Paper Distill MCP: MCP server, setup and security

What Paper Distill MCP does

According to its repository: “Academic paper search across 11 sources with AI curation, ranked push, Zotero and Obsidian support.”

An MCP server gives an AI agent extra tools it calls during the conversation: the agent reads their description, decides to use them and gets the result back. Paper Distill MCP is listed under Memory and knowledge, a category of 250 servers in the directory, where it ranks #91 by stars.

Installing and connecting Paper Distill MCP

Distribution modes declared in the official MCP registry:

• PyPI package (Python, started with uvx or pip)

Like any MCP server, you declare it in your client's configuration (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex…): a name, the command that starts it or its URL, and any environment variables. The client then starts it and lists its tools. Project language: Python.

The registry lists 4 secret variables to provide (API key, access token). Keep them in the client's environment variables, never in a shared file or a repository.

Security: what to check

An MCP server runs code with the rights you give it, and the model reads its tool descriptions: a malicious or compromised server can hijack the agent. Read the code, or pick a maintained and widely used server, before connecting it.

Points found for Paper Distill MCP:

• Secrets: the server acts with your credentials. Create a dedicated key with minimum rights and an expiry date.

Good practice: grant only the rights needed (least privilege), require human approval for irreversible actions, and run the AI agent security check.

Project activity and maintenance

Created on March 7, 2026, the Eclipse-Cj/paper-distill-mcp repository has 68 stars and 4 forks, with 0 open issues. It has more stars than 59% of the servers in the directory. Last change 7 months ago. Version published in the registry: 0.2.4 (March 19, 2026).

Stars measure attention, not quality: a recent, heavily promoted project can collect them fast, while a useful but niche server will have few.