Bring Scholarly Metadata
to Windsurf
Create your Vinkius account to connect CrossRef to Windsurf and start using all 3 AI tools in minutes. Fully managed, enterprise secure, and ready to use without writing a single line of code. No hosting, no server setup — just connect and start using.
Compatible with every major AI agent and IDE
What is the CrossRef MCP Server?
Give your AI agent direct access to the world's largest registry of scholarly metadata — 140M+ records spanning every DOI ever assigned across all scientific publishers.
What you can do
- Universal Search — Find any published work across journals, books, conference papers, datasets, and dissertations using free-text queries
- DOI Resolution — Instant metadata lookup for any DOI with title, complete author list, journal, year, type, and citation count
- Author Discovery — Search for all publications by a specific researcher name across all major publishers simultaneously
How it works
- Subscribe to this server
- Start resolving DOIs and searching scholarly works immediately — no API key required
Who is this for?
- Academic Researchers — resolve DOIs, verify citations, and build comprehensive bibliographies without leaving their AI assistant
- Science Writers — instantly retrieve publication details to verify facts and cite sources accurately
- Data Analysts — explore the scholarly landscape with citation metrics and publisher data for bibliometric analysis
Built-in capabilities (3)
g. 10.1038/nature12373) and get complete metadata: title, all authors, journal, year, type, citation count, and abstract. Look up any scholarly work by its DOI
Every result includes DOI, citation count, and full bibliographic data. The world's largest DOI registry. Search 140M+ scholarly works across all scientific disciplines
Returns their publications sorted by relevance with citation counts. Find publications by a specific author
Why Windsurf?
Windsurf's Cascade agent chains multiple CrossRef tool calls autonomously. query data, analyze results, and generate code in a single agentic session. Paste Vinkius Edge URL, reload, and all 3 tools are immediately available. Real-time tool feedback appears inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor.
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Windsurf's Cascade agent autonomously chains multiple tool calls in sequence, solving complex multi-step tasks without manual intervention
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Purpose-built for agentic workflows. Cascade understands context across your entire codebase and integrates MCP tools natively
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JSON-based configuration means zero code changes: paste a URL, reload, and all 3 tools are immediately available
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Real-time tool feedback is displayed inline, so you see API responses directly in your editor without switching contexts
CrossRef in Windsurf
Why run CrossRef with Vinkius?
The CrossRef connection runs on our fully managed, secure cloud infrastructure. We handle the hosting, maintenance, and security so you don't have to deal with servers or code. All 3 tools are ready to work instantly without any complex setup.
You stay in complete control of your data. Your AI only accesses the information you approve, keeping your sensitive passwords and private details completely safe. Plus, with automatic optimizations, your AI works faster and more efficiently.

* Every connection is hosted and maintained by Vinkius. We handle the security, updates, and infrastructure so you don't have to write code or manage servers. See our infrastructure
Over 4,000 integrations ready for AI agents
Explore a vast library of pre-built integrations, optimized and ready to deploy.
Connect securely in under 30 seconds
Generate tokens to authenticate and link external services in a single step.
Complete visibility into every agent action
Audit live requests, latency, success rates, and active security compliance policies.
Optimize spending and track token ROI
Analyze real-time token consumption and cost metrics detailed by connection.




Explore our live AI Agents Analytics dashboard to see it all working
This dashboard is included when you connect CrossRef using Vinkius. You will never be left in the dark about what your AI agents are doing with your tools.
CrossRef and 4,000+ other AI tools. No hosting, no code, ready to use.
Professionals who connect CrossRef to Windsurf through Vinkius don't need to write code, manage servers, or worry about security. Everything is pre-configured, secure, and runs automatically in the background.
Raw MCP | Vinkius | |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-use MCPs | Find and configure each manually | 4,000+ MCPs ready to use |
| Connection Setup | Manual coding & server setup | 1-click instant connection |
| Server Hosting | You host it yourself (needs 24/7 uptime) | 100% hosted & managed by Vinkius |
| Security & Privacy | Stored in plaintext config files | Bank-grade encrypted vault |
| Activity Visibility | Blind execution (no logs or tracking) | Live dashboard with real-time logs |
| Cost Control | Runaway AI token spend risk | Automatic budget limits |
| Revoking Access | Must delete files or code to stop | 1-click disconnect button |
How Vinkius secures
CrossRef for Windsurf
Every request between Windsurf and CrossRef is protected by our secure gateway. We automatically keep your sensitive data private, prevent unauthorized access, and let you disconnect instantly at any time.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a DOI and why is CrossRef important?
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a unique, permanent identifier assigned to every published scholarly work — like a social security number for academic papers. CrossRef maintains the world's largest DOI registry with 140M+ records, making it the authoritative source for bibliographic metadata across all publishers globally.
Is authentication or registration required to use this server?
No. CrossRef's public API is free and open without authentication. Adding a polite email in the User-Agent header (which this server does automatically) grants access to the 'polite pool' with significantly faster response times.
What types of scholarly works can I find through CrossRef?
CrossRef covers virtually every type of scholarly output: journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, preprints, datasets, dissertations, and technical reports. It aggregates metadata from 20,000+ publishers including Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, Oxford University Press, and thousands of smaller publishers worldwide.
How does Windsurf discover MCP tools?
Windsurf reads the mcp_config.json file on startup and connects to each configured server via Streamable HTTP. Tools are listed in the MCP panel and available to Cascade automatically.
Can Cascade chain multiple MCP tool calls?
Yes. Cascade is an agentic system. it can plan and execute multi-step workflows, calling several tools in sequence to accomplish complex tasks without manual prompting between steps.
Does Windsurf support multiple MCP servers?
Yes. Add as many servers as needed in mcp_config.json. Each server's tools appear in the MCP panel and Cascade can use tools from different servers in a single flow.
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