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PubScope MCP server

Which MCP servers are PubScope's own, from the official registry and from asking its own domain, whether they answer, and what they offer. A program checked each of these, nobody copied them from a product page.

read 2026-10-20

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Whose server it is
  • Registry nameorg.pubscope/pubscopeverified in the MCP registry

The registry name sits under pubscope.org. The registry only lets a publisher use that namespace after proving control of the domain through DNS or HTTP.

When we asked itchecked 2026-10-20
  • Stateanswerschecked 2026-10-20
  • Tools4
  • Server calls itselfpubscope
  • Server version1.1.0
  • Protocol version2025-06-18

On 2026-10-20 the server answered initialize and tools/list without a sign-in. First answer in 240 ms.

Should an agent connect itConnect it, with care
  • Its tools do check whether a journal is indexed in Scopus or Web of Science; verify reference-list citations against Crossref and retraction records, but not find journals that suit a paper's abstract.

Once connected

  • For "check whether a journal is indexed in Scopus or Web of Science", the likely first call is search_journals.
  • For "verify reference-list citations against Crossref and retraction records", the likely first call is check_citations.

Said by rules from the measurements above. The likely first call is a model's pick from the tool list; read its description before relying on it.

Measured dailydaily checks: 7, the first on 2026-10-20
  • INITE MCP score82 of 100answers 100 · does the job 67 · definitions 100 · context 100 · use 0 · connects 100
  • What an agent can do with it2 of 3 use cases
  • Answered100% of days7 of 7 daily checks
  • Median first answer584 ms
  • Space in an agent's context≈ 519 tokensthe definitions of all its tools (4), which an agent carries on every turn
  • Tool definitionsA · 100 of 100
  • Typed results0 of 4 toolsdeclared outputSchema: results come typed, read once
  • Every tool passes all six checks.

What an agent can do with it

  • can do · check whether a journal is indexed in Scopus or Web of Science
  • cannot · find journals that suit a paper's abstract
  • can do · verify reference-list citations against Crossref and retraction records

Each of the product's use cases, put to Jev against this server's tool list: can an agent do it with these tools?

Worth a look

None of the five warning signs in these definitions.

A program checks the server once a day: initialize and tools/list, no model. Tokens are the definitions' length at about four characters a token. The grade averages six checks of every tool's name, description, schema and annotations; it says how well the tools are described, not whether they work. The score weighs what was measured and nothing else: answering (25%), doing the product's job (25%), definitions (20%), context (10%), use (10%) and how readily a client connects (10%). A part that was not measured is left out, and a hidden instruction caps the score at 40. The state of vendors' MCP servers: method and numbers →

Tools it offers4 tools · read 2026-10-20
  • search_journals

    Search 46,000+ academic journals by title, ISSN, or publisher. Returns indexing status (WoS/Scopus/DOAJ), SJR quartile and open-access info for any caller; trust score and APC require an identified caller. Supports filters.

  • get_journal

    Full profile of one journal by ISSN: indexing, quartile, open-access status, scope and integrity signals (e.g. DOAJ withdrawal) for any caller. Trust score with breakdown, impact factor, APC and measured publication time require an…

  • compare_journals

    Side-by-side comparison of 2-4 journals by ISSN: quartile and indexing for any caller, trust score and APC for an identified one.

  • check_citations

    Verify a pasted reference list (plain text, BibTeX or RIS) against Crossref, OpenAlex, DataCite, Semantic Scholar, arXiv, PubMed and DBLP, plus Retraction Watch. Flags references that cannot be found (possibly fabricated), retracted…

How to connect

Add the server to your MCP client config. Claude Desktop, Cursor and most other clients read this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pubscope": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://pubscope.org/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add it

Claude Code, in a terminal

claude mcp add --transport http pubscope https://pubscope.org/api/mcp

Add to CursorAdd to VS Code

claude.ai, ChatGPT and other clients: add https://pubscope.org/api/mcp as a custom connector in the settings.

Each line is something a program found when it went looking: the registry entry, the server's own answer, a spec that parses. A missing line means we did not find it, not that it does not exist.