About bgpt-mcp
BGPT is a remote MCP server for searching scientific papers and retrieving structured study details, including methods, results, limitations, conflicts of interest, and quality scores. It is intended for literature searches and evidence-focused appraisal.
Key features
- 01Search papers with natural-language queries
- 02Retrieve methods and experimental results
- 03Surface limitations and study blindspots
- 04Return conflict-of-interest and funding details
- 05Provide calibrated quality scores
Use cases
- 01Find research on a scientific topic
- 02Appraise a paper's reliability and limitations
- 03Compare reproducibility across studies
- 04Review sample sizes and study populations
MCP support
BGPT exposes a single search_papers tool to MCP clients. Results include bibliographic details and structured fields covering study methods, findings, limitations, and quality signals.
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/ / github.com/ connerlambden/ bgpt-mcp --skill bgpt-mcpAfter installing, type/bgpt-mcpin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMEBGPT MCP — Scientific Paper Search with Structured Critical Appraisal
BGPT is a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that searches a database of scientific papers built from full-text studies. Unlike typical search tools that return titles and abstracts, BGPT extracts raw experimental data along with 25+ structured fields per paper.
When to Use
Use BGPT whenever the user asks to:
- Find scientific papers on a topic
- Evaluate research quality, reproducibility, or COI
- Surface limitations, blindspots, or falsifiability criteria of studies
- Retrieve methods, sample sizes, populations, or experimental techniques
- Build an evidence-grounded answer that requires citing primary literature
- Compare evidence across multiple studies with quality signals
Setup
Add BGPT to the MCP client config — no API key needed for the free tier (50 free results, then $0.02/result).
Claude Desktop / Cursor / any MCP client (SSE):
{
"mcpServers": {
"bgpt": {
"url": "https://bgpt.pro/mcp/sse"
}
}
}
Streamable HTTP (alternative): https://bgpt.pro/mcp/stream
Tool: search_papers
The single tool exposed by BGPT.
Input:
query(string, required) — natural-language description of what to search for. Examples:"CRISPR base editing in vivo delivery 2024","semaglutide cardiovascular outcomes","transformer attention sparse activations".
Output (per paper):
Each result is a paper with these structured fields:
title,authors,journal,year,doi,urlabstractmethods_and_experimental_techniquesresults_and_conclusionssample_size_and_populationstudy_contextpaper_limitations_and_biasesstudy_blindspots— confounders the authors did not examinehow_to_falsify— what evidence would disprove the paper's claimsconflict_of_interestfunding_jsondata_availability_statementscode_and_data_linksquality_scores— calibrated 0-10 scores for: scientific rigor, novelty, generality, usefulness, reproducibility, depth
Best Practices
- Cite the structured fields, not just the abstract. When summarizing a paper, surface the
paper_limitations_and_biases,study_blindspots, andconflict_of_interestfields in the response so the user gets calibrated context. - Use
quality_scores.reproducibilityto triage. When multiple papers conflict, prefer the higher reproducibility score and note the difference. - For systematic reviews and clinical questions, leverage
sample_size_and_populationto filter underpowered studies. - For methods-heavy questions (replication, technique comparison), focus on
methods_and_experimental_techniques. - Always show
how_to_falsifywhen the user asks "is X true?" — the falsification criterion is the test the claim should pass. - Always disclose
conflict_of_interestwhen summarizing pharma, nutrition, or industry-funded research.
Example Workflows
Evidence-graded literature search
User: "What's the evidence for time-restricted eating on cardiovascular outcomes?"
Use search_papers("time-restricted eating cardiovascular outcomes RCT"). From results, return a comparative table that includes for each paper: sample size, primary outcome, reproducibility score, and disclosed COI/funding.
Critical appraisal
User: "Is paper X reliable?"
Search for the paper title. Surface paper_limitations_and_biases, study_blindspots, how_to_falsify, and quality_scores. State the falsification criterion explicitly.
Replicability check
User: "Has this finding replicated?"
Search the original finding, then search for follow-up replications. Compare quality_scores.reproducibility across studies and surface methodological differences from methods_and_experimental_techniques.
Pricing
- 50 free searches per network (no API key needed)
- $0.02 per result thereafter (API key from https://bgpt.pro/mcp)