# paper_search

A read tool on the Scholar MCP Server MCP server.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `paper_search`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-search

## Facts

- Tool: `paper_search`
- Server: Scholar MCP Server (`45645678a/scholar-mcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/45645678a/scholar-mcp
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade A, identity unverified
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 0
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "paper_search",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why paper_search is rated Low

Search tools that query academic databases and retrieve papers are Read operations. They have no side effects, do not modify data, and pose minimal security risk. The tool merely returns results based on search criteria, consistent with standard information retrieval functionality.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool name is 'paper_search' with no description provided. Server description indicates it 'enables searching across nine academic sources', and 'paper_search' is the expected search function."

## Use case

AI agents call paper_search to retrieve information from Scholar MCP Server without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Scholar MCP Server:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "paper_search": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on Scholar MCP Server (7)

- `paper_ai_analyze` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-ai-analyze.md
- `paper_citation_graph` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-citation-graph.md
- `paper_download` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-download.md
- `paper_health` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-health.md
- `paper_recommend` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-recommend.md
- `paper_translate` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-translate.md
- `paper_batch_download` — Write — https://policylayer.com/tools/45645678a-scholar-mcp/paper-batch-download.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=45645678a-scholar-mcp · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/45645678a-scholar-mcp