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Cerebrum

Official registry Search and web

Search the scientific literature and get a cited answer, plus the Trending in Science edition.

Source code Website Documentation

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

Remote (streamable-http)
Claude Code 
claude mcp add --transport http cerebrum 'https://askcerebrum.org/mcp'
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cerebrum": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://askcerebrum.org/mcp"
        }
    }
}

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. Cerebrum
  2. Stack
  3. Deploy
  4. Local development
  5. Cost
  6. Built by

Cerebrum

A scientific literature search engine at askcerebrum.org.

Ask a question. Cerebrum searches 14 open scholarly databases in parallel, then writes an answer whose citations link to papers you can open and check.

The count is not typed here — it is derived from SCHOLARLY_SOURCES in functions/lib/product.js, and npm run check fails the build if any copy in the repository disagrees with it.

Stack

  • Frontend: React + Vite, deployed as static site on Cloudflare Pages
  • Backend: Cloudflare Pages Functions (functions/api/search.js)
  • AI: OpenRouter free models (Gemini Flash, DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen, Mistral) + Pollinations legs + Cloudflare Workers AI fallback
  • Databases: see SCHOLARLY_SOURCES in functions/lib/product.js for the authoritative list
  • Animation: GSAP for choreography, OGL for the WebGL background. Both bundled; nothing is loaded from a CDN.

Deploy

npm install
npx wrangler login
npm run deploy

Then add secrets (once):

npx wrangler pages secret put OPENROUTER_KEY
npx wrangler pages secret put OPENALEX_KEY          # optional
npx wrangler pages secret put NCBI_API_KEY          # optional

Local development

npm install
cp dev.vars.example .dev.vars    # fill in your OPENROUTER_KEY
npm run dev

Cost

Everything runs on free tiers. Cloudflare Pages (100k requests/day), OpenRouter free models, and free scholarly APIs.

Built by

Vaticay

Frequently asked questions

What is Cerebrum?

Search the scientific literature and get a cited answer, plus the Trending in Science edition.

How do I install Cerebrum?

It runs as a remote server. In Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http cerebrum 'https://askcerebrum.org/mcp'. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does Cerebrum need an API key?

Its registry entry lists no required key or secret. Some features may still need an account with the service it connects to.

Is Cerebrum open source?

Its code is public on GitHub, but the repository does not declare a standard license.

Who maintains Cerebrum?

It is published by Vaticay. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.