# SciX / NASA ADS (pypi · scix-client)

Search the astronomy and physics literature (SciX / NASA ADS): papers, citations, metrics, BibTeX.

- Trust score: 80/100 (high trust)
- Change this week: 0
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- mcpb · `scix-v0.4.1.mcpb`: 9/100, [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix)
- pypi · `scix-client`: 80/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix-client.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix-client)

## Channel facts

- Registry: `pypi`
- Package: `scix-client`
- Version: `0.4.1`
- Transport: `stdio`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically from public evidence about the published package, including repeated runs of it in an isolated sandbox, 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.

- **Supply Chain Security**: 100/100
  - No malware found by supply-chain analysis.
  - No known CVEs affecting this package version or its production dependencies.
  - Runs maturin at install time, a recognised build step with no custom scripting around it.
  - No production dependencies, so there is no dependency health to assess.
- **Provenance & Transparency**: 97/100
  - Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL.
  - Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to yipihey/scix-client).
  - Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).
  - Actively maintained (last published 13 days ago).
  - Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 81/100
  - 100% of prompts and resources have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the item's name).
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Tool/resource definitions use about 1238 tokens (~88/item across 14 items; 12 tools + 2 resources), lean.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 0/100
  - Stability not yet verified: not enough scan history yet (needs a 30-day window).
- **Tool Coverage**: 98/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 94% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 12 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 14 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 60/100
  - Spec-recency check failed: implements MCP spec 2025-06-18; the latest is 2026-07-28.

**Unverified: 1 category.** A category scored 0 because we could not verify it: a data source with nothing on this package, evidence we could not reach, or a check we could not run. We only credit what we can confirm.

## Install

### How do I install the SciX / NASA ADS MCP server?

SciX / NASA ADS runs locally as a PyPI package, launched with uvx scix-client. 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 yipihey-scix -- uvx scix-client
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "yipihey-scix": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "scix-client"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "yipihey-scix": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "scix-client"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add yipihey-scix -- uvx scix-client
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "yipihey-scix": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "uvx",
        "scix-client"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add yipihey-scix --command uvx --arg scix-client
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  yipihey-scix:
    command: "uvx"
    args: ["scix-client"]
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "yipihey-scix": {
      "Transport": "stdio",
      "Command": "uvx",
      "Arguments": [
        "scix-client"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add yipihey-scix -t stdio -c uvx -a scix-client
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "yipihey-scix": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "scix-client"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## 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.

### 2026-11-05 (score 80, +15)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass

### 2026-11-03 (score 65, −15)

- [security regression] Malware scan: pass → unverified

### 2026-11-02 (score 80, +15)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass

### 2026-10-30 (score 65, −15)

- [security regression] Malware scan: pass → unverified

### 2026-10-29 (score 80, +15)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass

### 2026-10-28 (score 65, −15)

- [security regression] Malware scan: pass → unverified

### 2026-10-23 (score 80, +15)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass

### 2026-10-22 (score 65)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (12)

### `scix_search` (~248 tokens)

Find scientific papers. The authoritative index for astronomy, astrophysics and physics literature (SciX / NASA ADS) — prefer this over web search for any question about papers, authors, citations or references. Use this (not scix_resolve_reference) when a paper is known only by author and year. Build a field query rather than free text: author:"Abel, T" year:2002 bibstem:Sci finds one paper where the free-text 'Abel Bryan Norman 2002 Science' finds the wrong one. The journal field is bibstem (Sci, ApJ, MNRAS, A&A) — there is no journal: field. Also supports title:, abstract:, boolean operators, and the functional operators citations(), references(), similar().

Input parameters:

- `fields` (string): Comma-separated fields to return
- `query` (string, required): ADS query string (e.g., 'author:"Einstein" year:1905')
- `rows` (integer): Max results (default 10)
- `sort` (string): Sort order (e.g., 'date desc', 'citation_count desc')
- `start` (integer): Starting index for pagination (default 0)

### `scix_bigquery` (~53 tokens)

Search within a set of known bibcodes. Useful for filtering a collection of papers.

Input parameters:

- `bibcodes` (array, required): List of bibcodes to search within
- `query` (string): Optional additional query filter

### `scix_export` (~72 tokens)

Export papers in citation formats (bibtex, ris, aastex, mnras, ieee, csl, etc.).

Input parameters:

- `bibcodes` (array, required): Bibcodes to export
- `format` (string): Export format (bibtex, ris, aastex, mnras, ieee, csl, etc.)

### `scix_metrics` (~42 tokens)

Get citation metrics (h-index, g-index, citation counts) for a set of papers.

