Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) Connector for AI agents.
1 live capability
Find legal open-access PDF links for scholarly research papers.
Waiting for input…
Why people use Unpaywall (Open Access Papers)
Unpaywall for Scholarly Research PDF Retrieval
This Connector puts the Unpaywall database directly into your agent's hands. You just paste the DOI, and your agent tells you exactly where the free version lives. It pulls the PDF link and tells you the license type, so you can stop hunting and start reading.
What Vinkius changes
That your agent finds the legal PDF links so you don't have to browse multiple sites.
Use it from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another AI client you already have.
One account · 5,900+ Connectors
- Real-world use case 01
Gathering a thesis bibliography
A student has a list of 50 DOIs and needs to find every available PDF.
- Real-world use case 02
Data mining for research
A scientist wants to see which papers in a field are gold open access.
- Real-world use case 03
Quick reference checking
A researcher wants to know if a specific Nature paper is free before they try to find it.
Complete set · 1capability
The complete Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) capability set.
These are the exact actions your AI can choose when you ask it to work with Unpaywall (Open Access Papers).
01
1 capability in this set.
Part of 1 available through Unpaywall (Open Access Papers).
- 01 Capability
Get article oa status
Retrieve the Open Access status and direct links for a specific DOI. It tells you if a paper is free and where to find it.
Set up in minutes
One URL. Then ask Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) to work.
Claude and ChatGPT only need the Connector URL. Copy it once, add it in settings, and use Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) from the conversation.
Choose your client
Live previewAdvanced clients IDE · CLI
Claude · Web + desktop
Connector URL · ready to paste
Streamable HTTPhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_FhVinYZ5ipCUoRhSWZX441L0cACxRSjvwvPVvMMz/mcp - Step 01
Open Connectors
In Claude Web or Claude Desktop, open Settings and choose Connectors.
- Step 02
Add the URL
Choose Add custom connector, name it Unpaywall (Open Access Papers), and paste the URL above.
- Step 03
Turn it on in chat
Select +, open Connectors, and enable Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) for the conversation.
ChatGPT · Web + desktop
Connector URL · ready to paste
Streamable HTTPhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_FhVinYZ5ipCUoRhSWZX441L0cACxRSjvwvPVvMMz/mcp - Step 01
Open MCP settings
On desktop, open Settings and MCP servers. On web, open your workspace app or connector settings.
- Step 02
Add the URL
Choose Add server with Streamable HTTP, or create a custom MCP app, then paste the Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) URL.
- Step 03
Save and start
Save the connection and enable Unpaywall (Open Access Papers) in your conversation. Desktop may ask you to restart once.
Cursor · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"unpaywall-open-access-papers": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_FhVinYZ5ipCUoRhSWZX441L0cACxRSjvwvPVvMMz/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open MCP Settings
Press Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) → search "MCP Settings"
- Step 02
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above into the mcp.json file that opens
- Step 03
Save the file
Cursor will automatically detect the new Connector
- Step 04
Start using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers)
Open Agent mode in chat and ask: "Using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers), help me...". 1 tools available
VS Code Copilot · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"unpaywall-open-access-papers": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_FhVinYZ5ipCUoRhSWZX441L0cACxRSjvwvPVvMMz/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Create MCP config
Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root
- Step 02
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above
- Step 03
Enable Agent mode
Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown
- Step 04
Start using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers)
Ask Copilot: "Using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers), help me...". 1 tools available
Windsurf · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"unpaywall-open-access-papers": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_FhVinYZ5ipCUoRhSWZX441L0cACxRSjvwvPVvMMz/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open MCP Settings
Go to Settings → MCP Configuration or press Cmd+Shift+P and search "MCP"
- Step 02
Add the server
Paste the JSON configuration above into mcp_config.json
- Step 03
Save and reload
Windsurf will detect the new server automatically
- Step 04
Start using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers)
Open Cascade and ask: "Using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers), help me...". 1 tools available
Cline · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"unpaywall-open-access-papers": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_FhVinYZ5ipCUoRhSWZX441L0cACxRSjvwvPVvMMz/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open Cline MCP Settings
Click the Connectors icon in the Cline sidebar panel
- Step 02
Add remote server
Click "Add Connector" and paste the configuration above
- Step 03
Enable the server
Toggle the server switch to ON
- Step 04
Start using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers)
Ask Cline: "Using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers), help me...". 1 tools available
Claude Code · Terminal command
Advanced setup
claude mcp add unpaywall-open-access-papers --transport http "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_FhVinYZ5ipCUoRhSWZX441L0cACxRSjvwvPVvMMz/mcp"- Step 01
Install Claude Code
Run npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code if not already installed
- Step 02
Add the Connector
Run the command above in your terminal
- Step 03
Verify the connection
Run claude mcp to list connected servers, or type /mcp inside a session
- Step 04
Start using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers)
Ask Claude: "Using Unpaywall (Open Access Papers), show me...". 1 tools are ready
Where the request belongs
Work Unpaywall can move forward.
