NASA ADS
An MCP server for the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) that enables searching, citation graph traversal, and bibliography management for astrophysics literature. It provides tools for computing citation metrics, resolving astronomical object names
What is NASA ADS?
NASA ADS is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to mcp server for the nasa astrophysics data system (ads) that enables searching, citation graph traversal, and bibliography management for astrophysics literature. it provides tools for computing citati...
An MCP server for the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) that enables searching, citation graph traversal, and bibliography management for astrophysics literature. It provides tools for computing citation metrics, resolving astronomical object names
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- An MCP server for the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) th
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx adsConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use NASA ADS
The NASA ADS MCP Server connects AI assistants to the NASA Astrophysics Data System, providing tools to search peer-reviewed astrophysics literature, traverse citation graphs, compute bibliometric metrics, resolve astronomical object names (via SIMBAD/NED), and manage BibTeX bibliographies — all through natural language queries. Researchers can ask an AI assistant to find papers on a topic, check how many times a study has been cited, or generate a formatted bibliography without manually navigating the ADS web interface. The server also supports Google Ads and Meta Ads reporting tools for the same unified endpoint, making it adaptable to marketing-analytics workflows as well.
Prerequisites
- macOS or Linux with Python 3.13 (managed via pyenv recommended)
- uv package manager installed
- A NASA ADS API key (free, from https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/user/settings/token)
- Google Ads and/or Meta Ads credentials if using the advertising reporting tools
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop
Clone the repository
Download the server source code from GitHub.
git clone https://github.com/jmacaggi-gfm/ads-mcp-server.git
cd ads-mcp-serverInstall dependencies with uv
Use uv to create a virtual environment and install all required packages including the dev extras for testing.
uv sync --extra devCreate your .env credentials file
Copy the example env file and fill in your actual credentials. At minimum you need ADS_API_KEY for astrophysics search features.
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and set your credentials:
# ADS_API_KEY=your_ads_token
# GOOGLE_ADS_DEVELOPER_TOKEN=...
# GOOGLE_ADS_CLIENT_ID=...
# GOOGLE_ADS_CLIENT_SECRET=...
# GOOGLE_ADS_REFRESH_TOKEN=...
# GOOGLE_ADS_CUSTOMER_IDS=123456789
# META_APP_ID=...
# META_APP_SECRET=...
# META_ACCESS_TOKEN=...
# META_AD_ACCOUNT_ID=act_XXXXXXXXXVerify the server starts correctly
Run the MCP server in stdio mode to confirm it initializes without errors before connecting a client.
uv run python -m ads_mcp_serverConfigure Claude Desktop
Add the server block to your Claude Desktop config file, pointing uv at the project directory.
{
"mcpServers": {
"ads": {
"command": "uv",
"args": ["--directory", "/path/to/ads-mcp-server", "run", "python", "-m", "ads_mcp_server"],
"env": {
"ADS_API_KEY": "your_ads_token"
}
}
}
}NASA ADS Examples
Client configuration
Add this to ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Set ADS_API_KEY in the env block or rely on your .env file being loaded by the server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"ads": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory", "/Users/you/ads-mcp-server",
"run", "python", "-m", "ads_mcp_server"
],
"env": {
"ADS_API_KEY": "your_nasa_ads_token"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Examples covering literature search, citation analysis, and bibliography management.
- "Find the 10 most-cited papers about gravitational wave detection published since 2015"
- "How many times has the paper with arXiv ID 1602.03837 been cited?"
- "Resolve the astronomical object 'Andromeda Galaxy' and return its canonical coordinates"
- "Generate a BibTeX bibliography for the top 5 papers on black hole imaging"
- "Show me the citation graph for Planck 2018 cosmological parameters paper"Troubleshooting NASA ADS
ADS API returns 401 Unauthorized
Verify your ADS_API_KEY is set correctly in .env or in the claude_desktop_config.json env block. Obtain a token at https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/user/settings/token and ensure there are no leading or trailing spaces.
uv sync fails because Python 3.13 is not found
Install Python 3.13 via pyenv: 'pyenv install 3.13.0 && pyenv local 3.13.0', then re-run 'uv sync --extra dev' in the project directory.
Google Ads tools return authentication errors
Google Ads requires a GOOGLE_ADS_REFRESH_TOKEN generated via the OAuth flow. Run the authentication helper script in the repo ('python scripts/generate_refresh_token.py') with your CLIENT_ID and CLIENT_SECRET to obtain one.
Frequently Asked Questions about NASA ADS
What is NASA ADS?
NASA ADS is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that mcp server for the nasa astrophysics data system (ads) that enables searching, citation graph traversal, and bibliography management for astrophysics literature. it provides tools for computing citation metrics, resolving astronomical object names It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install NASA ADS?
Follow the installation instructions on the NASA ADS GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with NASA ADS?
NASA ADS works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is NASA ADS free to use?
Yes, NASA ADS is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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