MCP Servers · Galaxy-Dawn

claude-scholar

Claude Scholar is a Python-based research assistant that helps academic researchers and developers manage the full research lifecycle—from literature review through coding, experimentation, and paper writing. It integrates with Claude Code, Codex CLI, Kimi Code CLI, and OpenCode platforms, offering workflow skills for organizing research, managing citations via Zotero, and collaborating across ideation to publication.

Talk to DEV.co Discuss Implementation

Source: GitHub — github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar

4.5k

GitHub stars

391

Forks

Python

Primary language

MIT

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar
Owner	Galaxy-Dawn
Primary language	Python
License	MIT — OSI-approved
Stars	4.5k
Forks	391
Open issues	4
Latest release	v1.0.0 (2026-02-25)
Last updated	2026-07-02
Source	https://github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar

What claude-scholar is

Claude Scholar provides branch-specific agent and skill configurations for multiple AI coding platforms (Claude Code, Codex CLI, Kimi Code CLI, OpenCode). It uses Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Zotero integration, Obsidian knowledge management, and file-based planning; skills are organized around research workflows (literature review, evidence tracking, writing, figure/table generation via pubfig/pubtab).

Quickstart

Get the claude-scholar source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar.git2cd claude-scholar3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

Computer Science & AI Research Workflows

Best suited for CS and AI researchers conducting literature reviews, managing citation sources, running experiments, and drafting papers with integrated Zotero and Obsidian KB support.

Multi-Platform AI Agent Adoption

Organizations evaluating Claude Code, Codex CLI, Kimi Code CLI, or OpenCode can use branch-specific configurations to pilot the same research assistant across different AI coding environments without rewriting workflows.

Publication-Grade Technical Writing

Teams needing structured workflows for section drafting, argument construction, evidence-gated claims, and publication-ready figures/tables via integrated pubfig and pubtab packages.

Implementation considerations

Branch selection is mandatory: clone the appropriate branch (main for Claude Code, codex for Codex CLI, kimi for Kimi Code CLI, opencode for OpenCode). Merging across branches manually is required for customization.
Zotero MCP setup is non-trivial: requires Zotero CLI, MCP server configuration, and collection/identifier-based import workflows. Follow the zotero-mcp public surface (zotero_add_items_by_identifier, zotero_reconcile_collection_duplicates) for reliable PDF cascade behavior.
Obsidian KB is vault-first and project-scoped: uses repo-local binding metadata as runtime context. Manual migration of existing markdown files into the vault structure is required; no automatic import is documented.
Git hooks (security-guard, skill-forced-eval, session-start, session-summary, stop-summary) run by default. Review and tune hook behavior to avoid noisy output or unexpected blocks on commit/session-end.
Skill and agent catalog is curated but not exhaustive. The default agent set was pruned as of 2026-04-22; review CLAUDE.md or branch-specific docs to understand what is activated and what requires manual enable.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

Need Immediate Production Stability — Project created 2026-01-27 and still in rapid iteration (v1.0.0 released 2026-02-25). Core abstractions have recently shifted (e.g., expression-skill made core, planning-with-files re-introduced, Obsidian KB consolidated in April 2026). Early adopters should expect breaking changes.
Multi-Discipline Research Beyond CS/AI — Documentation explicitly positions Claude Scholar for computer science and AI researchers. Applicability to physics, biology, social sciences, or humanities workflows is not documented and may require significant customization.
Offline or Air-Gapped Research Environments — Requires active API integrations with Claude/Codex/Kimi/OpenCode platforms and MCP-based connections to Zotero and external paper repositories (arXiv, bioRxiv). Not suitable for fully disconnected systems.
Minimal Dependency or Low Config Overhead — Involves managing multiple skill branches, agent definitions, MCP permissions, plugin configurations, and Obsidian vault setup. Requires comfort with git branch switching, JSON configuration, and git hook management.

License & commercial use

MIT License (permissive OSI license). Allows commercial use, modification, and distribution with attribution and no liability.

MIT License is permissive and does not restrict commercial use. However, verify that your use of integrated third-party services (Claude, Codex, Kimi Code, OpenCode platforms, Zotero, Obsidian) complies with their respective commercial terms. Claude Scholar itself imposes no commercial restrictions.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Active
Documentation	Adequate
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	High
DEV.co fit	Good
Assessment confidence	Medium

Security considerations

Project uses git hooks (security-guard, skill-forced-eval) for local safety checks. Hooks operate in two tiers (Block + Confirm) and have configurable scan modes. Security posture for the hooks themselves is not audited; review hook scripts before enabling in shared or sensitive environments. API keys for Claude/Codex/Kimi/OpenCode must be managed separately; project does not document secrets management strategy.

Alternatives to consider

Cursor or GitHub Copilot

IDE-integrated AI code assistants with built-in research and documentation features. Simpler than multi-platform agent setup but less customizable for research workflows.

Obsidian with community plugins (Zotero integration, AI plugins)

Use Obsidian vault directly with plugins for citation management and AI suggestions. More lightweight if you do not need multi-platform AI agent orchestration.

JetBrains AI Assistant or LLM-based IDE extensions

Native IDE integration for coding and writing. Suitable if you prioritize integrated development experience over flexible multi-platform research workflows.

Software development agency

Build on claude-scholar with DEV.co software developers

Clone the branch matching your AI platform, run setup.sh, and configure Zotero MCP and Obsidian KB. Plan 2–4 hours for setup. Review the branch-specific README and skill docs first.

Talk to DEV.co

Related open-source tools

Surfaced by semantic similarity across the DEV.co open-source index.

Continuous-Claude-v3 Claude-Code-Everything-You-Need-to-Know zotero-mcp

Related on DEV.co

Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.

MCP Servers AI application development Custom software development Talk to DEV.co

claude-scholar FAQ

Do I have to use all four branches (Claude Code, Codex CLI, Kimi Code CLI, OpenCode)?

No. Clone the branch that matches your AI platform choice. Each branch is self-contained. Switching platforms requires switching branches and re-running setup.sh. There is no unified multi-platform configuration.

Is Zotero required?

Zotero integration is optional but strongly recommended for literature review workflows. If you do not use Zotero, skip zotero-mcp setup and use the literature-reviewer agent with manual paper management. Obsidian KB is also optional but project docs assume it is active.

Can I use Claude Scholar for fields other than CS and AI?

Not documented or tested. Project is explicitly positioned for computer science and AI researchers. Applying it to other disciplines (physics, biology, humanities) may require significant skill and agent customization; expect unsupported edge cases.

What if I have an existing Obsidian vault or research markdown collection?

Manual merge required. Installer does not auto-migrate existing files. Plan to map your existing markdown structure into the project-scoped vault format and merge notes by hand. This is a one-time setup cost.

Custom software development services

From first prototype to production, DEV.co delivers software development services around tools like claude-scholar. Our software development agency staffs experienced software developers and web developers for custom software development, web development, integrations, and ongoing support across mcp servers and beyond.

Ready to streamline your research workflow?

Clone the branch matching your AI platform, run setup.sh, and configure Zotero MCP and Obsidian KB. Plan 2–4 hours for setup. Review the branch-specific README and skill docs first.

Talk to DEV.co Schedule a Consultation