How to Use the PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) MCP in Windsurf

Q: Can I build a custom research dashboard in my notes with this?

Yes. You can instruct Cascade to run a query using oailistrecords, format the output, and insert it as a table in your current file. This is a great way to create pages that track new research.

Connect Windsurf to PubMed Central. Let Cascade automate your research workflow, from finding papers to exporting citations.

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Connect PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) MCP to Windsurf

Create your Vinkius account to connect PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) to Windsurf — we handle the hosting, security, and runtime updates so you don't have to. No server setup required.

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Setup PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) with Windsurf

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Automate Multi-Step Research Tasks

Stop manually chaining commands. Tell Cascade a high-level goal, like "Find recent papers on CRISPR by Dr. Smith, get their citations, and find the full-text links." It figures out the steps on its own. Cascade will use `oai_list_identifiers` to find the papers, then run `export_citation` for each one, and finally use `oa_discover` to get the download links. You get the final result without having to prompt each action. This is what an autonomous agent is for.

End the ID Conversion Nightmare

You have a list of PMIDs, but your other tool needs PMCIDs. Or you have DOIs and need to find the original manuscript ID. This is a classic, tedious problem that kills momentum. Just give your agent the list of IDs you have. The `convert_ids` tool hits the PMC API and returns a clean JSON object with all corresponding identifiers. No more building custom scripts or using clunky web converters. It just works.

Your Windsurf MCP Server for Bulk Data

This isn't just for finding one paper. You can pull down metadata for thousands of articles to build a local database or run a text-mining analysis. It’s a direct link to the OAI-PMH repository. Use `oai_list_records` to get full records or `oai_list_identifiers` for a lighter-weight list of articles matching a specific metadata format. You can set up Cascade to periodically sync new research from a specific journal or topic into your local notes.

Setup guide

Set up PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) 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 PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) 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 PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) payment history." If connected, Cascade will call the PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) tools directly. You will see a green dot next to the server name in the MCP panel.

mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pmc-open-access-pubmed-central-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Get your connection token →

Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by PMC (PubMed Central). All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Common questions about PMC Open Access (PubMed Central) MCP in Windsurf

You ask Cascade to find the full text for a given PMCID. It uses the `oa_discover` tool, which queries the PMC Open Access Subset to find direct download links for PDFs or full-text XML files.

Yes. You can instruct Cascade to run a query using `oai_list_records`, format the output, and insert it as a table in your current file. This is a great way to create pages that track new research.

Automation. With Windsurf, you can chain commands. For example, find 50 papers, convert all their IDs, get their citation data, and check for full-text availability in a single instruction. A browser requires dozens of manual steps for the same task.

Once the MCP Server is installed from the marketplace, just open a chat with Cascade and ask it to do something, like `@pmc-open-access-pubmed-central-mcp find articles about gene therapy`. Cascade automatically knows which tools to use.

The server only handles public data: biomedical article metadata and identifiers from PubMed Central. Your requests are proxied through Vinkius's ephemeral sandboxes. No query history or private data is ever stored.

Use it with your favorite AI tools

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