Input parameters:

- `bibcodes` (array, required): Bibcodes to get metrics for

### `scix_library` (~132 tokens)

Manage SciX personal libraries (list, get, create, edit, delete, permissions, transfer).

Input parameters:

- `action` (string, required)
- `description` (string): Library description (for create/edit)
- `email` (string): Collaborator email (for update_permissions/transfer)
- `id` (string): Library ID (for get/edit/delete/permissions/update_permissions/transfer)
- `name` (string): Library name (for create/edit)
- `permission` (string): Permission level: owner, admin, write, read (for update_permissions)
- `public` (boolean): Public visibility (for create/edit)

### `scix_library_documents` (~157 tokens)

Manage documents in a SciX library: add/remove bibcodes, notes, set operations (union/intersection/difference/copy/empty), or add by search query.

Input parameters:

- `action` (string, required)
- `bibcode` (string): Single bibcode (for note operations)
- `bibcodes` (array): Bibcodes to add/remove
- `content` (string): Note content (for add_note/edit_note)
- `libraries` (array): Source library IDs (for set operations: union/intersection/difference/copy)
- `library_id` (string, required): Library ID
- `query` (string): Search query (for add_by_query)
- `rows` (integer): Max documents to add by query (default 50)

### `scix_citation_helper` (~41 tokens)

Find papers frequently co-cited with the given set but not yet included.

Input parameters:

- `bibcodes` (array, required): Bibcodes for co-citation analysis

### `scix_network` (~40 tokens)

Get author collaboration or paper citation network data.

Input parameters:

- `bibcodes` (array, required): Bibcodes for network analysis
- `type` (string): Network type

### `scix_object_search` (~45 tokens)

Resolve astronomical object names (M31, NGC 1234, Crab Nebula) via SIMBAD/NED.

Input parameters:

- `objects` (array, required): Object names to resolve

### `scix_resolve_reference` (~138 tokens)

Turn a COMPLETE citation into a bibcode. Requires journal, volume and page, as they appear in a reference list — 'Abel, T., Bryan, G. L., & Norman, M. L. 2002, Science, 295, 93' resolves; 'Abel Bryan Norman 2002 Science' does not, and returns a row of dots with score 0.0 rather than an error. Use this for reference lists and bibliographies. For a paper known only by author and year, use scix_search with a field query instead.

Input parameters:

- `references` (array, required): Free-text reference strings

### `scix_resolve_links` (~50 tokens)

Resolve links for a paper (full-text, datasets, citations, references).

Input parameters:

- `bibcode` (string, required): Paper bibcode
- `link_type` (string): Specific link type (optional)

### `scix_get_paper` (~43 tokens)

Get detailed metadata for a single paper by bibcode, including abstract, affiliations, keywords, and links.

Input parameters:

- `bibcode` (string, required): Paper bibcode

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: Provenance, Install scripts, Dependencies. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix-client#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 80
- 2026-11-04: 65
- 2026-11-03: 65
- 2026-11-02: 80
- 2026-11-01: 65
- 2026-10-31: 65
- 2026-10-30: 65
- 2026-10-29: 80
- 2026-10-28: 65
- 2026-10-27: 80
- 2026-10-26: 80
- 2026-10-25: 80
- 2026-10-24: 80
- 2026-10-23: 80
- 2026-10-22: 65

## Common questions

### What is the SciX / NASA ADS MCP server?

SciX / NASA ADS is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.yipihey/scix. Search the astronomy and physics literature (SciX / NASA ADS): papers, citations, metrics, BibTeX. This page covers its PyPI package (scix-client).

### Is the SciX / NASA ADS MCP server safe to use?

SciX / NASA ADS scores 80 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. We found no known CVEs affecting it as of 5 November 2026. Its build provenance is signed and verified. 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 SciX / NASA ADS MCP server expose?

SciX / NASA ADS exposes 12 tools: scix_search, scix_bigquery, scix_export, scix_metrics, scix_library, and 7 more. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 1,061 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Is the SciX / NASA ADS MCP server still maintained?

SciX / NASA ADS 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.

### What licence is the SciX / NASA ADS MCP server under?

SciX / NASA ADS declares the MIT licence, which is OSI-approved. That covers the source only, and says nothing about the cost of any service it calls.

## Links

- PyPI project: https://pypi.org/project/scix-client/
- Socket report: https://socket.dev/pypi/package/scix-client
- Repository: https://github.com/yipihey/scix-client
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix-client.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix-client.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/yipihey-scix/scix-client