Academica

Academica MCP

Scientific evidence infrastructure for AI agents.

Biomedical literature, clinical trials, physician-industry payments, and healthcare-provider records through four read-only Model Context Protocol servers.

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Four evidence surfaces. One protocol.

	Server	Evidence surface	Plugin
◉	PubMed	Biomedical citations, abstracts, authorship, journals, and identifiers	`academica-pubmed`
⌁	Clinical Trials	Study protocols, recruitment status, interventions, eligibility, and outcomes	`academica-clinical-trials`
◇	Open Payments	CMS transfers of value, manufacturers, physicians, and ownership interests	`academica-open-payments`
✣	Healthcare Providers	NPI identities, specialties, taxonomies, credentials, and practice locations	`academica-hcp`

Install one server in under a minute with Claude Code

/plugin marketplace add academica-sh/academica-mcp
/plugin install academica-pubmed@academica

Set the API key before loading the plugin:

export ACADEMICA_API_KEY="ak_…"

[!IMPORTANT] One repository is the distribution authority; activation remains client-specific. Claude Code and Codex expose four independently installable plugins. Cursor, Pi, Hermes, and the optional aggregate configurations register four named servers together and let the client control which tools remain enabled.

From research question to cited evidence

flowchart LR
    A[Research agent
Claude · Cursor · MCP client]
    B[Academica MCP
Authenticated read-only tools]
    C[Primary records
Identifiers and provenance retained]
    A --> B --> C

Hosted endpoints

Server	Streamable HTTP endpoint	OpenAPI schema
PubMed	`https://academica.sh/api/mcp/pubmed`	`openapi.json`
Clinical Trials	`https://academica.sh/api/mcp/clinical-trials`	`openapi.json`
Open Payments	`https://academica.sh/api/mcp/open-payments`	`openapi.json`
Healthcare Providers	`https://academica.sh/api/mcp/hcp`	`openapi.json`

All four servers use Streamable HTTP and accept an Academica API key in the Authorization: Bearer header.

What a result preserves

Academica tools return structured evidence records rather than untraceable prose. Depending on the selected server, a result can retain:

source identifiers such as PMID, NCT ID, NPI, and CMS record identifiers;
official titles, statuses, dates, organizations, and named entities;
study interventions, eligibility criteria, sponsors, and locations;
payment categories, amounts, manufacturers, and covered recipients;
provider credentials, taxonomies, specialties, and practice locations.

Source identifiers support inspection of the corresponding primary record. Retrieved records are research evidence, not medical advice, and absence from a result set does not establish absence from the underlying world.

Client setup

Claude Code

/plugin marketplace add academica-sh/academica-mcp
/plugin install academica-pubmed@academica

Install additional evidence surfaces independently:

/plugin install academica-clinical-trials@academica
/plugin install academica-open-payments@academica
/plugin install academica-hcp@academica

Claude Team and Cowork

Add each required endpoint as a Custom Web connector and provide the Academica key as Bearer authentication.

Name: Academica PubMed
URL: https://academica.sh/api/mcp/pubmed
Authorization: Bearer

Cursor

Install the repository as a Cursor Plugin. Under Plugins → Configure, set the required ACADEMICA_API_KEY variable. The native manifest registers all four servers without storing the key in the repository.

Codex

export ACADEMICA_API_KEY="ak_…"
codex plugin marketplace add academica-sh/academica-mcp
codex plugin add academica-pubmed@academica

The Codex marketplace contains four independently installable plugins. Each uses native bearer_token_env_var credential resolution.

OpenCode

Copy or merge one file from clients/opencode into the applicable opencode.json. Individual-server examples and an optional all-server configuration use {env:ACADEMICA_API_KEY} substitution with OAuth disabled.

Hermes Agent

Merge clients/hermes/config.yaml into ~/.hermes/config.yaml and expose ACADEMICA_API_KEY to Hermes. Four upstream-ready catalog manifests are provided under clients/hermes/catalog.

DeepSeek Harness

export ACADEMICA_API_KEY="ak_…"
dsh plugin --profile web add github:academica-sh/academica-mcp

The package mounts four instances of DeepSeek's official Streamable HTTP MCP client through cordis.patch.yml. Installation is per Harness profile.

export ACADEMICA_API_KEY="ak_…"
pi install git:github.com/academica-sh/academica-mcp

The Pi package loads an Academica extension backed by pi-mcp-adapter. All four servers are available; individual entries can be enabled or disabled through the adapter controls.

Smithery

Smithery treats each hosted endpoint as an independent catalog server. The four publication records and the shared session-authorization schema are maintained under smithery.

The session field accepts the complete authorization value:

Bearer

No key is stored in the repository or catalog metadata.

