{
  "slug": "io-github-pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp",
  "name": "io.github.pvliesdonk/scholar-mcp",
  "title": "Scholar MCP",
  "description": "FastMCP server for scholarly papers, patents, books and standards with docling PDF conversion",
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-11T06:58:38.152877Z",
  "updatedAt": "2026-09-11T06:58:38.152877Z",
  "repoUrl": "https://github.com/pvliesdonk/scholar-mcp",
  "websiteUrl": "https://pvliesdonk.github.io/scholar-mcp/",
  "namespace": {
    "type": "github",
    "owner": "pvliesdonk"
  },
  "kind": "local",
  "packages": [
    {
      "registryType": "pypi",
      "identifier": "pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp",
      "version": "2.0.0",
      "transport": "stdio",
      "runtimeHint": "uvx"
    },
    {
      "registryType": "oci",
      "identifier": "ghcr.io/pvliesdonk/scholar-mcp:v2.0.0",
      "version": null,
      "transport": "streamable-http",
      "runtimeHint": null
    }
  ],
  "remotes": [],
  "envVars": [
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Persistent-state backend URL shared by every pvl-core subsystem that needs state. `memory://` is in-process and lost on restart; `file:///path` persists on one server; `redis://`, `dynamodb://` and `mongodb://` each need their matching extra. When unset, defaults to `file:///data/state` (the volume family Docker images mount), or to `memory://` (with a warning) on a host where that directory is not usable."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Comma-separated explicit tool names this instance exposes; every other tool is hidden from listings and cannot be invoked. Names matching no registered tool are inert. Mutually exclusive with `tools_deny`. Takes effect through `apply_tool_visibility`."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Comma-separated explicit tool names hidden from this instance (absent from listings, cannot be invoked). Names matching no registered tool are inert. Mutually exclusive with `tools_allow`. Takes effect through `apply_tool_visibility`."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Rename this server instance; defaults to the project name."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Concise routing context that distinguishes this deployment's material or responsibility."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Deployment-specific behavioral policy added to the generated MCP instructions."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Legacy: replaces all generated MCP instructions (deprecated; use _INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION for routing and _INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA for policy)."
    },
    {
      "name": "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Log level for FastMCP internals and app loggers (DEBUG / INFO / WARNING / ERROR / CRITICAL). The -v CLI flag overrides to DEBUG."
    },
    {
      "name": "FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Set false for plain or structured JSON log output."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "GitHub token used to raise rate limits when fetching standards documents from GitHub. Optional; unauthenticated requests work at reduced limits."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "When true, write-tagged tools (PDF download and conversion cache writes) are hidden. Set false to enable them."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Semantic Scholar API key. Optional but strongly recommended: unauthenticated requests are limited to ~1 req/s. Request one at https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api#api-key-form."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Base URL of a running docling-serve instance for PDF conversion (e.g. http://localhost:5001). When unset, PDF conversion tools return an error."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "OpenAI-compatible VLM endpoint for formula and figure enrichment during PDF conversion."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "API key for the VLM endpoint."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Model name to use with the VLM endpoint."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Directory for the SQLite cache database (cache.db) and downloaded PDFs (pdfs/, md/)."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Contact email for the OpenAlex polite pool (improves rate limits). Also enables Unpaywall lookups as a PDF fallback source."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "EPO Open Patent Services consumer key. Optional; patent tools are hidden when unset. Register at https://developers.epo.org/user/register."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "EPO Open Patent Services consumer secret. Optional; patent tools are hidden when unset."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Google Books API key. Optional; book tools work unauthenticated at reduced rate limits."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_SOFT_DEADLINE_S",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Seconds a long-running tool call may run in the foreground before it is promoted to a background job and a job handle is returned instead."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_RESULT_TTL_S",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Seconds a background-job record (working or finished) is retained for polling before it expires from the store."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_JOBS_MAX_PER_SUBJECT",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Maximum live background jobs per calling subject; further promotions are rejected until older records expire."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_BASE_URL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Public base URL of the deployed server, for example `https://mcp.example.com`. Required for OIDC. Also the fallback source of the MCP Apps domain when `app_domain` is unset."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_BEARER_TOKEN",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Single shared bearer token; enables bearer auth unless `bearer_tokens_file` is set, which takes precedence."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_CONFIG_URL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "OIDC discovery document URL, for example `https://auth.example.com/.well-known/openid-configuration`."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_CLIENT_ID",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "OIDC client identifier registered with the provider."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "OIDC client secret registered with the provider."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_AUDIENCE",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Expected `aud` claim; tokens issued for another audience are rejected."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_REQUIRED_SCOPES",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Scopes a caller must present, space- or comma-separated. Defaults to `openid` in oidc-proxy mode."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_ADVERTISED_SCOPES",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Scopes advertised to MCP clients in protected-resource metadata, space- or comma-separated. Overrides the default `openid offline_access`; `oidc_required_scopes` is always added on top. Set this when the registered client is not permitted `offline_access`, or to have clients request extra claim scopes (such as `groups`) without also requiring them in every token."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_JWT_SIGNING_KEY",
      "isSecret": true,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Signing key for issued tokens; used in oidc-proxy mode only. When unset, the key is derived deterministically from `oidc_client_secret`, so tokens survive a restart. Rotating that secret then invalidates every issued token. Set this explicitly to decouple token validity from secret rotation. Generate with `openssl rand -hex 32`."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_VERIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Validate the access token instead of the id token."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_APP_DOMAIN",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "MCP Apps iframe domain, used for CSP sandboxing. Overrides the host derived from `base_url`."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_AUTH_MODE",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Explicit auth-mode override, accepting `remote` or `oidc-proxy` (case- and whitespace-insensitive). When unset the mode is auto-detected from which auth variables are set; the override exists because having all four OIDC variables set is ambiguous between those two modes. Other values are ignored with a warning."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_BEARER_TOKENS_FILE",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Path to a TOML file mapping bearer tokens to subjects; overrides the single-token `bearer_token` mode."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_BEARER_DEFAULT_SUBJECT",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Subject assigned to the single-token bearer mode; ignored when `bearer_tokens_file` is set, since mapped mode carries per-token subjects."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_HTTP_PATH",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Mount path for the MCP endpoint; the health routes derive their prefix from it."
