README.md
mcp-pubmed
Search PubMed for biomedical literature, abstracts, and citations via the NCBI E-utilities API.
Free API — No API key required.
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_articles |
Search PubMed for biomedical articles. Supports full PubMed query syntax including field tags ([Title], [Author], [MeSH]), boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and date ranges. |
get_article |
Get full metadata for a specific PubMed article by PMID, including title, abstract, authors, journal, publication date, DOI, and MeSH terms. |
get_citations |
Get articles that cite a given PubMed article (PMID). Useful for forward citation tracking. |
get_related |
Get related articles for a given PubMed article (PMID), ranked by relevance using NCBI's algorithm. |
search_mesh |
Search the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) vocabulary. Useful for finding standardized biomedical terms, tree numbers, and scope notes. |
get_full_text_links |
Get links to free full text versions of an article (e.g., PubMed Central). Returns PMC links and publisher free-access URLs. |
Installation
git clone https://github.com/PetrefiedThunder/mcp-pubmed.git
cd mcp-pubmed
npm install
npm run build
Usage with Claude Desktop
Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pubmed": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/mcp-pubmed/dist/index.js"]
}
}
}
Usage with npx
npx mcp-pubmed
License
MIT
Tools 6
search_articlesSearch PubMed for biomedical articles using query syntax, boolean operators, and date ranges.get_articleRetrieve full metadata for a specific PubMed article by PMID.get_citationsGet articles that cite a given PubMed article for forward citation tracking.get_relatedFind related articles for a given PubMed article ranked by relevance.search_meshSearch the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) vocabulary for standardized terms.get_full_text_linksRetrieve links to free full-text versions of an article.Try it
→Search for recent articles about CRISPR gene editing published in the last year.
→Find the abstract and authors for PMID 34567890.
→What are the most relevant articles related to the paper with PMID 12345678?
→Find free full-text links for the article with PMID 98765432.
→Search the MeSH vocabulary for the term 'diabetes' to find related tree numbers.