Scholar Sidekick

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Resolve scholarly IDs (DOI, PMID, ISBN, arXiv) and format citations in multiple styles.

About Scholar Sidekick

Scholar Sidekick is a citation formatting and verification tool that converts identifiers such as DOI, PMID, PMCID, arXiv ID, ADS bibcode, ISBN, ISSN, or eISSN into formatted citations. It supports Vancouver, APA, AMA, IEEE, and CSE styles built in, plus any of 10,000+ Citation Style Language (CSL) styles, and exports to nine formats including BibTeX, RIS, EndNote XML, CSL JSON, and CSV for import into Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote. Additional tools check retraction status (via Retraction Watch and Crossref), open-access availability (via Unpaywall), and whether a claimed citation is genuine by cross-checking a title against the paper at its identifier.

The web tools are free to use with no account required. Scholar Sidekick also offers a public REST API and an open-source MCP server, letting tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor call it directly, along with a command-line tool (npm i -g scholar-sidekick-cli) and a Python package (pip install scholar-sidekick). Integrations include Zotero, Obsidian, a ChatGPT app, a Gemini extension, VS Code, and a browser extension.

The API and MCP server are free for light, anonymous use; paid tiers billed through RapidAPI provide higher monthly request quotas and per-IP burst limits, ranging from a BASIC free tier (500 requests/month) to MEGA at $199/month (500,000 requests/month), with per-request billing beyond the monthly quota.

This product is aimed at researchers, developers, and AI agent builders who need programmatic or manual citation formatting, bibliography auditing, and reference integrity checks, positioned as a complement to reference managers like Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote rather than a replacement.

Key features

Formats citations from a DOI, PMID, PMCID, arXiv ID, ADS bibcode, ISBN, ISSN, or eISSN
Supports Vancouver, APA, AMA, IEEE, CSE, and 10,000+ CSL citation styles
Exports to nine formats including BibTeX, RIS, EndNote XML, and CSL JSON
Public REST API and open-source MCP server for AI agents like Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor
Checks retraction status, open-access availability, and citation fabrication

Frequently asked questions

Is Scholar Sidekick a free citation formatter?

Yes, the web tools are free with no account needed, and it formats DOIs, PMIDs, ISBNs, and other identifiers into Vancouver, APA, AMA, IEEE, CSE, or any of 10,000+ CSL styles. It also exports to BibTeX, RIS, and EndNote and checks retraction, open-access, and fabrication status.

Which identifiers can I paste into Scholar Sidekick?

A DOI, PMID, PMCID, arXiv ID, ADS bibcode, ISBN, ISSN, or eISSN, or a link to a paper, which it automatically detects.

What formats can I export to?

It exports to nine formats, including BibTeX, RIS, EndNote XML, CSL JSON, and CSV, ready to import into Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote.

Does Scholar Sidekick have an API or AI integration?

Yes, it offers a public REST API and an open-source MCP server so tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor can call it directly, and it can be built into reference managers or editorial pipelines.

How much does the API cost?

The BASIC tier is free with 500 requests per month, and paid tiers billed through RapidAPI range from PRO at $9/mo for 10,000 requests up to MEGA at $199/mo for 500,000 requests.

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