Citation Tools for AI Assistants
An assistant that supports remote tool servers can call CiteTools to format a citation, check references against published records, or find a DOI.
The address
https://citetools.io/mcp
The three tools
- Format a citation (
format_citation): Format one source (a DOI, ISBN, PubMed ID, web address or pasted reference) in a citation style. The answer says whether a published record confirmed it. - Check references (
check_references): Check up to 15 references against Crossref, PubMed, DataCite, DBLP, and OpenAlex. The answer labels each reference verified, not found, mismatch, or unparseable. It lists what differs from the matched record and marks a retracted work. - Find a DOI (
find_doi): Find the registered DOI of one pasted reference. The answer gives a DOI only when its record is the pasted work.
How to add it
- Open the settings of your assistant and find where it adds a remote MCP server, which some assistants call a custom connector.
- Enter the address above. The server needs no sign-in and no API key.
- Ask the assistant to format a citation, check your references, or find a DOI. It chooses the tool.
Limits
- One call checks 15 references at most. Send a longer list in several calls.
- The server allows 30 requests a minute, and a daily limit applies as on the site. The server says so when you reach one.
- Limits count for each connecting address, so an assistant that connects from its own servers shares them among its users.
- A check that runs long answers for the references that finished and names the others, so you can send them again.
- A reference that no registry holds is labeled Not found. That is not proof it is invented, because registries miss many real works.
Privacy
A request to this endpoint is handled like a request from the site, so the privacy policy applies to it.
CiteTools keeps no account and no list of what an assistant sends. Results may stay in server memory for a limited time, as the privacy policy says.
Frequently asked questions
Which assistants can use it?
Any assistant that connects to a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP. The server keeps no session, so each request stands alone.
Does it give the same answers as the website?
format_citation looks a source up as the converter does, and uses its labels: Confirmed, As written, Not confirmed, and From the page. check_references answers with the labels of the reference checker: Verified, Not found, Mismatch, and Unparseable. find_doi gives a DOI only when the record is the pasted work, and otherwise says why it offers none.
Can an assistant add a reference list to my account?
No. CiteTools has no accounts. The assistant receives the answer and keeps or discards it.