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Scholar Sidekick Extension

This tutorial covers how to add the Scholar Sidekick MCP Server as a goose extension to resolve, format, export, and verify academic citations from any scholarly identifier — DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, ISSN, arXiv ID, ADS bibcode, or WHO IRIS URL — plus retraction (Crossref + Retraction Watch) and open-access (Unpaywall) checks.

Quick Install

Launch the installer

No API key required — the server works anonymously on a free, rate-limited tier. Optionally set SCHOLAR_API_KEY (a free ssk_ key from scholar-sidekick.com/account) for higher limits, or RAPIDAPI_KEY for paid tiers. See Optional: higher rate limits.

Configuration​

info

You'll need Node.js installed (the command uses npx). No API key is required — Scholar Sidekick works anonymously on a free, rate-limited tier. For higher limits, add a free first-party key (SCHOLAR_API_KEY, an ssk_ key from scholar-sidekick.com/account); for paid/managed tiers, add a RapidAPI key (RAPIDAPI_KEY). See Optional: higher rate limits below.

  1. Launch the installer
  2. Click Yes to confirm the installation
  3. Click the button in the top-left to open the sidebar
  4. Navigate to the chat

Optional: higher rate limits​

Scholar Sidekick runs without any key on a free, rate-limited tier — fine for normal interactive use. To raise your limits, add one environment variable to the extension (goose Desktop: extension settings → Environment Variables; CLI: goose configure → the extension's env):

  • SCHOLAR_API_KEY — a free first-party key (prefixed ssk_). Create one at scholar-sidekick.com/account. Sent as Authorization: Bearer; raises your rate limit and unlocks the verifier's optional LLM screen.
  • RAPIDAPI_KEY — for paid/managed tiers via the RapidAPI gateway. When set, calls route through RapidAPI instead of the anonymous/first-party endpoint.

Neither is required, and you never need both — if both are set, RapidAPI takes precedence.

What You Can Do​

Scholar Sidekick exposes six tools that turn any scholarly identifier into clean citations, exports, and integrity checks. Five built-in citation styles (Vancouver, AMA, APA, IEEE, CSE) plus the full CSL catalogue of 10,000+ styles.

Format a citation from any identifier​

Paste a DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, ISSN, arXiv ID, ADS bibcode, or WHO IRIS URL and get a formatted reference in your chosen style. Detection is automatic — pass identifiers verbatim (no need to strip PMID:, arXiv:, or https://doi.org/ prefixes).

Prompt:

Format 10.1056/NEJMoa2033700 as a Vancouver-style citation.

Export a bibliography for your reference manager​

Pass one or more identifiers and get a ready-to-import file in BibTeX, RIS, EndNote XML, RefWorks, NBIB, Zotero RDF, CSV, or CSL-JSON. Drop straight into Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, JabRef, or Citavi.

Prompt:

Take these three DOIs and export them as BibTeX:
10.1056/NEJMoa2033700
10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2
10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32661-1

Check whether a paper has been retracted​

Cross-references Crossref and Retraction Watch for retractions, corrections, and expressions of concern. Returns status, reason, and date.

Prompt:

Has 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0 been retracted?

Find an open-access copy​

Looks up Unpaywall to surface the best legal free version of a paper — repository copy, publisher OA, or preprint — with the licence and version (accepted vs published).

Prompt:

Is there a free open-access copy of 10.1371/journal.pone.0173664?

Verify whether a citation is real​

Cross-checks a claimed citation (title, optional authors/year) against the metadata actually resolved from its identifier. Catches the dominant LLM-fabrication pattern — a real, resolvable DOI paired with an invented title and authors — documented by Topaz et al. (Lancet, 2026). Use this when an AI-generated bibliography "looks plausible but…".

Prompt:

Is this citation real? "A Unified Theory of Everything", Smith J, Nature, 2010, 10.1038/nphys1170