Generic MCP clients

Transport: Streamable HTTP
URL: https://academica.sh/api/mcp/
Header: Authorization: Bearer

Valid server paths are pubmed, clinical-trials, open-payments, and hcp.

ChatGPT Actions and OpenAPI clients

Import the schema for the required evidence surface:

https://academica.sh/api/mcp/pubmed/openapi.json
https://academica.sh/api/mcp/clinical-trials/openapi.json
https://academica.sh/api/mcp/open-payments/openapi.json
https://academica.sh/api/mcp/hcp/openapi.json

Use API Key authentication with the Bearer scheme. The privacy policy URL is https://academica.sh/legal/privacy.

Client compatibility

Client	Repository integration	Authentication	Selection model
Claude Code	`.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` plus four plugin packages	`ACADEMICA_API_KEY` environment substitution	Install each evidence surface independently
Cursor	`.cursor-plugin/plugin.json`	Required secret set under Plugins → Configure	One plugin exposes four named servers
Codex	`.agents/plugins/marketplace.json` plus four `.codex-plugin` manifests	Native `bearer_token_env_var`	Install each evidence surface independently
OpenCode	`clients/opencode/*.json`	`{env:ACADEMICA_API_KEY}` header substitution	Individual files plus optional `all.json`
Hermes Agent	`clients/hermes/config.yaml`	`${ACADEMICA_API_KEY}` header substitution	Four servers in one configuration
DeepSeek Harness	`package.json` plus `cordis.patch.yml`	Environment-backed header in the Cordis bundle	Four MCP-client instances per installed profile
Pi	`package.json` plus `extensions/academica-mcp.ts`	Environment-backed header through `pi-mcp-adapter`	One package; servers can be disabled individually
Smithery	Four hosted URL-server records under `smithery/`	Session-scoped `Authorization` header mapping	One catalog entry per evidence surface
Agent Plugins	Root `plugin.json` plus `mcp.json`	Client-managed; the portable standard stores no secret references	One portable plugin declares four servers

The portable Agent Plugins files intentionally contain no Authorization header. Clients that require bearer authentication use the native integrations listed above.

Verified distribution gates

Root Agent Plugins manifests validate against the 1.0.0 schemas.
All four Codex plugins pass the Codex plugin validator; an isolated install retained ACADEMICA_API_KEY as the bearer-token environment variable.
All five OpenCode configurations validate against the current OpenCode schema.
Hermes configuration and catalog manifests parse as YAML.
The Pi package installs from a local Git source and exports a valid extension function.
The npm package contains the Pi extension and DeepSeek Cordis bundle; dependency audit reports zero known vulnerabilities.
Smithery publication records enumerate four hosted servers, and the session schema validates as JSON Schema 2020-12.
All JSON manifests parse, and no operational API key is committed.

These checks prove packaging and configuration compatibility. Directory approval, npm publication, and authenticated evidence queries are separate release gates.

Built for evidence work

Property	Contract
Read-only by design	Retrieval tools cannot modify upstream scientific or public records.
Source-resolvable	Stable identifiers support inspection of the underlying record.
Scoped credentials	User-issued keys support revocation and evidence-surface authorization.
Composable	Independent servers support focused agents and cross-surface workflows.

Repository map

academica-mcp/
├── plugin.json                         # Open Plugins identity
├── mcp.json                            # Portable four-server MCP catalog
├── .cursor-plugin/plugin.json          # Cursor variables and authenticated MCPs
├── .agents/plugins/marketplace.json    # Codex marketplace catalog
├── .claude-plugin/marketplace.json      # Claude Code marketplace catalog
├── package.json                        # DeepSeek Harness and Pi package
├── cordis.patch.yml                    # DeepSeek MCP client bundle
├── extensions/                         # Pi MCP adapter extension
├── clients/                            # OpenCode and Hermes configurations
├── smithery/                           # Hosted-server publication records and session schema
├── plugins/
│   ├── academica-pubmed/                # Claude and Codex plugin manifests
│   ├── academica-clinical-trials/
│   ├── academica-open-payments/
│   └── academica-hcp/
└── registry/
    ├── pubmed/server.json               # Official MCP Registry metadata
    ├── clinical-trials/server.json
    ├── open-payments/server.json
    └── hcp/server.json

Cloning this repository downloads distribution metadata. It does not download the evidence corpora or start local servers; the manifests connect compatible clients to Academica's hosted endpoints.

Security and policy

Never commit an operational API key.
Store ACADEMICA_API_KEY in the client environment or its protected credential store.
Revoke exposed or unused keys at the API key console.
Report security concerns privately to sid@academica.sh.