# altmetric-mcp MCP server

MCP server for Altmetric APIs - track research attention across news, policy, social media, and more

## At a glance

altmetric-mcp is an MCP server in the Marketing & Social category. It runs locally over stdio via `npx -y altmetric-mcp`, and needs ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY, ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY and ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET. It exposes 12 tools, including get_citation_counts, get_citation_details and search_citations. It scores A (85/100) on the MCP Skills Hub health score as of Oct 28, 2026.

## Install

### How to install altmetric-mcp in Claude Code

1. Add the server

```bash
claude mcp add altmetric-mcp -e 'ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY=<ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>' -e 'ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY=<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>' -e 'ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET=<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET>' -- npx -y altmetric-mcp
```

2. Fill in your credentials

   Replace <ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET> with your real values. Keep secrets out of any config file you commit.

3. Verify it's connected

```bash
claude mcp list
```

4. Sharing it with your team?

   Add `--scope project` to write it to .mcp.json in the repository root, which you can commit (with the secrets left as environment variables).

5. Use it in a session

   Ask Claude to use the tools this server exposes (e.g. get_citation_counts, get_citation_details, search_citations). It discovers them automatically.

### How to install altmetric-mcp in Claude Desktop

1. Open your MCP config

   macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this server

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "altmetric-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "altmetric-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

3. Fill in your credentials

   Replace <ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET> with your real values. Keep secrets out of any config file you commit.

4. Restart Claude Desktop

   The tools appear under the 🔌 menu once the app reloads.

### How to install altmetric-mcp in Cursor

1. Create / edit .cursor/mcp.json in your project

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "altmetric-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "altmetric-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

2. Fill in your credentials

   Replace <ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET> with your real values. Keep secrets out of any config file you commit.

3. Enable it

   Cursor Settings → MCP → toggle the server on. Tools become available to the Composer/Agent.

### How to install altmetric-mcp in Codex CLI

1. Add to ~/.codex/config.toml

```toml
[mcp_servers.altmetric-mcp]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "altmetric-mcp"]
env = { ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY = "<ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>", ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY = "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>", ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET = "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET>" }
```

2. Fill in your credentials

   Replace <ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET> with your real values. Keep secrets out of any config file you commit.

3. Run Codex

   Codex loads MCP servers from config.toml on startup and exposes their tools to the agent.

### How to install altmetric-mcp in Windsurf

1. Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "altmetric-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "altmetric-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

2. Fill in your credentials

   Replace <ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET> with your real values. Keep secrets out of any config file you commit.

3. Reload

   Windsurf → Cascade → refresh MCP servers. Cascade can now call the tools.

### How to install altmetric-mcp in Cline

1. Open Cline → MCP Servers → Configure

   Adds to cline_mcp_settings.json.

2. Add the server

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "altmetric-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "altmetric-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

3. Fill in your credentials

   Replace <ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET> with your real values. Keep secrets out of any config file you commit.

### How to install altmetric-mcp in VS Code

1. Create .vscode/mcp.json

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "altmetric-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "altmetric-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>",
        "ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET": "<ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET>"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

2. Fill in your credentials

   Replace <ALTMETRIC_DETAILS_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_KEY>, <ALTMETRIC_EXPLORER_API_SECRET> with your real values. Keep secrets out of any config file you commit.

3. Start it

   VS Code shows a ▶ Start action above the server entry. Agent mode (Copilot Chat) can then use the tools.

## Tools

- `get_citation_counts` — Details Page
- `get_citation_details` — Details Page
- `search_citations` — Details Page
- `get_batch_attention_data` — Details Page
- `translate_identifiers` — Details Page
- `explore_research_outputs` — Explorer
- `explore_attention_summary` — Explorer
- `explore_mentions` — Explorer
- `explore_demographics` — Explorer
- `explore_mention_sources` — Explorer
- `explore_journals` — Explorer
- `list_departments` — Explorer

Source repository: https://github.com/altmetric/altmetric-mcp

---

Source: https://mcp-skills-hub.vercel.app/mcps/com-altmetric-mcp-altmetric-mcp · MCP Skills Hub · data as of 2026-10-28T12:31:05Z