paper_details
Get full catalog metadata for a single scholarly work by OpenAlex id (e.g. 'W2741809807') or DOI (e.g. '10.1038/nature12373'). Returns title, authors, venue, year, citation count, open-access status, and a free full-text URL when available. For a bare arXiv id, use paper_get_text with paper_key '...
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/paper-details.md
What paper_details does on Livedatalink
AI agents call paper_details to retrieve information from Livedatalink without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
id | string | Yes | OpenAlex id ('W...') or DOI ('10.x/...'). For arXiv ids, use paper_get_text or paper_search instead. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why paper_details is rated Low
This tool performs read-only lookups of scholarly paper metadata from OpenAlex and similar academic databases. It has no side effects, cannot modify data, and merely returns informational content (bibliographic details and access URLs). The maximum harm from misuse would be information disclosure or rate-limiting, which is low-severity.
From the tool's definition Tool retrieves and queries metadata: 'Get full catalog metadata', 'Returns title, authors, venue, year, citation count, open-access status'. No modification, deletion, execution, or financial impact is possible.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs paper_details safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For paper_details, this is the rule to start with:
paper_details is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every paper_details call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about paper_details
Get full catalog metadata for a single scholarly work by OpenAlex id (e.g. 'W2741809807') or DOI (e.g. '10.1038/nature12373'). Returns title, authors, venue, year, citation count, open-access status, and a free full-text URL when available. For a bare arXiv id, use paper_get_text with paper_key 'arxiv:<id>' to read indexed text, or paper_search by title for OpenAlex metadata. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
paper_details accepts 1 parameter: id. Required: id. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for paper_details: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
paper_details is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the paper_details rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for paper_details. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
paper_details is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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