How to Use the Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) MCP in Windsurf

Automatically determine DOI Open Access status and links using Windsurf’s autonomous agent.

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Connect Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) MCP to Windsurf

Create your Vinkius account to connect Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) to Windsurf and route execution through our secure gateway. The platform manages server hosting, runtime updates, and security layers. Configuration requires no manual server provisioning.

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Setup Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) with Windsurf

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Plan Multi-Step Status Checks with Windsurf

Set a goal like 'find all open access papers for this research area.' Cascade reads the context, determines that it needs to run `get_article_oa_status`, and executes the tool sequence without prompting you. You just define the end state.

Verify Full-Text Availability on Demand

When working through a bibliography list, Windsurf can automatically check the OA status for every DOI in the batch. It returns not just 'yes' or 'no,' but direct links to full-text PDF versions where they exist. This saves you from manual lookups.

MCP Server Integration into Your Workflow

Windsurf uses this MCP Server to check scholarly article access status directly inside your IDE flow. It handles complex API interactions, letting you focus purely on the research question. You'll get clean, structured data back every time.

Setup guide

Set up Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) MCP in Windsurf

Prerequisites

Windsurf IDE installed (macOS, Windows, or Linux)
Active Vinkius subscription with a valid endpoint token

1

Open MCP configuration

Click the Cascade assistant icon in the sidebar, then click the hammer icon (🔨) at the top of the panel. Select "Configure" to open ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json.
2

Add the Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) MCP

Paste the JSON snippet shown on the right into the mcpServers object. Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your endpoint token from cloud.vinkius.com.
3

Refresh MCPs

Go back to the hammer icon (🔨) in Cascade and click "Refresh". Windsurf will detect the new server. No full restart is needed — the connection is hot-reloaded.
4

Verify in Cascade

Start a new Cascade conversation and ask something like "Show my Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) payment history." If connected, Cascade will call the Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) tools directly. You will see a green dot next to the server name in the MCP panel.

mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unpaywall-open-access-papers-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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Common questions about Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) MCP in Windsurf

Just set your goal in the chat—for instance, 'Check if these ten DOIs are open access.' Cascade will automatically invoke the MCP Server and return a list of status results. It handles everything from planning to execution.

Yes. You don't need to run status checks one by one. If you feed Cascade a list of DOIs, the agent manages running `get_article_oa_status` on all of them and compiling a single result for you.

The server provides structured information: the open access status and specific locations or links where the full-text PDF can be found. It's ready for immediate use in your research notes.

Absolutely. Instead of manually visiting paper websites, you tell Windsurf what data you need, and the attached MCP Server pulls the OA status directly into your workspace.

This server touches scholarly DOI identifiers and related open access metadata. It only reads this specific information to check for available full-text links.

Use it with your favorite AI tools

Connect this server to Cursor, Claude, VS Code, and more.

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