to 70. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 20 days of observed history at the previous scan, 21 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-24 (score 86, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 60 to 63. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 18 days of observed history at the previous scan, 19 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-22 (score 85, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 53 to 57. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 16 days of observed history at the previous scan, 17 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-20 (score 84, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 47 to 50. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 14 days of observed history at the previous scan, 15 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

## MCP tools (4)

### `search_papers` (~175 tokens)

Search papers

Search peer-reviewed and preprint records by question or keywords. Filters: year_from, year_to, field, open_access, and source (openalex, semantic_scholar, pubmed, crossref, arxiv, or all). Returns only works those APIs returned, each with a source link and an identifier. An empty list means the APIs returned nothing. Do not invent papers to fill a gap.

Input parameters:

- `field` (string): Subject area, such as Medicine or Computer Science
- `limit` (integer): Maximum papers to return. Defaults to 8.
- `open_access` (boolean)
- `query` (string, required): Question or keywords
- `source` (string): Index to search. Defaults to all, which mixes sources.
- `year_from` (integer)
- `year_to` (integer)

Output parameters:

- `data`

### `get_paper` (~86 tokens)

Get paper

Fetch one paper's title, authors, year, venue, and abstract by DOI, PMID, arXiv id, or OpenAlex work id. Metadata comes from the API that resolved the identifier. If no source returns a record, say so. Do not guess the abstract.

Input parameters:

- `identifier` (string, required): DOI, PMID, arXiv id, or OpenAlex work id

Output parameters:

- `data`

### `find_related_papers` (~72 tokens)

Find related papers

List papers that cite a work (relation cited_by) or papers that work cites (relation references). Every row is an API hit. An empty list means the API returned none, not that none exist.

Input parameters:

- `identifier` (string, required)
- `limit` (integer)
- `relation` (string, required)

Output parameters:

- `data`

### `format_citation` (~84 tokens)

Format citation

Format a real paper in APA, MLA, Chicago author-date, or BibTeX using metadata fetched for the identifier. Titles are kept as the source provided them. Author particles may need a human check because display names are split mechanically. If the paper cannot be resolved, do not hand-write a citation.

Input parameters:

- `identifier` (string, required)
- `style` (string, required)

Output parameters:

- `data`

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/lahutchins91-papers/papers-mcp#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 91
- 2026-11-04: 91
- 2026-11-03: 90
- 2026-11-02: 90
- 2026-11-01: 89
- 2026-10-31: 89
- 2026-10-30: 88
- 2026-10-29: 88
- 2026-10-28: 88
- 2026-10-27: 87
- 2026-10-26: 87
- 2026-10-25: 86
- 2026-10-24: 86
- 2026-10-23: 85
- 2026-10-22: 85
- 2026-10-21: 84
- 2026-10-20: 84
- 2026-10-19: 83
- 2026-10-18: 83
- 2026-10-17: 82
- 2026-10-16: 82
- 2026-10-15: 81
- 2026-10-14: 81
- 2026-10-13: 81
- 2026-10-12: 80
- 2026-10-10: 79
- 2026-10-07: 78
- 2026-10-05: 77

## Common questions

### What is the Papers by Ouroboros Apps MCP server?

Papers by Ouroboros Apps is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.LAHutchins91/papers. Research paper search with real citations and reference formatting for AI assistants. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp).

### Is the Papers by Ouroboros Apps MCP server safe to use?

Papers by Ouroboros Apps scores 91 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the Papers by Ouroboros Apps MCP server expose?

Papers by Ouroboros Apps exposes 4 tools: search_papers, get_paper, find_related_papers, format_citation. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 417 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the Papers by Ouroboros Apps MCP server require authentication?

Yes. Papers by Ouroboros Apps asked us for credentials when we connected, so you will need to authorise it in your MCP client before it can do anything.

### Is the Papers by Ouroboros Apps MCP server still maintained?

Papers by Ouroboros Apps is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://papers-mcp.vercel.app/mcp
- Repository: https://github.com/LAHutchins91/papers-mcp
- Website: https://ouroborosapps.com/docs/papers
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/lahutchins91-papers/papers-mcp.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/lahutchins91-papers/papers-mcp.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/lahutchins91-papers/papers-mcp