    },
    {
      "name": "SCHOLAR_MCP_HEALTH_DETAIL",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "How much the unauthenticated /health and /health/ready bodies say: status, standard (adds name, version and per-check verdicts), or full (adds redacted reasons; trusted networks only)."
    },
    {
      "name": "PUID",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Run the server process as this UID; the container entrypoint reassigns ownership of writable paths to match."
    },
    {
      "name": "PGID",
      "isSecret": false,
      "isRequired": false,
      "description": "Run the server process as this GID; pair with PUID to match the owner of a mounted volume."
    }
  ],
  "category": "files-docs",
  "subcategory": "office",
  "company": "",
  "categoryAuto": true,
  "checks": [
    {
      "id": "source-linked",
      "label": "Source repository linked",
      "result": "pass",
      "detail": "https://github.com/pvliesdonk/scholar-mcp"
    },
    {
      "id": "version-pinned",
      "label": "Version pinned",
      "result": "pass",
      "detail": "Every package has an explicit version"
    },
    {
      "id": "secrets-requested",
      "label": "Secrets requested",
      "result": "warn",
      "detail": "Asks for 8 secrets: SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN, SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY, SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY, SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET, SCHOLAR_MCP_GOOGLE_BOOKS_API_KEY, SCHOLAR_MCP_BEARER_TOKEN, SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET, SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_JWT_SIGNING_KEY"
    },
    {
      "id": "known-registry",
      "label": "Known package registry",
      "result": "pass",
      "detail": "All packages come from npm, PyPI, OCI, NuGet or MCPB"
    },
    {
      "id": "namespace",
      "label": "Namespace ownership",
      "result": "info",
      "detail": "Name verified via GitHub account pvliesdonk"
    },
    {
      "id": "meta-text",
      "label": "Registry text aimed at the AI",
      "result": "pass",
      "detail": "Description and settings contain no hidden characters or instructions to the AI"
    },
    {
      "id": "install-scripts",
      "label": "Install scripts",
      "result": "pass",
      "detail": "pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp 2.0.0 has no setup.py; nothing runs at install"
    },
    {
      "id": "code-flags",
      "label": "Code red flags",
      "result": "pass",
      "detail": "Read 274 files in pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp 2.0.0: no obfuscation, encoded execution, credential reads or data-collection endpoints found"
    },
    {
      "id": "ai-text",
      "label": "Text aimed at the AI",
      "result": "pass",
      "detail": "No hidden characters or instructions to the AI in 274 files, including comments and the README"
    }
  ],
  "scannedAt": "2026-10-29",
  "level": "Scanned",
  "install": [
    {
      "label": "Claude Desktop (pypi)",
      "kind": "claude_desktop_json",
      "text": "{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"scholar-mcp\": {\n      \"command\": \"uvx\",\n      \"args\": [\n        \"pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp==2.0.0\"\n      ]\n    }\n  }\n}"
    },
    {
      "label": "Claude Desktop (oci)",
      "kind": "claude_desktop_json",
      "text": "{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"scholar-mcp\": {\n      \"command\": \"docker\",\n      \"args\": [\n        \"run\",\n        \"-i\",\n        \"--rm\",\n        \"ghcr.io/pvliesdonk/scholar-mcp:v2.0.0\"\n      ]\n    }\n  }\n}"
    }
  ],
  "curated": true,
  "stars": 2,
  "archived": false,
  "pushedAt": "2026-10-28T20:53:51Z",
  "health": {
    "score": 60,
    "parts": {
      "popularity": 0.21318001597075034,
      "activity": 1,
      "issues": 0.6877323420074349,
      "security": 0.8
    },
    "fail": 0,
    "warn": 1,
    "raw": {
      "stars": 2,
      "forks": 1,
      "downloads": 46,
      "hn": null,
      "issuesOpen": 84,
      "issuesClosed": 185,
      "prsMerged": 188,
      "commits90": 105,
      "release": "2026-09-11T06:55:13Z",
      "pushed": "2026-10-28T20:53:51Z",
      "growth": null,
      "growthDays": null,
      "archived": false
    },
    "at": "2026-10-31T07:42:38.200Z"
  }
}