NASA ADS

MCP server for NASA Astrophysics Data System - search papers, track citations, export BibTeX

python

2

GitHub Stars

python

Language

6 months ago

First Indexed

2 months ago

Catalog Refreshed

Documentation & install

Readme and setup notes from the catalogue, plus a client-ready config you can copy for your MCP host.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

View docs

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "prtc-nasa-ads-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/nasa-ads-mcp",
        "run",
        "python",
        "src/nasa_ads_mcp/server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ADS_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_ADS_API_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

You can access NASA ADS directly through an MCP server integrated with Claude Desktop. This setup lets you search papers, track metrics, manage reference libraries, and export BibTeX citations using natural language conversations, keeping your research workflow contained in one place.

How to use

Use the MCP client in Claude Desktop to connect to the NASA ADS MCP Server. Once connected, you can perform searches like “Search for recent papers on stellar populations” or ask for author-specific results, metrics, and BibTeX exports. Your conversations will trigger ADS API calls under the hood, returning results in a readable, conversational format.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Claude Desktop and Python 3.10 or higher installed on your system, along with the uv package manager and an NASA ADS API token.

Clone the MCP server repository and navigate into it.
Install dependencies using the package manager available in your environment.
Create and populate the environment file with your ADS API token.
Add the MCP server to Claude Desktop via the provided configuration entry (see the stdio command below). Restart Claude Desktop and verify the server connection using the hammer icon in the input box.

Additional sections

Configuration and run details are provided here to ensure you can connect and operate the NASA ADS MCP Server reliably.

Environment variable handling: the server uses an NASA ADS API token stored as ADS_API_TOKEN. Ensure this token is present in your environment before starting the server.

Troubleshooting tips: if the server doesn’t start, verify Python 3.10+, confirm the ADS_API_TOKEN in your environment, and ensure Claude Desktop can access the configured MCP entry. If tools don’t appear in Claude, fully quit and restart Claude Desktop, then check the connection indicator.

Available tools

search_papers

Search the ADS database with natural language queries and retrieve matching papers.

get_paper_details

Fetch comprehensive metadata for a specific paper by bibcode or identifier.

get_author_papers

Find all publications by a given author.

get_paper_metrics

Retrieve citations, reads, and impact metrics for a paper.

get_author_metrics

Calculate h-index and citation statistics for an author.

export_bibtex

Export BibTeX citations for selected papers.

list_libraries

View your ADS paper collections.

get_library_papers

Access papers within a specific library.

create_library

Create a new library to organize papers by topic or project.

add_to_library

Add papers to an existing library.