About xpay Academic Research
xpay Academic Research is a focused MCP server collection for academic research tools. It gives researchers access to providers including Semantic Scholar, arXiv, PubMed, and CrossRef through one API key, with calls paid in USDC.
Key features
- 01Academic research tool collection
- 02Access Semantic Scholar, arXiv, and PubMed
- 03Use one API key across providers
- 04Pay per call in USDC via x402
Use cases
- 01Search academic literature across providers
- 02Find papers in arXiv or PubMed
- 03Connect research tools to an MCP client
MCP support
It provides an MCP endpoint for its Academic Research collection, which clients can connect to using an xpay API key. Tool calls cost $0.01 USDC and are paid via x402.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://research.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key={api_key}claude mcp add --transport http xpaysh-academic-research https://research.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key={api_key}{"mcpServers":{"xpaysh-academic-research":{"type":"http","url":"https://research.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key={api_key}"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"xpaysh-academic-research":{"type":"http","url":"https://research.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key={api_key}"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"xpaysh-academic-research":{"type":"http","url":"https://research.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key={api_key}"}}}{"mcpServers":{"xpaysh-academic-research":{"serverUrl":"https://research.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key={api_key}"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
Details
From the project READMExpay MCP Server
980+ AI tools available as MCP servers. Pay $0.01/call in USDC via the x402 protocol. One API key, 30+ providers — no individual provider accounts or subscriptions needed.
Quick Start
1. Get your API key
Sign up at app.xpay.sh and create an API key. Add credits to your wallet (USDC on Base).
2. Add to your MCP client
Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf — add to your MCP config:
{
"mcpServers": {
"xpay": {
"url": "https://mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY"
}
}
}
Claude Code CLI:
claude mcp add --transport http "xpay" "https://mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY"
Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key from step 1.
3. Use tools
Your AI assistant will automatically discover all available tools. Each tool call costs $0.01 USDC, deducted from your wallet balance.
Collection Servers
Instead of connecting to all 980+ tools, you can connect to a focused collection:
| Collection | Endpoint | Tools | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Tools | https://mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | 980+ | All 30+ |
| Lead Generation | https://lead-gen.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~50 | Hunter, Apollo, Tomba, Sixtyfour, Fiber, Exa, Nyne |
| Competitive Intel | https://compete.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~40 | Brand.dev, Coresignal, Keywords Everywhere, Exa, Firecrawl, Shofo |
| Content Research | https://content.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~40 | Perplexity, Tavily, Semantic Scholar, FLUX, Ideogram, Recraft |
| Web Scraping | https://scraping.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~35 | Firecrawl, Bright Data, Jina, Olostep, ScrapeGraph, Notte |
| Developer Tools | https://devtools.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~30 | Context7, Code Runner, Python Execute, NPM Sentinel, PlantUML |
| Finance | https://finance.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | 253 | Financial Modeling Prep, Alpha Vantage, AkShare, Polymarket |
| Media Studio | https://media.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~25 | FLUX, Ideogram, Recraft, Stability AI, MiniMax, Kokoro |
| Social Media | https://social.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | 96 | ScapeCreators, Shofo, YouTube |
| Academic Research | https://research.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~30 | Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar, PubMed, arXiv |
| Marketing | https://marketing.mcp.xpay.sh/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY | ~30 | Keywords Everywhere, Brand.dev, Exa, Tavily, Ideogram |
How It Works
- Get a key — Sign up at app.xpay.sh and add USDC credits
- Connect — Add the endpoint URL (with your key) to any MCP client
- Call tools — Your AI assistant discovers and calls tools naturally
- Auto-deduct — Each call costs $0.01 USDC, deducted from your wallet balance
No individual provider API keys. No separate accounts. One key for 30+ providers.
Requirements
- API key from app.xpay.sh
- USDC credits in your xpay wallet (add via Coinbase)
- MCP client — Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Code CLI, Cline, etc.
How x402 Works
x402 is an open protocol for machine-to-machine payments using HTTP 402 Payment Required. When a tool call requires payment:
- Server responds with
402 Payment Required+ a payment invoice - Client signs a USDC payment on Base blockchain
- Server verifies payment and executes the tool
- Settlement is instant, non-custodial, and peer-to-peer
Browse Tools
- Hub: xpay.tools
- Docs: docs.xpay.sh
- Platform: xpay.sh
Related
@xpaysh/x402— x402 facilitator SDK@xpaysh/n8n-nodes-xpay— n8n community node@xpaysh/agent-kit-langchain— LangChain integration- xpay Facilitator — Open x402 facilitator service
License
MIT
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.