# OpenAlex

```json
{
  "name": "OpenAlex",
  "slug": "openalex",
  "url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/openalex",
  "markdown_url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/openalex.md",
  "logo_url": "https://logos.composio.dev/api/openalex",
  "categories": [
    "analytics & data"
  ],
  "is_composio_managed": false,
  "updated_at": "2026-08-28T05:40:00.909Z"
}
```

![OpenAlex logo](https://logos.composio.dev/api/openalex)

## Description

Securely connect your AI agents and chatbots (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, etc) with OpenAlex MCP or direct API to search works, fetch author profiles, retrieve institution metadata, and explore related topics through natural language.

## Summary

OpenAlex is an open catalog of scholarly works, authors, institutions, sources, topics, and research metadata.
Use it to discover research and enrich apps with structured academic metadata.

## Categories

- analytics & data

## Toolkit Details

- Tools: 14

## Images

- Logo: https://logos.composio.dev/api/openalex

## Authentication

- **Api Key**
  - Type: `api_key`
  - Description: Api Key authentication for OpenAlex.
  - Setup:
    - Configure Api Key credentials for OpenAlex.
    - Use the credentials when creating an auth config in Composio.

## Suggested Prompts

- Find recent papers on causal inference
- List top authors in linguistics field
- Get citation count for a DOI

## Supported Tools

| Tool slug | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `OPENALEX_ADD_COLLECTION_ENTITIES` | Add Collection Entities | Bulk-add one or more matching OpenAlex entity IDs to an owned collection without duplicating existing memberships. |
| `OPENALEX_AUTOCOMPLETE_ENTITIES` | Autocomplete Entities | Resolve a partial name or title to likely OpenAlex entity IDs before filtering or retrieving metadata. |
| `OPENALEX_CREATE_COLLECTION` | Create Collection | Create a private, single-entity-type OpenAlex collection, optionally with an initial bounded set of entity IDs. |
| `OPENALEX_DELETE_COLLECTION` | Delete Collection | Permanently delete exactly one owned private OpenAlex collection and all of its collection memberships. This does not delete the underlying OpenAlex entities. |
| `OPENALEX_DOWNLOAD_WORK_CONTENT` | Download Work Content | Download an OpenAlex-cached PDF or gzipped GROBID TEI file for a work. Choose the format matching the work's has_content flags. Each call currently costs $0.01, and source copyright terms still apply. |
| `OPENALEX_GET_COLLECTION` | Get Collection | Get metadata for one private OpenAlex collection owned by the connected user. |
| `OPENALEX_GET_ENTITY` | Get Metadata Entity | Retrieve one OpenAlex work, author, source, institution, topic, keyword, publisher, funder, award, taxonomy item, country, continent, or language by its supported identifier. Returns the provider's entity object directly; use select to limit its top-level fields. |
| `OPENALEX_GET_RATE_LIMIT_STATUS` | Get Rate Limit Status | Validate the connected OpenAlex API key and inspect daily budget, prepaid balance, reset timing, and current endpoint costs before expensive queries or downloads. |
| `OPENALEX_LIST_COLLECTION_ENTITIES` | List Collection Entities | List one page of entity IDs in an owned private collection together with collection metadata and page totals. |
| `OPENALEX_LIST_MY_COLLECTIONS` | List My Collections | List private OpenAlex collections owned by the connected API-key user, optionally finding collections that contain an entity. |
| `OPENALEX_QUERY_ENTITIES` | Query Metadata Entities | Search, filter, sort, sample, select, or group one OpenAlex metadata resource other than works, including authors, venues, organizations, taxonomy, geography, awards, and enumerations. Returns one cursor-controlled page. |
| `OPENALEX_QUERY_WORKS` | Query Works | Search, filter, sort, sample, select, or group scholarly works. Returns one cursor-controlled page and its OpenAlex query cost; use the snapshot for whole-catalog exports. |
| `OPENALEX_REMOVE_COLLECTION_ENTITIES` | Remove Collection Entities | Bulk-remove one or more entity memberships from an owned private OpenAlex collection without deleting the underlying OpenAlex entities. |
| `OPENALEX_UPDATE_COLLECTION` | Update Collection | Update a private collection's name or description, or change its entity type while the collection is empty. Provide at least one of display_name, description, or entity_type. |

## Supported Triggers

None listed.

## Installation and MCP Setup

### Path 1: SDK Installation

#### Path 1, Step 1: Install Composio

Install the Composio SDK
```python
pip install composio_openai
```

```typescript
npm install @composio/openai
```

#### Path 1, Step 2: Initialize Composio and Create Tool Router Session

Import and initialize Composio client, then create a Tool Router session
```python
from openai import OpenAI
from composio import Composio
from composio_openai import OpenAIResponsesProvider

composio = Composio(provider=OpenAIResponsesProvider())
openai = OpenAI()
session = composio.create(user_id='your-user-id')
```

```typescript
import OpenAI from 'openai';
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';
import { OpenAIResponsesProvider } from '@composio/openai';

const composio = new Composio({
  provider: new OpenAIResponsesProvider(),
});
const openai = new OpenAI({});
const session = await composio.create('your-user-id');
```

