NASA ADS MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides seamless access to the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) directly within Claude. Search papers, track citations, manage libraries, and export references—all through natural language conversation.
License: MIT
About this project
This MCP server is the result of an experiment on collaborating with Claude (Anthropic) to augment my literature search workflows. It leveraged the Skill mcp-builder provided by Anthropic. All code was generated by Claude based on requirements, domain knowledge, and iterative feedback provided by the human-in-the-loop. The MCP server is working well for me, but it is far from an extensively tested solution. Feel free to fork, contribute or suggest me things that need fixing or improvement.
Features
This MCP server exposes 10 tools for interacting with NASA ADS:
Search & Discovery
- search_papers - Search the ADS database with natural language queries
- get_paper_details - Get comprehensive metadata for specific papers
- get_author_papers - Find all publications by a specific author
Metrics & Analytics
- get_paper_metrics - Track citations, reads, and impact for specific papers
- get_author_metrics - Calculate h-index, citation statistics, and research impact
Reference Management
- export_bibtex - Export properly formatted BibTeX citations
- list_libraries - View your personal ADS paper collections
- get_library_papers - Access papers from specific libraries
- create_library - Organize papers by topic or project
- add_to_library - Build and maintain paper collections
Why This Tool?
The NASA ADS is the primary literature database for astronomy and astrophysics research, containing millions of papers, preprints, and citations. This MCP server makes ADS accessible through conversational AI, enabling:
- Literature reviews without switching contexts
- Citation tracking for your publications
- BibTeX generation for LaTeX/Quarto manuscripts
- Research organization through libraries
- Impact analysis with comprehensive metrics
Perfect for astronomers, astrophysicists, and researchers who want their reference database integrated into their AI workflow.
Installation
Prerequisites
- Claude Desktop installed (download here)
- Python 3.10+
- uv package manager (install here)
- NASA ADS API token (get yours here)
Setup
- Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/prtc/nasa-ads-mcp.git
cd nasa-ads-mcp
- Install dependencies:
uv sync
- Configure your API token:
Create a .env file in the project root:
cp .env.example .env
Edit .env and add your NASA ADS API token:
ADS_API_TOKEN=your_token_here
- Add to Claude Desktop configuration:
Edit your Claude Desktop config file:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json - Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add this entry to the mcpServers section:
{
"mcpServers": {
"nasa-ads": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/absolute/path/to/nasa-ads-mcp",
"run",
"python",
"src/nasa_ads_mcp/server.py"
]
}
}
}
Replace /absolute/path/to/nasa-ads-mcp with the actual path to where you cloned the repository.
- Restart Claude Desktop
Look for the 🔨 hammer icon in the input box to confirm the server is connected.
Usage Examples
Once connected, you can interact with ADS through natural language in Claude:
Search & Discovery
"Search for recent papers on stellar populations in elliptical galaxies"
"Find papers by Coelho, Paula R. T. from 2020-2025"
"What are the most cited papers on galaxy formation?"
Metrics & Impact
"What's my current h-index and total citations?"
"Show me citation trends for bibcode 2005A&A...443..735C"
"Get metrics for my 2024 papers"
Reference Management
"Export BibTeX for these 5 papers: [bibcodes]"
"Show me what's in my 'Stellar Spectral Libraries' collection"
"Create a new library called 'Review Paper References'"
"Add these papers to my reading list"
API Coverage
This server implements:
- ✅ Search API - Full query capabilities with field-specific searches
- ✅ Metrics API - Author and paper-level metrics
- ✅ Libraries API - Complete CRUD operations for collections
- ✅ Export API - BibTeX citation generation
- ⏳ Journals API - Future enhancement
Development
Project Structure
nasa-ads-mcp/
├── src/
│ └── nasa_ads_mcp/
│ ├── __init__.py
│ └── server.py # Main MCP server implementation
├── tests/
├── .env.example # Template for API token
├── .gitignore
├── pyproject.toml # Project configuration
├── README.md
└── LICENSE
Testing
A simple connection test is included:
uv run python test_connection.py
Contributing
Contributions are welcome! This project is particularly suited for:
- Adding more ADS API endpoints
- Improving error handling
- Enhancing citation formatting
- Adding more metrics visualizations
Technical Details
Built with:
- MCP SDK for Claude Desktop integration
- ads Python package for ADS API access
- requests for direct API calls (Metrics & Libraries)
- python-dotenv for secure token management
The server uses:
- stdio transport for Claude Desktop communication
- Direct API calls for Metrics and Libraries (not fully supported in ads package)
- Rate limiting handled by NASA ADS API (monitor via response headers)
Known Limitations
- Rate limits: NASA ADS enforces rate limits. Monitor your usage for large queries.
- Reads metric: Currently returns 0 (API limitation, not server issue)
- BibTeX formatting: Basic implementation; doesn't include all possible fields
Troubleshooting
Server won't start
- Verify Python 3.10+ is installed:
python3 --version - Check API token is in
.envfile - Ensure
uv synccompleted successfully - Check Claude Desktop logs in Settings > Developer
API errors
- Verify your ADS API token is valid
- Check you haven't hit rate limits
- Confirm bibcodes are correctly formatted
Can't see tools in Claude
- Fully quit and restart Claude Desktop
- Check the 🔨 hammer icon appears in the input
- Verify config path is absolute, not relative
Acknowledgments
- NASA Astrophysics Data System for providing the API
- Anthropic for creating MCP and Claude
- Astronomy community for maintaining the world's best literature database
Citation
If you use this tool in your research workflow, you can cite:
@software{nasa_ads_mcp,
author = {Paula Coelho},
title = {NASA ADS MCP Server},
note = {Code generated by Claude (Anthropic)},
year = {2025},
url = {https://github.com/prtc/nasa-ads-mcp}
}
License
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
Questions or Issues? Open an issue on GitHub or contact through the repository.
Want to learn more about MCP? Visit modelcontextprotocol.io