About Q1 Crafter Mcp
Q1 Crafter MCP is an academic research server for researchers, covering literature search, analysis, citation formatting, and DOCX manuscript generation. It searches multiple databases, and free sources work without API keys.
Key features
- 01Search up to 18 academic databases in parallel
- 02Deduplicate by DOI and title
- 03Analyze themes, trends, and research gaps
- 04Generate charts, tables, and citation networks
- 05Format APA 7 citations and build DOCX files
Use cases
- 01Find papers on a topic across databases
- 02Analyze literature and identify research gaps
- 03Validate citations and format APA 7 references
- 04Generate DOCX manuscripts with sections and references
MCP support
The MCP server provides Claude Desktop with tools for academic search, literature analysis, visualization, citation formatting, and DOCX generation.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project README
🎓 Q1 Crafter MCP
Academic Research MCP Server for Claude Desktop
Automates the full research cycle — from source discovery across 18 databases
to Q1-quality, APA 7-formatted .docx output.
Features • Quick Start • Claude Desktop • Tools • Sources • Contributing
✨ Features
| Category | Highlights |
|---|---|
| 🔍 Multi-Source Search | Query 18 academic APIs in parallel with smart field-based routing |
| 🔄 Intelligent Dedup | Two-phase deduplication: exact DOI match → fuzzy title (92% Levenshtein) |
| 🇹🇷 Turkish Sources | Native support for TR Dizin, DergiPark (OAI-PMH), YÖK Tez Merkezi |
| 📊 Literature Analysis | Gap detection, keyword extraction (TF-IDF), citation validation |
| 📈 Visualizations | Publication trends, source distribution, citation network (Mermaid) |
| 📝 APA 7 Engine | Full citation formatter — handles 1/2/3+/20+ author rules, DOI formatting |
| 📄 DOCX Generator | One-click manuscript generation with title page, sections, references |
| ⚡ Zero Config | Free sources work instantly; paid APIs activate when keys are provided |
🚀 Quick Start
Installation
pip install q1-crafter-mcp
Configuration
# Copy the example env file
cp .env.example .env
# Add your API keys (optional — free sources work without any keys!)
# Edit .env and fill in the keys you have
Run
q1-crafter-mcp
🖥️ Claude Desktop Setup
Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:
📋 Windows — %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"q1-crafter": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "q1_crafter_mcp.server"],
"env": {
"SCOPUS_API_KEY": "your-scopus-key",
"IEEE_API_KEY": "your-ieee-key",
"SPRINGER_API_KEY": "your-springer-key",
"NCBI_API_KEY": "your-pubmed-key",
"UNPAYWALL_EMAIL": "[email protected]"
}
}
}
}
📋 macOS / Linux — ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"q1-crafter": {
"command": "python3",
"args": ["-m", "q1_crafter_mcp.server"],
"env": {
"SCOPUS_API_KEY": "your-scopus-key",
"IEEE_API_KEY": "your-ieee-key",
"SPRINGER_API_KEY": "your-springer-key"
}
}
}
}
💡 Tip: You don't need all API keys! Free sources (arXiv, CrossRef, OpenAlex, PubMed, etc.) work out of the box. Add paid keys to unlock more databases.
🔧 Troubleshooting
❌ ENOENT error: spawn q1-crafter-mcp ENOENT
This means Claude Desktop can't find the executable. This is common on Windows because pip install puts scripts in a user directory that isn't in Claude Desktop's PATH.
