Get detailed information about a specific paper by its OpenAlex ID, DOI, or PMID. Includes full abstract, author information, topics, and references count.
AI agents call openalex_get_work to retrieve information from OpenAlex MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and queries academic paper metadata without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is purely informational retrieval with no side effects. The blast radius if misused by an AI agent is minimal—worst case is excessive querying or information disclosure of already-public academic data.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'Get detailed information about a specific paper' - a retrieval operation with no modification capability. The parameters (OpenAlex ID, DOI, PMID) are identifiers for querying existing data.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Get detailed information about a specific paper by its OpenAlex ID, DOI, or PMID. Includes full abstract, author information, topics, and references count. It is categorised as a Read tool in the OpenAlex MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the OpenAlex MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for openalex_get_work: 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 OpenAlex MCP Server. Nothing to install.
openalex_get_work 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 openalex_get_work 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 openalex_get_work. 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.
openalex_get_work is provided by the OpenAlex MCP Server MCP server (secretrichgarden/openalex-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
Teams ship this data inside their own products. See what a licence covers →