Scholar MCP

Scholar MCP runs locally from a Python package published to PyPI: pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp version 2.0.0. It speaks MCP over stdio, so the client starts it as a program and talks to it through standard input and output. It needs Python; clients usually start it with uvx (from uv) or after pip install — the usual command is uvx pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp. It reads these environment variables: SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW, SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY, SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME, SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION, SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA, SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS, FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL, FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING, SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN (secret), SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY, SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY (secret), SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY (secret), SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL, SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR, SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL, SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY and SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET (secret); set them in the client's configuration for this server.

Scholar MCP runs locally from a container image in an OCI registry such as Docker Hub or GitHub Container Registry: ghcr.io/pvliesdonk/scholar-mcp:v2.0.0. The package starts a local server that speaks MCP over Streamable HTTP; the client then connects to it by URL. It reads these environment variables: SCHOLAR_MCP_BASE_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_BEARER_TOKEN (secret), SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_CONFIG_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_CLIENT_ID, SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET (secret), SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_AUDIENCE, SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_REQUIRED_SCOPES, SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_ADVERTISED_SCOPES, SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_JWT_SIGNING_KEY (secret), SCHOLAR_MCP_OIDC_VERIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN, SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL, SCHOLAR_MCP_APP_DOMAIN, SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW, SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY, SCHOLAR_MCP_AUTH_MODE, SCHOLAR_MCP_BEARER_TOKENS_FILE, SCHOLAR_MCP_BEARER_DEFAULT_SUBJECT, SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME, SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION and SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA; set them in the client's configuration for this server.

In the mcpServers JSON format that many desktop and editor MCP clients read, the entry looks like this (placeholders in angle brackets):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "scholar-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "pvliesdonk-scholar-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_KV_STORE_URL": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_ALLOW": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_TOOLS_DENY": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_SERVER_NAME": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTANCE_DESCRIPTION": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_EXTRA": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_INSTRUCTIONS": "<value>",
        "FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL": "<value>",
        "FASTMCP_ENABLE_RICH_LOGGING": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_GITHUB_TOKEN": "<secret>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_READ_ONLY": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_S2_API_KEY": "<secret>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_DOCLING_URL": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_URL": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_API_KEY": "<secret>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_VLM_MODEL": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_CACHE_DIR": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_KEY": "<value>",
        "SCHOLAR_MCP_EPO_CONSUMER_SECRET": "<secret>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Derived from the registry entry, not tested here. What the server does, and on what terms, is set by its publisher; check its repository or website before giving it access to your accounts or files. How to add an MCP server to an assistant · Before you connect