Paperclip MCP server

Paperclip is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables searching and retrieving research papers from various academic sources including Arxiv, Open Science Framework (OSF), and OpenAlex. It allows you to access scholarly content directly through MCP-compatible applications.

Installation

Setting up Paperclip is straightforward as it's available as a hosted service. You just need to configure your MCP client to use the Paperclip server URL.

Server Configuration

Add the following server URL to your MCP client:

https://paperclip.matsjfunke.com/mcp

No authentication is required to use the service.

Client Configuration

For MCP clients that require JSON configuration, use this format:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "paperclip": {
      "url": "https://paperclip.matsjfunke.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Using Paperclip

Paperclip integrates with popular MCP clients like Cursor IDE and Langdock. Once configured, you can search for and retrieve research papers directly through these interfaces.

Supported Paper Providers

Paperclip supports a wide range of academic paper repositories, including:

• arXiv and its variants (AfricArXiv, AgriXiv, ArabXiv, etc.)
• OpenAlex
• OSF Preprints
• Subject-specific repositories (PsyArXiv, SocArXiv, MediArXiv, etc.)
• Many discipline-specific archives

Search Capabilities

When using an MCP client connected to Paperclip, you can:

• Search for papers by title, author, or keywords
• Access papers from multiple repositories in a single interface
• Retrieve full paper details and links to the original sources

The search functionality will depend on your specific MCP client's interface, but generally involves sending queries through the client that are then processed by the Paperclip server.

Troubleshooting

If you experience issues with Paperclip:

1. Verify your MCP client configuration is correct
2. Check that the Paperclip server is operational by visiting the health check status at server health status
3. Ensure your internet connection is stable

For persistent issues, you may need to check if your client software is properly implementing the MCP protocol.

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "paperclip" '{"url":"https://paperclip.matsjfunke.com/mcp"}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "paperclip": {
            "url": "https://paperclip.matsjfunke.com/mcp"
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "paperclip": {
            "url": "https://paperclip.matsjfunke.com/mcp"
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect