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Use Paperzilla MCP when you want your AI assistant to pull your Paperzilla data directly. If you are using Claude’s custom connector flow, start with Use Paperzilla MCP with Claude. Claude uses a client-specific setup flow. Endpoint: https://paperzilla.ai/api/mcp If you want the short explanation of how MCP clients discover this URL and then learn what tools exist, see How do clients discover the Paperzilla MCP URL and tools?.

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What you can do

  • List your projects
  • Open one project
  • Pull feed items with filters like Must Read, since date, and limit
  • Search across a full project feed by title, author, abstract, or summary text
  • Open one canonical paper by paper ID, or one project recommendation by recommendation ID
  • Get markdown for one paper or recommendation, and queue markdown generation when project context allows it
  • Get the project’s Atom URL

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Quickstart

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1. Create your MCP API key

Create a personal MCP key in your Paperzilla dashboard:
  1. Open your dashboard.
  2. Click MCP API key (top-right, key icon).
  3. Click Generate key.
  4. Copy the key and store it securely.
You can also use the same MCP API key panel to revoke the key. If your account does not show that button yet, use the API key endpoints in the developer appendix. Keep this key private. You only see the plaintext value when you create or rotate it.

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2. Add Paperzilla to your MCP client

Use:
  • URL: https://paperzilla.ai/api/mcp
  • Auth: either Authorization: Bearer <your-mcp-api-key> or https://paperzilla.ai/api/mcp/?key=<your-mcp-api-key>
Header-based example config shape: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "paperzilla": {
      "transport": {
        "type": "streamable_http",
        "url": "https://paperzilla.ai/api/mcp"
      },
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer pzmcp_..."
      }
    }
  }
}
URL-only client example: 
https://paperzilla.ai/api/mcp/?key=pzmcp_...

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3. Ask your assistant to call Paperzilla

Try requests like:
  • “List my Paperzilla projects.”
  • “Show must-read papers for project <project-id> since 2026-02-01 limit 20.”
  • “Search project <project-id> for papers about proximity graphs.”
  • “Open paper <paper-id>.”
  • “Open recommendation <project-paper-id>.”
  • “Get the markdown for paper <paper-id> or recommendation <project-paper-id>.”
  • “Get the Atom URL for project <project-id>.”

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Available tools today

NamePurposeCLI parity
projects_listList your projectspz project list
projects_getGet one projectpz project <id>
feed_getGet project feed with filterspz feed <id> --must-read --since --limit
feed_searchSearch the full project feed with text query plus optional filterspz feed search --project-id <id> --query <q>
feed_atom_urlGet Atom URL for a projectpz feed <id> --atom
paper_getGet one paper by paper ID or one recommendation by recommendation IDpz paper <paper-ref> or pz rec <project-paper-ref>
paper_markdownGet paper markdown or queue markdown generationpz paper <paper-ref> --markdown or pz rec <project-paper-ref> --markdown
feed_title_filter (optional prompt)Ask the model to call feed_search for a server-side full-feed title searchNo direct CLI equivalent
Legacy dotted names like paper.get still work for direct tools/call compatibility, but Claude-compatible clients should use the underscore names above.

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How feed search works

Use feed_search when you want your MCP client to search across the whole project feed, not just currently visible items. feed_search supports:
  • project_id
  • q
  • feedback_filter
  • must_read
  • limit
  • offset
It returns:
  • items
  • limit
  • offset
  • has_more
  • query
Notes:
  • search is server-side and scans the full feed
  • query terms use prefix matching, so Proxi matches Proximity
  • search is rank-first and does not return an exact total count in v1
If you want a focused Q&A version, see Can Paperzilla MCP search across an entire project feed? and How do I search a project feed through Paperzilla MCP?.

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About prompts

You can ignore prompts and use direct tool calls only. If your client supports prompts, feed_title_filter helps with one task:
  • Call feed_search
  • Search the full feed server-side for a title keyword
  • Return matching results and explain that the search covers the full feed

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Markdown results

paper_markdown always returns a structured result.
  • status: "ready" means markdown content is included in the response
  • status: "queued" means Paperzilla accepted the request and queued markdown generation
  • status: "unavailable" means that paper does not currently have a usable markdown source

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CLI vs MCP

Use CLI for shell scripts and deterministic command outputs. Use MCP when your assistant should reason across tools and ask follow-up questions. Use RSS/Atom for passive feed-reader polling.

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Key safety

  • Treat your MCP key like a password
  • Rotate it immediately if exposed
  • Revoke it from MCP API key in the dashboard if you stop using MCP

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Troubleshooting

  • 401 Unauthorized on /api/mcp: missing, revoked, or invalid MCP API key
  • Empty or unexpected results: confirm you are using the key for the correct Paperzilla account
  • 404 Not Found for project/feed/paper calls: the resource is not accessible in your account
  • isError: true with an ambiguous short ID message: retry with the full UUID instead of the 8-character short ID