This is for the researcher who is tired of hitting paywalls and the student who needs to find free reading materials for a thesis.
Academic Researcher
They use this to quickly gather full-text PDFs for a literature review without checking every library portal.
University Student
They use it to find legal, free copies of required reading that they can't afford to buy.
Data Scientist
They use it to automate the collection of open-access research data for large-scale analysis.
Build the capability set
Add more capabilities.
Each Connector adds new actions and data without changing how you work.
Browse ConnectorsDOAJ
Search and manage open access research journals and articles via the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
CORE (Open Access Research)
Access millions of open access research papers, journals, and repositories directly from your AI agent using the CORE API.
CrossRef
Search 150M+ academic works. find journal articles, books, DOIs, citations and scholarly metadata.
PMC Open Access (PubMed Central)
Access millions of open-access biomedical and life sciences research articles. Search metadata, convert IDs, and discover full-text resources.
OpenAlex
Access 250M+ scholarly works with open bibliometric data. search papers, authors, institutions, and trending research topics. The open-source alternative to Scopus and Web of Science.
Stanford OpenAlex
Explore the global research landscape with open access to scholarly works, authors, institutions, and citation graphs.
Bring your own AI
Change the model, client or framework. Keep Unpaywall connected.
-
Claude -
ChatGPT -
Gemini -
Cursor -
VS Code -
Windsurf -
ZCode -
Cline -
Zed -
Continue -
Kiro -
Roo Code -
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Void -
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Cherry Studio -
LibreChat -
TypingMind -
Chorus -
5ire -
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LangChain -
LlamaIndex -
CrewAI -
Vercel AI SDK
Before you connect
Questions about Unpaywall.
The practical details behind the request, access and result.
How does Unpaywall MCP find research papers?
It queries the Unpaywall database using a DOI to see if a legal, open-access version of the paper exists on the internet.
Can Unpaywall MCP get me PDFs for free?
Yes, it provides direct links to full-text PDFs that are hosted on publisher sites or institutional repositories under open-access licenses.
Does Unpaywall MCP work with any DOI?
It works with any DOI that is indexed in the Unpaywall database, which covers millions of scholarly articles.
Can I use Unpaywall MCP for my literature review?
Yes, it's a great way to automate the discovery of accessible papers when you have a large list of citations to check.
Is it legal to use Unpaywall MCP?
Yes, this Connector only finds versions of papers that are already made available for free under legal open-access licenses.
What types of papers can Unpaywall MCP find?
It finds various types of open access, including gold, green, and bronze licenses, from a wide range of publishers and repositories.
How do I check if a specific research paper is available for free?
Use the get_article_oa_status capability with the paper's DOI. Your agent will query the Unpaywall database and return the Open Access status along with direct links to the PDF if available.
Does this capability provide legal versions of the papers?
Yes. Unpaywall only indexes legal, author-archived, or publisher-provided Open Access versions of scholarly articles. It does not access pirated content.
What information is required to use this server?
You need the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) of the article and a valid email address to authenticate with the Unpaywall API.
One connection away
Give your agent a direct line to Unpaywall.
Connect Unpaywall once. Keep it beside 5,900+ managed Connectors when the next task needs more.
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