Fix: Use python -m instead of the direct command (already shown in the config above). Make sure you're using:
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "q1_crafter_mcp.server"]
Alternative fix: Use the full path to the executable:
# Find where it's installed:
pip show q1-crafter-mcp
# Look at the "Location" field, then the Scripts folder next to it
# Example: C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Roaming\Python\Python313\Scripts\q1-crafter-mcp.exe
Then use that full path in your config:
"command": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\AppData\\Roaming\\Python\\Python313\\Scripts\\q1-crafter-mcp.exe"
❌ Server disconnected immediately
Check that the package is installed correctly:
python -m q1_crafter_mcp.server
If you get an import error, reinstall:
pip install --force-reinstall q1-crafter-mcp
❌ No search results returned
- Free sources (arXiv, CrossRef, OpenAlex) work without API keys
- If you added API keys, verify they are correct in your Claude Desktop config
- Run
check_api_statustool in Claude to see which sources are available
🛠 Available Tools
🔍 Search Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_academic | Search up to 18 databases in parallel with smart routing |
search_by_doi | Look up any paper by its DOI |
search_citations | Find all papers that cite a given work |
search_references | Get the reference list of a paper |
📊 Analysis Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
analyze_literature | Identify research gaps, themes, trends, and top-cited papers |
validate_citations | Bidirectional check: in-text citations ↔ reference list |
extract_keywords | TF-IDF keyword extraction with bigram support |
📈 Visualization Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
generate_comparison_table | Paper comparison tables (Markdown, CSV, APA format) |
generate_trend_chart | Publication trend charts (base64 PNG, dark theme) |
generate_citation_network | Citation network visualization (Mermaid diagram) |
📝 Output Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
write_section | Academic section scaffolding with IMRaD templates |
format_references_apa7 | APA 7th edition reference list formatter |
build_docx | Generate formatted .docx manuscript |
check_api_status | Check which API sources are available |
🌐 Supported Sources
| 🆓 Free (No Key) | 🔑 Free (Key Required) | 🏛️ Institutional | 🇹🇷 Turkish |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
🏗 Architecture
q1-crafter-mcp/
├── src/q1_crafter_mcp/
│ ├── server.py # MCP server + 14 tool registrations
│ ├── config.py # Settings & API key management
│ ├── models.py # Pydantic data models
│ └── tools/
│ ├── search/ # 18 API clients + aggregator + dedup
│ ├── analysis/ # Gap analyzer, keywords, summarizer
│ ├── visualization/ # Charts, tables, citation network
│ └── output/ # APA formatter, section writer, DOCX
├── tests/ # 120 unit tests
├── pyproject.toml
└── .env.example
How It Works
graph LR
A[Claude Desktop] -->|MCP| B[Q1 Crafter Server]
B --> C[🔍 Search 18 APIs]
C --> D[🔄 Deduplicate]
D --> E[📊 Analyze]
E --> F[📈 Visualize]
E --> G[📝 APA 7 Format]
G --> H[📄 .docx Output]
- Search — Queries up to 18 databases in parallel, routes by field (medicine → PubMed, CS → Semantic Scholar)
- Deduplicate — Removes duplicates via exact DOI + fuzzy title matching (92% threshold)
- Analyze — Identifies themes, gaps, trends, and extracts keywords
- Visualize — Generates charts, tables, and citation networks
- Format — Applies APA 7th edition rules for citations and references
- Output — Assembles everything into a formatted
.docxmanuscript
📖 Usage Example
Just ask Claude naturally:
🗣 "Search for papers about machine learning in drug discovery from 2020-2024, analyze the results, and generate a literature review section with APA 7 citations."
Claude will automatically:
- Search across available databases
- Deduplicate and rank results
- Analyze themes and identify gaps
- Generate formatted citations
- Write a structured section with proper references
🔑 API Key Setup
| Source | How to Get Key | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Semantic Scholar | semanticscholar.org/product/api | Free |
| PubMed (NCBI) | ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/account | Free |
| CORE | core.ac.uk/services/api | Free |
| Scopus | dev.elsevier.com | Institutional |
| IEEE Xplore | developer.ieee.org | Paid |
| Springer | dev.springernature.com | Free tier |
| Dimensions | dimensions.ai | Free for research |
🧪 Development
# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/ZaEyAsa/q1-crafter-mcp.git
cd q1-crafter-mcp
# Install with dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"
# Run tests
pytest
# Lint
ruff check src/
📊 Test Coverage
| Module | Tests | What's Covered |
|---|---|---|
| Models | 15 | Paper, Author, SearchConfig, serialization |
| APA Formatter | 18 | In-text, references, ordering, Turkish chars |
| Config | 10 | Source availability, key management |
| Dedup | 9 | DOI match, fuzzy title, metadata richness |
| Analysis | 18 | Gap analysis, keywords, summarizer, citations |
| Visualization | 17 | Charts, tables, citation networks |
| Output | 12 | Section writer, DOCX generator |
| Search Base | 7 | Client lifecycle, safe_search |
| Total | 120 | All passing ✅ |
📄 License
MIT © ZaEyAsa
Built with ❤️ for researchers who deserve better tools.
If this helps your research, give it a ⭐ on GitHub!
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