• METADATA
  • SUMMARY
  • IDENTIFIER
  • HUMAN

How to lookup scientific papers with your AI

Connect Semantic Scholar to your AI client. Once connected, you can pull specific research data just by providing an identifier.

Ask AI about this page

Short answer

How do I find scientific papers with my AI?

Give your agent a DOI, ArXiv ID, or PubMed ID. It will fetch the paper's metadata and a TLDR summary for you. You'll see the specific data points it retrieves below.

The outcomes

What your AI retrieves

The AI pulls specific data points from the Semantic Scholar database.

METADATA

Paper details

The AI gets the title, authors, and publication info. This gives you the exact data needed for citations.

SUMMARY

Quick TLDRs

Your agent pulls a concise summary of the paper. You get the main points without reading the full abstract.

IDENTIFIER

ID-based lookup

You can use a DOI, ArXiv, or PubMed ID. The AI uses these to find the exact record you want.

HUMAN

Your final call

The AI provides the data and summaries. You still have to decide if the research fits your needs.

The workflow

What your AI does when an ID arrives.

The AI handles the heavy lifting of searching and parsing research databases.

  1. Identify ID

    Your agent detects the DOI, ArXiv, or PubMed ID in your message.

    get_semantic_paper

  2. Fetch data

    The AI uses the identifier to pull the paper record from the database.

    get_semantic_paper

  3. Extract TLDR

    The agent pulls the summary and key findings from the retrieved data.

    get_semantic_paper

  4. Deliver info

    The AI presents the metadata and summary in your chat window.

    get_semantic_paper

Try it

Copy these to start.

Paste these directly into your chat to test the connection.

Starting points

Swap the IDs in these examples with the ones you actually need.

Semantic Scholar Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_8zAprfIHUkrZA9BorlGo4lSh4aqrzDrrqy7KLAZz/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — Semantic Scholar capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "semantic-scholar-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_8zAprfIHUkrZA9BorlGo4lSh4aqrzDrrqy7KLAZz/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • Get a TLDR for DOI 10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7

  • Look up the metadata for ArXiv paper 2305.16313.

  • Summarize the paper with PubMed ID 34567890.

  • Find the details for DOI 10.1126/science.abb7012.

  • Claude
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  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect Semantic Scholar once, then ask.

Connect the MCP to your client in one click. Your credentials stay encrypted on our side.

Connect Semantic Scholar to your AI

FAQ

How this task behaves

  • 01

    Can I search for papers using just a title?

    No. You must provide a DOI, ArXiv ID, or PubMed ID for the AI to find the paper.

  • 02

    Does the AI download the full PDF?

    No. The AI only retrieves metadata and TLDR summaries.

  • 03

    Can the AI change paper details in the database?

    No. The AI can only read data from Semantic Scholar; it cannot modify any records.

  • 04

    What kind of summaries does it provide?

    It provides TLDR summaries that highlight the core findings of the paper.

  • 05

    Can the AI write a full literature review?

    The AI can provide data for multiple papers, but you must direct the synthesis and writing.

  • More questions about Semantic Scholar? The Connector page answers them. See everything the Semantic Scholar Connector can do

Connect Semantic Scholar to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT & more