grados 0.6.8

Academic research MCP server — search, extract, and manage papers

GRaDOS

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Graduate Research and Document Operating System

The Python MCP server for academic paper search, full-text extraction, visible local paper storage, and semantic retrieval over a built-in ChromaDB index.

GRaDOS gives AI agents (Claude, Codex, Cursor, and similar clients) a single stdio MCP server that can search academic databases, fetch papers through paywalls, parse PDFs into canonical Markdown, and revisit saved papers for citation-grounded writing.

Phase A now ships with a stronger but safer local retrieval stack by default: microsoft/harrier-oss-v1-270m, abstract-first document embeddings, section-aware chunking, and docs → chunks two-stage retrieval. microsoft/harrier-oss-v1-0.6b is still supported, but it is now an opt-in choice for roomier machines.

Architecture 🧭

GRaDOS is designed to sit inside an agent research workflow:

1. Check the local paper library first with search_saved_papers, get_saved_paper_structure, or grados://papers/{safe_doi}
2. Search remote academic sources in configured priority order
3. Fetch full text through TDM -> OA -> Sci-Hub -> Headless
4. Parse PDFs through Docling -> Marker -> PyMuPDF
5. Save raw PDFs to downloads/, canonical Markdown to papers/, and semantic data to ChromaDB
6. Re-open saved papers with low-token structure cards and deep-reading windows before citing them

MCP Tools 🔧

Server	Tool	Description
GRaDOS	search_academic_papers	Search remote academic databases for paper metadata only, with DOI deduplication and resumable continuation tokens. Use this to screen candidate DOIs before extraction.
GRaDOS	search_saved_papers	Search the local saved-paper library with semantic retrieval, metadata filters, and optional lexical reranking. Returned snippets are screening hints, not citation evidence.
GRaDOS	extract_paper_full_text	Fetch, parse, and save one paper's canonical full text by DOI. Returns a compact save receipt with URI, file path, sections, and warnings rather than the full paper text.
GRaDOS	read_saved_paper	Read paragraph windows from one saved paper for canonical deep reading and citation verification. Accepts a DOI, safe DOI, or grados://papers/... URI.
GRaDOS	get_saved_paper_structure	Return a low-token structure card for one saved paper with preview text, headings, and asset summary. Use it for screening before deep reading, not as the final citation source.
GRaDOS	import_local_pdf_library	Import a local PDF file or directory into the canonical paper store and retrieval index. Returns an import summary plus the first 25 item results.
GRaDOS	parse_pdf_file	Parse a local PDF into markdown. Without a DOI it returns a truncated preview; with a DOI it saves the paper into the canonical library and returns a save receipt.
GRaDOS	save_paper_to_zotero	Save one paper to the configured Zotero library through the Web API, typically for papers that actually support the final answer.
GRaDOS	save_research_artifact	Persist reusable intermediate outputs such as search snapshots, extraction receipts, and evidence grids in the local SQLite state store.
GRaDOS	query_research_artifacts	Query previously saved research artifacts by id, kind, project id, or keyword. detail=true returns the full stored content.
GRaDOS	manage_failure_cases	Record, inspect, and summarize failed fetch, parse, search, or citation attempts. Can also suggest conservative retry steps from local failure memory.
GRaDOS	get_citation_graph	Return lightweight local citation relationships, including citation neighbors, common references, and reverse citing-paper lookups.
GRaDOS	get_papers_full_context	Return structured full-context material for a small paper set, with token estimates or actual section content for CAG-style deep reading.
GRaDOS	build_evidence_grid	Build topic- or subquestion-centered evidence grids from the local paper library before drafting.
GRaDOS	compare_papers	Extract aligned comparison material across multiple saved papers, focused on methods, results, or full text.
GRaDOS	audit_draft_support	Audit draft claims against the local paper library and return supported, weak, unsupported, or misattributed statuses with candidate evidence. misattributed currently requires resolvable author-year citations; numeric citations stay support-only until bibliography mapping exists.

MCP Resources 📚

Resource	Description
grados://papers/index	Low-token index of all saved papers.
grados://papers/{safe_doi}	Canonical overview card for one saved paper.

Local Paper Library 🗂️

After extraction or import, GRaDOS keeps papers in a visible on-disk layout:

Directory	Content	Purpose
config.json	Runtime configuration	One config file for the whole install
papers/	Canonical Markdown papers with YAML front-matter	Deep reading, structure cards, and retrieval
downloads/	Raw .pdf files	Archival copies of fetched or imported papers
database/chroma/	ChromaDB collections	Built-in semantic retrieval store
browser/	Managed Chromium, profile, extensions	Browser fallback for difficult publisher pages
models/	Embedding and OCR model caches	Runtime assets warmed by setup

Repository Map 🗺️

• README.md / README.zh-CN.md: primary installation and usage guides
• .mcp.json: repo-local MCP wiring example
• .claude-plugin/: native Claude Code plugin manifests
• .agents/plugins/marketplace.json: repo-scoped Codex marketplace entry
• plugin.mcp.json: root plugin-scoped MCP config used by the Claude Code plugin
• plugins/grados/.codex-plugin/: self-contained Codex plugin bundle for local marketplace installs
• plugins/grados/plugin.mcp.json: plugin-scoped MCP config copied into the Codex bundle
• skills/grados/SKILL.md: structured research workflow built on top of the MCP tools
• grados-python-implementation-plan.md: implementation plan and completion ledger
• TODO.md: concise execution snapshot derived from the implementation plan

Installation 🚀

Option A: uv tool install (recommended)

uv tool install grados
grados setup
grados client install all

This creates ~/GRaDOS/config.json, prepares the visible directory layout, installs managed browser assets, and warms the default Harrier embedding runtime. docling is now included in the default install because the canonical parsing pipeline is Docling-first.

Option B: extras, zero-install, or pip

# Default install (includes Docling)
uv tool install grados

# Optional heavier parser extras
uv tool install "grados[marker]"
uv tool install "grados[full]"

# Zero-install run
uvx grados version

# Traditional Python install
pip install grados

Extras in the current package:

• grados: core MCP server, CLI, ChromaDB storage, Docling-first default parser, PyMuPDF fallback, browser automation, and built-in Zotero save support
• grados[marker]: core plus the Marker PDF parser
• grados[docling]: compatibility alias for the built-in Docling runtime
• grados[full]: core plus the Marker parser

Option C: from source

git clone https://github.com/STSNaive/GRaDOS.git
cd GRaDOS
uv sync --all-extras
uv run grados setup
uv run grados client install all
uv run grados status

Quick Start ⚡

1. Install GRaDOS with uv tool install grados (this now includes Docling by default)
2. Run grados setup
3. Run grados client install all to register Claude Code and Codex in one step
4. Edit ~/GRaDOS/config.json
5. Run grados status to confirm dependencies, browser assets, and API keys
6. If you already have a PDF library, run grados import-pdfs --from /path/to/papers --recursive
7. If you are upgrading from an older MiniLM-backed index, run grados reindex once before semantic search

Configure your clients 🔌

Recommended:

grados client install all

This currently installs GRaDOS into both Claude Code and Codex:

• registers the grados MCP server through each client's own CLI
• copies the bundled grados skill into the user's skills directory

You can also target a single client:

grados client install claude
grados client install codex
grados client list
grados client doctor

Manual MCP wiring (fallback)

Claude Code / Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grados": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["grados"]
    }
  }
}

Codex:

[mcp_servers.grados]
command = "uvx"
args = ["grados"]

Use uvx when you want zero-install MCP launching. For long-lived local use, uv tool install grados plus the grados executable remains the primary path, and now brings Docling with it by default. If you want a custom data root, set GRADOS_HOME in your MCP client's environment.

Native Plugin Install 🧩

GRaDOS now ships native plugin metadata for both Claude Code and Codex. The Codex path follows the current official local marketplace layout: .agents/plugins/marketplace.json points at a self-contained bundle under plugins/grados/, which mirrors the canonical skills/grados/ files and includes its own plugin.mcp.json.

Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add STSNaive/GRaDOS
/plugin install grados@grados-plugins
/reload-plugins

This uses the repo's .claude-plugin/marketplace.json and .claude-plugin/plugin.json directly. The plugin bundles the GRaDOS skill plus the grados MCP server.

Codex:

1. Clone and open this repository in Codex.
2. Run /plugins to open the plugin directory.
3. Choose the GRaDOS Repository Plugins marketplace from .agents/plugins/marketplace.json.
4. Install the GRaDOS plugin from plugins/grados/.codex-plugin/plugin.json.
5. Start a new thread and ask Codex to use @grados, or describe the research task directly.

This matches the current official Codex flow for custom repo plugins: repo marketplace + plugin directory. Codex does not currently document a public equivalent of Claude Code's /plugin install owner/repo workflow for arbitrary GitHub-hosted custom plugins.

Companion Skill 🤖

GRaDOS still ships a repo-local skill in skills/grados/. The grados client install ... flow above is now the preferred path for local use. Plugin install remains the alternative when you specifically want the native plugin packaging.

The Codex plugin bundle under plugins/grados/skills/grados/ is a mirrored copy of the canonical skills/grados/ directory so the local marketplace install remains self-contained.

• skills/grados/SKILL.md contains the current search -> structure -> deep read -> cite -> verify workflow
• skills/grados/references/tools.md documents the current 16 tools and 2 resources
• skills/grados/agents/openai.yaml describes the OpenAI / Codex-facing dependency on the grados MCP server

Codex and Claude Code use the same skill directory shape, <skills-root>/grados/SKILL.md, with the same supporting files under that directory. Only the skills root differs:

• Codex personal skills: ~/.agents/skills
• Claude Code personal skills: ~/.claude/skills
• Claude Code project skills: .claude/skills

Install it by copying the entire skills/grados/ directory into the appropriate skills root:

mkdir -p "<skills-root>"
cp -R skills/grados "<skills-root>/"

• For Codex, set <skills-root> to ~/.agents/skills
• For Claude Code personal skills, set <skills-root> to ~/.claude/skills
• For Claude Code project skills, set <skills-root> to .claude/skills

This fallback assumes the grados MCP server is already registered in your client. This repository's .mcp.json is the minimal repo-local example; after copying the skill, reload your client so it can discover the new skill files.

