Semantic Scholar MCP Server - A Model Context Protocol server for Semantic Scholar. This server provides tools to interact with Semantic Scholar API, including search, paper details, author info, and citation operations.
Four tools with complete input schemas and detailed descriptions. All tools follow verb_noun naming (search_paper, get_paper, get_authors, get_citation). Descriptions are substantive (100-200 chars), exceeding the 10-1024 char baseline. Parameters are well-typed with enums (format in get_citation). However, output schemas are not documented, LLMs cannot predict response structure for downstream chaining. No error handling guidance. Missing tool annotations (readOnlyHint, idempotentHint). All tools are read-only but this is not declared in metadata.
Get authors information for a specific paper. Use 'fields' parameter to customize author data returned.
Get citation information in various formats (BibTeX, RIS, MLA, APA, Chicago)
Get detailed information about a specific paper. Use 'fields' parameter to customize returned data.
Search for papers using Semantic Scholar. Use 'fields' parameter to customize returned data
Output schemas not documented. LLMs cannot predict response structure, breaking tool chaining and forcing agents to guess field names for downstream calls.
No tool annotations (readOnlyHint, idempotentHint). All four tools are read-only and safe to retry, but this is not declared in metadata. Agents cannot infer safety properties.
No error handling guidance. Errors (API failures, invalid IDs, rate limits) do not tell LLMs what to do next or how to recover.
search_paper lacks pagination guidance in description. No mention of offset/limit behavior or result count limits. Agents may request excessive results.
| Scored | Grade | Overall | Spec posture | Rubric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-23 | D | 58 | 2026-07-28+ | v2 |
get_authors and get_paper accept 'fields' parameter but no guidance on which fields are expensive or require special permissions.