Altmetric Mcp
Let your coding agent query Altmetric attention scores and mentions for papers, DOIs, or URLs while you validate thought leadership or research-backed positioning.
Overview
Altmetric MCP is a MCP server for the Idea phase that lets agents query Altmetric Details and Explorer APIs to measure research attention across news, policy, and social media.
What is this MCP server?
- Stdio MCP server (npm altmetric-mcp v0.6.1) for Altmetric Details and Explorer APIs
- Supports Details API key and/or Explorer API key plus HMAC secret credential sets
- Tracks research attention across news, policy, social media, and related outlets
- Designed for agent-driven lookups instead of manual dashboard hopping
- Environment-variable based secrets with no hardcoded credentials in repo
- Server version 0.6.1 published as npm package identifier altmetric-mcp
- Two credential modes: Details API key only, or Explorer API key with HMAC secret
- Transport: stdio per MCP server schema 2025-12-11
Community signal: 5 GitHub stars.
What problem does it solve?
You cannot quickly see whether a paper, DOI, or research topic is gaining real-world attention without switching to Altmetric’s web tools and copying results back into your agent chat.
Who is it for?
Indie creators, devrel writers, and builder-researchers who already have Altmetric API access and want agent-native literature and attention checks during ideation.
Skip if: Teams that need Google Search Console rank tracking, generic social listening, or SEO keyword volumes without any research publishing angle.
What do I get? / Deliverables
After you register the stdio server and API keys, your agent can return structured Altmetric attention context inside the same thread where you draft positioning and content plans.
- Agent-callable Altmetric lookups for configured identifiers and Explorer queries
- Structured attention context usable in research and content planning threads
- Repeatable stdio MCP wiring documented in your local agent config
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Journey fit
Attention and citation-adjacent signals belong in the Idea phase when you are still gathering evidence about what resonates before you commit to a full build. Research subphase covers competitive and topical discovery; Altmetric surfaces how scholarly and semi-scholarly work is discussed in news, policy, and social channels.
How it compares
MCP integration to Altmetric’s commercial APIs, not an open-source scraper or a generic analytics skill.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is Altmetric MCP for?
It is for solo builders and small teams with Altmetric API credentials who want research attention data inside Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex during early research and positioning work.
When should I use Altmetric MCP?
Use it in the Idea and research subphase when validating topics, comparing how competing papers or narratives are discussed, or grounding content strategy in measurable attention signals.
How do I add Altmetric MCP to my agent?
Install the npm package altmetric-mcp, add it as an stdio MCP server in your client config, and set ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY and/or ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY plus ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET in the environment.