# OpenAlex MCP > OpenAlex connects your AI agent directly to a massive, open index of global scholarly research. It lets you search millions of works, authors, institutions, and funding sources using natural conversation. Stop jumping between databases; find metadata on anything from academic papers to university affiliations instantly. ## Overview - **Category:** the-unthinkable - **Price:** Free - **Tags:** scholarly-data, academic-research, bibliometrics, metadata-search, open-science, research-automation ## Description Need to map out the full landscape of a specific scientific field? OpenAlex gives your AI agent access to an open index of global research data, tracking everything published across academia. You can ask for works related to a topic and get back structured metadata, or you can identify key researchers by name and pull their entire academic profile, including all major affiliations. This MCP lets you explore the connections between institutions, the people who work there, and the money that funds it. Whether you're tracking citation trends across different disciplines or just verifying an author's credentials, your agent handles the heavy lifting. Connect this MCP through Vinkius to give any compatible client access to this deep knowledge base. ## Tools ### get_author Retrieves all profile data for one specific author using their OpenAlex ID. ### get_funder Gets the full profile of a single funder organization by its unique OpenAlex ID. ### get_institution Pulls all available details for one university or research body using its OpenAlex ID. ### get_publisher Retrieves the profile information for a single publishing house by its OpenAlex ID. ### get_source Gets metadata about one specific journal, conference, or repository using its OpenAlex ID. ### get_topic Retrieves detailed information for a single defined academic topic area by its OpenAlex ID. ### get_work Fetches the full metadata record for one scholarly work, such as an article or dataset, using its unique ID. ### list_authors Searches and filters authors by name, affiliation, or other criteria to resolve names into IDs for later use. ### list_funders Lists, searches, and applies filters across multiple funding organizations. ### list_institutions Provides a searchable directory of academic institutions and research groups worldwide. ### list_publishers Searches and filters publishing entities by name or scope. ### list_sources Lists, searches, and filters academic sources like journals or conference proceedings. ### list_topics Provides a searchable list of recognized research topics and subject areas. ### list_works Searches, filters, sorts, and groups large sets of scholarly works (articles, books, datasets) by multiple criteria. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` Search for scholarly works about 'Large Language Models' published in 2023. ``` **Response:** ``` I've found several highly cited works from 2023. Top results include 'Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence' and 'LLaMA: Open and Efficient Foundation Language Models'. Would you like the full metadata for any of these? ``` **Prompt:** ``` List the top 5 research institutions in Germany by works count. ``` **Response:** ``` Based on OpenAlex data, the top institutions in Germany are: 1. Helmholtz Association, 2. Max Planck Society, 3. University of Munich, 4. Heidelberg University, 5. Technical University of Munich. Would you like to explore the authors associated with any of these? ``` **Prompt:** ``` Get detailed information for author ID A5023888321. ``` **Response:** ``` Retrieving profile... This ID belongs to Yoshua Bengio. He has over 1,000 works indexed, with a high citation count in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. His primary affiliation is Université de Montréal. ``` ## Capabilities ### Search and filter academic papers You can list, search, or filter scholarly works, including articles, books, and datasets based on criteria like author ID, publication year, or topic. ### Identify researcher profiles Retrieve detailed information about any academic author, showing their primary affiliations and overall impact metrics. ### Map out institutional connections List or fetch details on universities and research organizations globally, helping you understand the geographic spread of research. ### Trace funding sources Find single funder profiles or list multiple funders associated with specific research projects. ### Explore source details Get metadata for journals, conferences, and repositories (sources) or discover the core topics driving a field of study. ## Use Cases ### Mapping a field's origins A bio-tech analyst needs to know which institutions first studied CRISPR gene editing. They ask their agent, 'List works about CRISPR and filter by institution.' The agent uses list_works combined with list_institutions to return the top five universities and the foundational papers published there. ### Verifying a cited paper's context A student is writing a thesis and finds an author mentioned. They ask their agent, 'What are this author's key affiliations and what sources did they publish in?' The agent uses get_author to confirm the researcher’s profile and list_sources for primary publication venues. ### Tracing academic influence A data scientist wants to see which organizations are leading research on clean energy. They prompt, 'List institutions that published works related to solar power over the last decade.' The agent uses list_works and list_institutions to return a prioritized list of contributors. ### Analyzing grant dependencies A consultant needs to know if a recent paper was funded by private or governmental sources. They ask, 'For this work ID, who provided the funding?' The agent executes get_work and then uses get_funder to provide the specific corporate or government entity responsible for the research. ## Benefits - Stop copy-pasting author names. Use list_authors first to resolve a researcher's name into a verifiable ID, then use get_author to pull their complete profile in one step. - Track funding history easily. If you know the work, you can check which funders were involved using get_funder; if you know the funder, you can list what they supported via list_funders. - Build research maps instantly. Instead of visiting separate university directories, use list_institutions to find top academic hubs and then query them for related works using list_works. - Pinpoint source quality. Need to know if a paper is from a major journal or an obscure repository? Use get_source to check the full details of the publication venue. - Navigate complex topics without specialized knowledge. Use list_topics and search by category to understand the foundational subjects driving current academic research. ## How It Works The bottom line is your AI client reads complex academic indexes using natural language queries, returning clean data points instantly. 1. Subscribe to this MCP on Vinkius. You can optionally enter your OpenAlex API Key if you need faster rate limits. 2. Tell your AI client what specific academic data you need, like 'Find all papers about quantum computing from MIT in 2021.' 3. The agent runs the necessary search through this MCP and returns structured metadata for the works, authors, or institutions you asked about. ## Frequently Asked Questions **How do I use OpenAlex MCP to find works by a specific university?** You can list institutions first using list_institutions to get the ID for that university. Then, run list_works and filter results by including that institution's ID in your search query. **Can OpenAlex MCP help me track funding sources?** Yes. You can use list_funders to search for organizations or get details on a specific funder using get_funder. This helps you map the financial support behind academic research. **What's the difference between list_works and get_work in OpenAlex MCP?** list_works is for searching large sets of papers based on criteria like year or topic. get_work requires you to already have a specific work ID and retrieves its full metadata record. **Does the OpenAlex MCP support filtering by publication date?** Yes, list_works supports advanced filtering, including setting minimum (`:>`) or maximum (`:<`) years for the publication year. This is critical for tracking research trends over time. **Do I need to know the OpenAlex ID to use get_author?** While it's most accurate, you can first use list_authors to search by name or affiliation and retrieve the necessary author ID before running get_author.