Scopus
Provides access to the Elsevier Scopus API, enabling AI assistants to search for academic papers, retrieve detailed abstracts, and look up author profiles. It facilitates bibliometric research and scholarly data analysis through natural language comm
What is Scopus?
Scopus is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to provides access to the elsevier scopus api, enabling ai assistants to search for academic papers, retrieve detailed abstracts, and look up author profiles. it facilitates bibliometric research and sch...
Provides access to the Elsevier Scopus API, enabling AI assistants to search for academic papers, retrieve detailed abstracts, and look up author profiles. It facilitates bibliometric research and scholarly data analysis through natural language comm
This server falls under the Search & Data Extraction category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Provides access to the Elsevier Scopus API, enabling AI assi
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
PIP
pip install scopus-mcpManual Installation
pip install scopus-mcpConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Scopus
The Scopus MCP Server connects AI assistants to the Elsevier Scopus database — one of the world's largest repositories of peer-reviewed academic literature with over 90 million records. It exposes three focused tools for searching papers, retrieving full abstract details, and looking up author profiles, all through natural language. Researchers, academics, and data scientists use it to conduct bibliometric analyses and literature reviews without leaving their AI workflow.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.8+ installed on your system
- An Elsevier Scopus API key (register at dev.elsevier.com; institutional email recommended)
- uv or pip package manager
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop
Obtain a Scopus API key
Visit dev.elsevier.com and register for an API key. Use an institutional email address — public email domains (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) are often rejected by Elsevier. Once approved, copy your API key from the developer portal.
Install the scopus-mcp package
Install directly from PyPI using pip or run it with uvx (recommended — no permanent install required).
pip install scopus-mcp
# or run without installing:
uvx scopus-mcpSet your API key environment variable
The server reads the Scopus API key from the SCOPUS_API_KEY environment variable. Export it in your shell or add it to the MCP client configuration.
export SCOPUS_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"Add the server to your MCP client configuration
Open claude_desktop_config.json and add an entry for the Scopus server. Using uvx is preferred as it always runs the latest version without manual updates.
{
"mcpServers": {
"scopus-assistant": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["scopus-mcp"],
"env": {
"SCOPUS_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}Restart your MCP client and verify the connection
Restart Claude Desktop (or your MCP client). In a new conversation, ask it to search for a paper — if the Scopus tools appear in the tool list, the server is connected correctly.
Scopus Examples
Client configuration
Complete claude_desktop_config.json entry using uvx with the SCOPUS_API_KEY environment variable.
{
"mcpServers": {
"scopus-assistant": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["scopus-mcp"],
"env": {
"SCOPUS_API_KEY": "your_scopus_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Natural-language queries that map to the server's search_scopus, get_abstract_details, and get_author_profile tools.
- "Search Scopus for papers on transformer neural networks published after 2022, sorted by citations"
- "Get the abstract and full details for Scopus document ID 85123456789"
- "Look up the author profile for Scopus Author ID 7401234567 and summarize their publication history"
- "Find the top 10 most-cited papers on CRISPR gene editing in the last five years"Troubleshooting Scopus
API key rejected with 'Authentication failed' or 401 error
Elsevier rejects API keys registered with public email domains. Re-register using an institutional (.edu or university) email address. Also verify the key is copied correctly with no trailing spaces.
uvx command not found after installation
Install uv first with 'pip install uv' or 'curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh', then retry 'uvx scopus-mcp'.
Search returns no results for a known paper
Scopus uses its own query syntax. Wrap multi-word phrases in quotes: search for 'TITLE("machine learning") AND YEAR > 2020'. Check the Scopus Search API guide on dev.elsevier.com for supported field codes.
Frequently Asked Questions about Scopus
What is Scopus?
Scopus is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the elsevier scopus api, enabling ai assistants to search for academic papers, retrieve detailed abstracts, and look up author profiles. it facilitates bibliometric research and scholarly data analysis through natural language comm It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Scopus?
Install via pip with: pip install scopus-mcp. Then configure your AI client to connect to this MCP server.
Which AI clients work with Scopus?
Scopus works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Scopus free to use?
Yes, Scopus 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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Set Up Scopus in Your Editor
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Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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