Bibverify — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
Validates BibTeX citations against DOI, arXiv, and academic registries. Useful when checking research bibliographies before submission.
claude mcp add bibverify -- uvx bibverifyWhat Bibverify does
Bibverify matches bibliographic references against public scholarly indexes including Crossref, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, and PubMed. It checks explicit DOI, PMID, PMCID, and arXiv keys first. After that, it compares paper titles, contributor lists, release years, and page ranges to detect discrepancies.
By default, the server operates in a non-destructive manner and avoids rewriting the underlying .bib file. Custom metadata like personal notes or abstracts remains untouched. The tool requires an active internet connection to query metadata registries. Successful lookups are stored in an expiring SQLite cache to avoid repeated network hits.
What it helps with
- detect metadata conflicts between a DOI and article title
- retrieve BibTeX records directly from a DOI or arXiv identifier
- verify bibliography citations against Crossref, PubMed, and Europe PMC
- update citation fields safely without dropping abstract or note tags
Example prompts for the agent
- Check
references.bibwith Bibverify and flag any mismatched author names or publication years. - Fetch a clean BibTeX entry for DOI
10.1038/nature12373using keynature2013. - Run a dry-run verification on my bibliography file and report missing database entries.
How to install Bibverify
Platform CLI
claude mcp add bibverify -- uvx bibverifyuvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from bibverify <command>
Platform CLI
codex mcp add bibverify -- uvx bibverifyuvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from bibverify <command>
Config file
{
"mcpServers": {
"bibverify": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"bibverify"
]
}
}
}uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from bibverify <command>
Config file
{
"servers": {
"bibverify": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"bibverify"
]
}
}
}uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from bibverify <command>
Platform CLI
gemini mcp add bibverify uvx bibverifyuvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from bibverify <command>
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about Bibverify
How to install Bibverify in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add bibverify -- uvx bibverify in your terminal. You need uvx available locally to pull and run the server.
What does Bibverify do?
It validates bibliographic entries against public scholarly databases using persistent identifiers like DOI, PMID, and arXiv. It highlights metadata inconsistencies without assuming that a missing entry was fabricated.
Does Bibverify overwrite existing .bib files?
No, the server preserves original bibliography files by default. Fields such as abstracts, notes, and keywords are kept intact, and conflicting identifiers are not overwritten automatically.