Configuration ⚙️

Commands 🧰

Command	Purpose
grados	Start the MCP stdio server
grados setup	Create directories, write config.json, install browser assets, and warm models
grados client install claude	Register GRaDOS in Claude Code and install bundled skills into ~/.claude/skills
grados client install codex	Register GRaDOS in Codex and install bundled skills into ~/.agents/skills
grados client install all	Install GRaDOS into both Claude Code and Codex
grados client list	Show which supported clients currently have GRaDOS installed
grados client doctor	Run a lightweight health check for supported clients
`grados client remove claude	codex
grados import-pdfs --from /path/to/papers --recursive	Import an existing local PDF library into the canonical paper store
grados status	Show config, dependency, runtime-asset, and API-key health
grados paths	Show the resolved GRaDOS filesystem layout
grados update-db	Incrementally refresh the ChromaDB index from papers/ when the active indexing config is unchanged
grados reindex	Rebuild the semantic index from scratch after embedding-model or chunking changes
grados migrate-config --from /path/to/legacy	Migrate data from an older GRaDOS install
grados version	Show package versions

If you change indexing.model_id, indexing.max_length, or the section-aware chunking settings in config.json, use grados reindex instead of grados update-db.

Changing only indexing.batch_size is a runtime-only tuning knob and does not require a rebuild.

Indexing Defaults 🧠

• Default model: microsoft/harrier-oss-v1-270m
• Heavier opt-in model: microsoft/harrier-oss-v1-0.6b
• Default indexing.max_length: 4096
• Default indexing.batch_size: 0 (auto, conservative on CPU/MPS and wider on CUDA)
• Overlong single paragraphs are re-split by sentence or clause before embedding so grados reindex does not send giant chunks into SentenceTransformer.encode()

GRaDOS does not assume FlashAttention is available on local macOS / CPU setups. If your runtime says it can use SDPA, that still does not guarantee a fused CUDA FlashAttention path; the safer default is smaller chunks, a shorter indexing length, and conservative batching.

Filesystem Layout 🗄️

By default, GRaDOS keeps everything in a visible directory:

~/GRaDOS/
├── config.json
├── papers/
├── downloads/
├── browser/
│   ├── chromium/
│   ├── profile/
│   └── extensions/
├── models/
├── database/
│   └── chroma/
├── logs/
└── cache/

Root selection priority:

1. GRADOS_HOME
2. ~/GRaDOS

API Keys 🔑

Key	Source	Required
ELSEVIER_API_KEY	Elsevier Developer Portal	No
WOS_API_KEY	Clarivate Developer Portal	No
SPRINGER_meta_API_KEY	Springer Nature Metadata API	No
SPRINGER_OA_API_KEY	Springer Nature Open Access API	No
LLAMAPARSE_API_KEY	LlamaCloud	No
ZOTERO_API_KEY	Zotero Settings -> Keys	No

Crossref and PubMed require no API keys. GRaDOS will use whichever services are configured and skip the rest. At minimum, the default remote search flow still works with the free sources, and the local paper workflow works without any third-party key.

Runtime Order 🌊

Search priority:

{
  "search": {
    "order": ["Elsevier", "Springer", "WebOfScience", "Crossref", "PubMed"]
  }
}

Full-text fetch priority:

{
  "extract": {
    "fetchStrategy": {
      "order": ["TDM", "OA", "SciHub", "Headless"]
    }
  }
}

PDF parsing priority:

{
  "extract": {
    "parsing": {
      "order": ["Docling", "Marker", "PyMuPDF"]
    }
  }
}

Migrating From Older Installs ♻️

If you already have an older GRaDOS data directory, use grados migrate-config to carry papers, downloads, browser assets, models, and compatible settings into the current layout.

Recommended migration flow:

uv tool install grados
grados migrate-config --from /path/to/legacy
grados status

What grados migrate-config carries forward:

• Saved Markdown papers into papers/
• Archived PDFs into downloads/
• Managed browser assets into browser/
• Model caches into models/
• Compatible search, extraction, Zotero, and API-key settings into the new config.json

Path mapping:

Older layout	Current layout
grados-config.json	config.json
markdown/	papers/
downloads/	downloads/
.grados/browser/	browser/
models/	models/

Development 🛠️

uv sync --all-extras
uv run grados version
uv run pytest
uv build

Project Docs 📚

• TODO.md
  • Tracks only unfinished work and current priorities.
• ADR.md
  • Records accepted architectural decisions and why the project chose them.
• CHANGELOG.md
  • Records completed, user-visible changes across releases and unreleased work.