Set up arxiv-mcp / pubmedmcp / zotero-mcp for use in Phase 2 (Literature Collection + Verification). For each server, this file documents installation, tools available, and the searches that match the workflow.
Repository: https://github.com/blazickjp/arxiv-mcp-server
Add to ~/.claude/mcp.json (or your MCP config file):
{
"mcpServers": {
"arxiv": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["arxiv-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"ARXIV_STORAGE_PATH": "~/.arxiv-mcp-server/papers"
}
}
}
}
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
mcp__arxiv-mcp-server__search_papers |
Search by keywords with date range and category filters |
mcp__arxiv-mcp-server__download_paper |
Download paper PDF by arXiv ID |
mcp__arxiv-mcp-server__list_papers |
List all downloaded papers |
mcp__arxiv-mcp-server__read_paper |
Read downloaded paper content (Markdown) |
Query: "[topic] AND (segmentation OR detection OR classification)"
Categories: cs.CV, eess.IV, cs.LG
Date: Last 3 years for current state of the art
Max results: 50-80 per query (discriminate aggressively — quality over breadth)
"medical image segmentation transformer" (cs.CV, eess.IV)"coronary artery deep learning" (cs.CV)"CT scan neural network" (eess.IV)"foundation model medical segmentation" (cs.CV, cs.LG)Per CITATION_INTEGRITY.md Rule 2, when adding an arXiv paper to bibliography:
search_papers to find candidatesdownload_paper(paper_id) for promising onesread_paper(paper_id) to read full text (or at least abstract + methods + results)https://arxiv.org/abs/<id> for author list verificationRepository: https://github.com/grll/pubmedmcp
Access 35+ million biomedical literature citations.
{
"mcpServers": {
"pubmedmcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["pubmedmcp@latest"],
"env": {
"UV_PRERELEASE": "allow",
"UV_PYTHON": "3.12"
}
}
}
}
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
mcp__pubmed-mcp-server__pubmed_search_articles |
Search PubMed with MeSH and free-text queries |
"Deep Learning"[MeSH] AND "Coronary Vessels"[MeSH]"Image Processing, Computer-Assisted"[MeSH] AND "Tomography, X-Ray Computed"[MeSH]"Cardiac Imaging Techniques"[MeSH] AND "Artificial Intelligence"[MeSH]pubmed_search_articles returns PMIDs. For metadata verification (CITATION_INTEGRITY.md Rules 1-2):
WebFetch on https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/<PMID>/
→ Extract: full author list, journal, year, vol, issue, pages, DOI, finding direction
This is the canonical first-source verification step for medical clinical papers.
Access user's local Zotero database via Zotero-MCP.
# List collections
curl -s "http://localhost:23119/api/users/[USER_ID]/collections"
# Get items from a collection
curl -s "http://localhost:23119/api/users/[USER_ID]/collections/[KEY]/items"
Repository: https://github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcp
Provides structured access:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
mcp__zotero__zotero_search_collections |
Find collections by name / keyword |
mcp__zotero__zotero_get_collection_items |
List items in a collection |
mcp__zotero__zotero_search_items |
Search items by keyword |
mcp__zotero__zotero_get_item_metadata |
Get full metadata for an item |
mcp__zotero__zotero_get_item_fulltext |
Get full paper text from attached PDF |
mcp__zotero__zotero_get_annotations |
Get user highlights / notes |
mcp__zotero__zotero_semantic_search |
Semantic search across library |
For closed-access journals (Med Image Anal, Eur Radiol, JACC family, Lancet family, Nature family), the user often has PDFs in Zotero that aren't accessible via WebFetch. Workflow:
1. mcp__zotero__zotero_search_items(query: "<author> <method>", limit: 5)
2. mcp__zotero__zotero_get_item_metadata(item_key: "<key>")
3. mcp__zotero__zotero_get_item_fulltext(item_key: "<key>") for body content
| Source | Best for | Strengths | Workflow phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| ArXiv | Methodological preprints, ML/AI advances | Fast access, CS/AI focus, full text | Phase 2.1 |
| PubMed | Peer-reviewed clinical / validation, MeSH-indexed | Authoritative for medical, free metadata access | Phase 2.2 |
| Zotero | Closed-access journals where user has PDFs | Local, supports fulltext extraction | Phase 2.3 |
| Crossref | DOI verification | API gives canonical metadata | All phases (verification) |
For Phase 4 (per-claim verification) and Phase 5 (peer review):
# Crossref by DOI
WebFetch on https://api.crossref.org/works/<DOI>
→ Returns JSON: title, full author list, container-title (journal), volume, issue, page, DOI, published year
# Crossref by topic search
WebFetch on https://api.crossref.org/works?query.bibliographic=<keywords>&rows=5
→ Returns top 5 matching entries
# PubMed by PMID
WebFetch on https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/<PMID>/
→ Returns parsed page: title, authors, journal info, DOI, abstract
# arXiv abstract page (for author list verification)
WebFetch on https://arxiv.org/abs/<id>
→ Returns abstract + full author list
If an MCP server is not configured or fails:
https://arxiv.org/abs/<id> directlyhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/<PMID>/ directlyThe skill is designed to work even without MCP — WebFetch on the underlying APIs is always available.