#### Path 1, Step 3: Execute OpenAlex Tools via Tool Router with Your Agent

Get tools from Tool Router session and execute OpenAlex actions with your Agent
```python
tools = session.tools
response = openai.responses.create(
  model='gpt-4.1',
  tools=tools,
  input=[{
    'role': 'user',
    'content': 'YOUR_SPECIFIC_PROMPT_HERE'
  }]
)
result = composio.provider.handle_tool_calls(
  response=response,
  user_id='your-user-id'
)
print(result)
```

```typescript
const tools = session.tools;
const response = await openai.responses.create({
  model: 'gpt-4.1',
  tools: tools,
  input: [{
    role: 'user',
    content: 'YOUR_SPECIFIC_PROMPT_HERE'
  }],
});
const result = await composio.provider.handleToolCalls(
  'your-user-id',
  response.output
);
console.log(result);
```

### Path 2: MCP Server Setup

#### Path 2, Step 1: Install Composio

Install the Composio SDK for Python or TypeScript
```python
pip install composio claude-agent-sdk
```

```typescript
npm install @composio/core ai @ai-sdk/openai @ai-sdk/mcp
```

#### Path 2, Step 2: Initialize Client and Create Tool Router Session

Import and initialize the Composio client, then create a Tool Router session for OpenAlex
```python
from composio import Composio
from claude_agent_sdk import ClaudeSDKClient, ClaudeAgentOptions

composio = Composio(api_key='your-composio-api-key')
session = composio.create(user_id='your-user-id')
url = session.mcp.url
```

```typescript
import { Composio } from '@composio/core';

const composio = new Composio({ apiKey: 'your-api-key' });
const session = await composio.create('your-user-id');
console.log(`Tool Router session created: ${session.mcp.url}`);
```

#### Path 2, Step 3: Connect to AI Agent

Use the MCP server with your AI agent (Anthropic Claude or Mastra)
```python
import asyncio

options = ClaudeAgentOptions(
    permission_mode='bypassPermissions',
    mcp_servers={
        'tool_router': {
            'type': 'http',
            'url': url,
            'headers': {
                'x-api-key': 'your-composio-api-key'
            }
        }
    },
    system_prompt='You are a helpful assistant with access to OpenAlex tools.',
    max_turns=10
)

async def main():
    async with ClaudeSDKClient(options=options) as client:
        await client.query('YOUR_SPECIFIC_PROMPT_HERE')
        async for message in client.receive_response():
            if hasattr(message, 'content'):
                for block in message.content:
                    if hasattr(block, 'text'):
                        print(block.text)

asyncio.run(main())
```

```typescript
import { openai } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
import { experimental_createMCPClient as createMCPClient } from '@ai-sdk/mcp';
import { generateText } from 'ai';

const client = await createMCPClient({
  transport: {
    type: 'http',
    url: session.mcp.url,
    headers: {
      'x-api-key': 'your-composio-api-key',
    },
  },
});

const tools = await client.tools();
const { text } = await generateText({
  model: openai('gpt-4o'),
  tools,
  messages: [{
    role: 'user',
    content: 'YOUR_SPECIFIC_PROMPT_HERE'
  }],
  maxSteps: 5,
});

console.log(`Agent: ${text}`);
```

## Why Use Composio?

### 1. AI Native OpenAlex Integration

- Supports both OpenAlex MCP and direct API based integrations
- Structured, LLM-friendly schemas for reliable tool execution
- Rich coverage for reading, writing, and querying your OpenAlex data

### 2. Managed Auth

- Built-in OAuth handling with automatic token refresh and rotation
- Central place to manage, scope, and revoke OpenAlex access
- Per user and per environment credentials instead of hard-coded keys

### 3. Agent Optimized Design

- Tools are tuned using real error and success rates to improve reliability over time
- Comprehensive execution logs so you always know what ran, when, and on whose behalf

### 4. Enterprise Grade Security

- Fine-grained RBAC so you control which agents and users can access OpenAlex
- Scoped, least privilege access to OpenAlex resources
- Full audit trail of agent actions to support review and compliance

## Use OpenAlex with any AI Agent Framework

Choose a framework you want to connect OpenAlex with:

- [ChatGPT Work](https://composio.dev/toolkits/openalex/framework/chatgpt)
- [Claude Cowork](https://composio.dev/toolkits/openalex/framework/claude-cowork)
- [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/openalex/framework/hermes-agent)

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## Frequently Asked Questions

### Do I need my own developer credentials to use OpenAlex with Composio?

Yes, OpenAlex requires you to configure your own API key credentials. Once set up, Composio handles secure credential storage and API request handling for you.

### Can I use multiple toolkits together?

Yes! Composio's Tool Router enables agents to use multiple toolkits. [Learn more](https://docs.composio.dev/tool-router/overview).

### Is Composio secure?

Composio is SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliant with all data encrypted in transit and at rest. [Learn more](https://trust.composio.dev).

### What if the API changes?

Composio maintains and updates all toolkit integrations automatically, so your agents always work with the latest API versions.

---
[See all toolkits](https://composio.dev/toolkits) · [Composio docs](https://docs.composio.dev/llms.txt)