Semantic Scholar MCP Server for Mastra AI 4 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Mastra AI is a TypeScript-native agent framework built for modern web stacks. Connect Semantic Scholar through the Vinkius and Mastra agents discover all tools automatically — type-safe, streaming-ready, and deployable anywhere Node.js runs.
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Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.
import { Agent } from "@mastra/core/agent";
import { createMCPClient } from "@mastra/mcp";
import { openai } from "@ai-sdk/openai";
async function main() {
// Your Vinkius token — get it at cloud.vinkius.com
const mcpClient = await createMCPClient({
servers: {
"semantic-scholar": {
url: "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp",
},
},
});
const tools = await mcpClient.getTools();
const agent = new Agent({
name: "Semantic Scholar Agent",
instructions:
"You help users interact with Semantic Scholar " +
"using 4 tools.",
model: openai("gpt-4o"),
tools,
});
const result = await agent.generate(
"What can I do with Semantic Scholar?"
);
console.log(result.text);
}
main();
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
About Semantic Scholar MCP Server
Connect your AI agent to the world's most AI-enhanced academic knowledge graph, built and maintained by the Allen Institute for AI (AI2).
Mastra's agent abstraction provides a clean separation between LLM logic and Semantic Scholar tool infrastructure. Connect 4 tools through the Vinkius and use Mastra's built-in workflow engine to chain tool calls with conditional logic, retries, and parallel execution — deployable to any Node.js host in one command.
What you can do
- AI-Powered Search — Find papers across 200M+ works with AI-generated TLDR summaries that distill each paper into a single sentence of key insight
- Influential Citations — Beyond simple citation count, see how many influential citations a paper has received — those that meaningfully build upon the cited work
- Multi-Format Lookup — Access papers by Semantic Scholar ID, DOI, ArXiv ID (arXiv:2106.09685), or PubMed ID (PMID:12345)
- Citation Graph — Explore the full citation chain of any paper, with TLDR summaries for each citing work
- Researcher Profiles — Find academics by name with paper counts, total citations, and h-index metrics
The Semantic Scholar MCP Server exposes 4 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Mastra AI in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect Semantic Scholar to Mastra AI via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the Semantic Scholar MCP Server with Mastra AI.
Install dependencies
Run npm install @mastra/core @mastra/mcp @ai-sdk/openai
Replace the token
Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your Vinkius token
Run the agent
Save to agent.ts and run with npx tsx agent.ts
Explore tools
Mastra discovers 4 tools from Semantic Scholar via MCP
Why Use Mastra AI with the Semantic Scholar MCP Server
Mastra AI provides unique advantages when paired with Semantic Scholar through the Model Context Protocol.
Mastra's agent abstraction provides a clean separation between LLM logic and tool infrastructure — add Semantic Scholar without touching business code
Built-in workflow engine chains MCP tool calls with conditional logic, retries, and parallel execution for complex automation
TypeScript-native: full type inference for every Semantic Scholar tool response with IDE autocomplete and compile-time checks
One-command deployment to any Node.js host — Vercel, Railway, Fly.io, or your own infrastructure
Semantic Scholar + Mastra AI Use Cases
Practical scenarios where Mastra AI combined with the Semantic Scholar MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Automated workflows: build multi-step agents that query Semantic Scholar, process results, and trigger downstream actions in a typed pipeline
SaaS integrations: embed Semantic Scholar as a first-class tool in your product's AI features with Mastra's clean agent API
Background jobs: schedule Mastra agents to query Semantic Scholar on a cron and store results in your database automatically
Multi-agent systems: create specialist agents that collaborate using Semantic Scholar tools alongside other MCP servers
Semantic Scholar MCP Tools for Mastra AI (4)
These 4 tools become available when you connect Semantic Scholar to Mastra AI via MCP:
get_semantic_citations
Essential for literature reviews and impact analysis. Find papers that cite a specific work on Semantic Scholar
get_semantic_paper
Accepts Semantic Scholar paper ID, DOI, ArXiv ID (e.g. arXiv:2106.09685), or PMID (e.g. PMID:12345). Get full paper details from Semantic Scholar by paper ID or DOI
search_semantic_author
Returns paper count, total citations, and h-index for each researcher. Find researchers and their publication metrics on Semantic Scholar
search_semantic_scholar
Returns papers with AI-generated TLDR summaries, citation counts, influential citation counts, and fields of study. Covers Computer Science, Medicine, Biology, Physics, and all STEM fields. Search 200M+ academic papers with AI-powered TLDR summaries and influence scores
Example Prompts for Semantic Scholar in Mastra AI
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Mastra AI agent to start working with Semantic Scholar immediately.
"What are the most cited papers on transformer architecture in deep learning?"
"Get the full details of the LoRA paper using its ArXiv ID arXiv:2106.09685."
"Find the researcher Yann LeCun and show me his publication metrics."
Troubleshooting Semantic Scholar MCP Server with Mastra AI
Common issues when connecting Semantic Scholar to Mastra AI through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
createMCPClient not exported
npm install @mastra/mcpSemantic Scholar + Mastra AI FAQ
Common questions about integrating Semantic Scholar MCP Server with Mastra AI.
How does Mastra AI connect to MCP servers?
MCPClient with the server URL and pass it to your agent. Mastra discovers all tools and makes them available with full TypeScript types.Can Mastra agents use tools from multiple servers?
Does Mastra support workflow orchestration?
Connect Semantic Scholar with your favorite client
Step-by-step setup guides for every MCP-compatible client and framework:
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Anthropic's agentic CLI for terminal-first development.
Python SDK for building production-grade OpenAI agent workflows.
Google's framework for building production AI agents.
Type-safe agent development for Python with first-class MCP support.
TypeScript toolkit for building AI-powered web applications.
TypeScript-native agent framework for modern web stacks.
Python framework for orchestrating collaborative AI agent crews.
Leading Python framework for composable LLM applications.
Data-aware AI agent framework for structured and unstructured sources.
Microsoft's framework for multi-agent collaborative conversations.
Connect Semantic Scholar to Mastra AI
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 4 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.