OokCite MCP Server

Give any LLM the ability to validate DOIs, format citations, manage bibliography collections, and catch hallucinated references. Returns citation metadata only -- not PDFs or full-text articles. Works with any MCP client: Claude, Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenCode, Qwen agents, and more.

Quick Start

One command to install and configure:

npx @turtletech/ookcite-mcp setup

This auto-detects your MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) and writes the config for you. Add an API key for higher rate limits and collection tools:

npx @turtletech/ookcite-mcp setup --key YOUR_API_KEY

No API key required for basic usage (10 lookups/day). Sign up for more.

After changing MCP config, restart the client or reload its MCP servers. Many clients do not hot-reload environment-variable changes for already-running stdio servers.

Install (Alternative Methods)

npm (recommended):

npm install -g @turtletech/ookcite-mcp

cargo-binstall (fastest, no Node.js):

cargo binstall ookcite-mcp

cargo install (from source):

cargo install ookcite-mcp

Pre-built binaries: Download from GitHub Releases for Linux (x86_64, aarch64), macOS (x86_64, aarch64), and Windows.

Configure

If you used setup, you're done. Otherwise, add to your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ookcite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@turtletech/ookcite-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

With an API key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ookcite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@turtletech/ookcite-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OOKCITE_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

If you installed globally (npm install -g or cargo install), you can use "command": "ookcite-mcp" directly instead of npx.

Common config file locations:

Client	Config file
Claude Desktop (Linux)	~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Desktop (macOS)	~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Claude Code	.mcp.json (project) or ~/.claude/settings.json (global)
Cursor	Settings > MCP Servers
Codex	~/.codex/config.toml

For Codex, the equivalent global registration also works from the CLI:

codex mcp add ookcite --env OOKCITE_API_KEY=your_key_here -- npx -y @turtletech/ookcite-mcp

Then restart Codex so the new stdio server starts with the updated environment.

Tools

Lookup & Validation

Tool	Purpose
validate_doi	Check if a DOI exists (anti-hallucination)
lookup_isbn	Look up a book by ISBN
reverse_lookup	Find a paper from messy citation text
health_check	Check API availability and health

Formatting

Tool	Purpose
format_citation	Format a DOI in any of 2900+ CSL styles
verify_references	Batch-check a list of DOIs
batch_format	Format multiple citations at once
search_styles	Find CSL style IDs by name
group_cite	Generate grouped in-text markers (e.g. [1-3])

Collections (requires sign-in)

Collections are a signed-in feature. Set OOKCITE_API_KEY to use these tools.

Tool	Purpose
list_collections	List saved citation collections
add_to_collection	Add a citation (by DOI or free-text)
batch_add_to_collection	Add multiple citations at once
import_bibliography	Import BibTeX/RIS files into a collection
export_collection	Export collection as BibTeX
search_collection	Search within a collection
check_duplicates	Check for duplicate entries
delete_collection	Delete a collection
update_collection	Update name, description, or style
remove_from_collection	Remove a specific entry
update_tags	Set tags on a collection
reorder_collection	Reorder entries

Typical workflow:

1. Keep references.bib or library.bib under version control in your project
2. Import that file into an OokCite collection with import_bibliography
3. Use search_collection, check_duplicates, and export_collection while revising
4. Treat the collection as an audit/export companion, not the only copy of your bibliography

Sharing & Bulk Operations (requires academic/business plan)

Tool	Purpose
share_collection	Create a shareable link
unshare_collection	Revoke sharing
view_shared	View a shared collection by token
merge_collections	Merge multiple collections
batch_move_entries	Move entries between collections

Plans & Pricing

Tier	Price	Lookups/day	Collections	Entries/collection
Anonymous	Free	10	0	--
Free	Free	30	1	100
Academic	$4/mo	10,000	5	500
Business	$12/mo	10,000	10	2,000

Papers in your collections are free and unlimited to re-lookup. Only new lookups count against your daily quota. Papers stay free as long as they remain in a collection.

Batch operations require an academic or business plan. Academic pricing is for students, researchers, and educators at accredited institutions.

Anti-Hallucination

Add this to your system prompt:

Before citing any paper, use validate_doi to confirm the reference exists. If validation fails, do not include the citation.

For revision workflows, add:

Keep the project bibliography in a local .bib file under version control. Use OokCite collections for verification, deduplication, and export.

How It Works

The MCP server connects to the public OokCite API to look up and format citations. It's a thin MCP wrapper around the OokCite REST API with no local database, and no heavy dependencies.

Sign up for a free account (30 lookups/day), or upgrade to academic ($4/mo) or business ($12/mo) for batch operations and larger collections.

Documentation

• Full MCP setup guide
• OokCite app
• TurtleTech

License

MIT. see LICENSE.