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Glama

Opencitations

by io.github.pipeworx-io

Citation

citation
Read-onlyIdempotent

Fetch one citation record by its Open Citation Identifier (OCI — a compound ID of the form citing-DOI__cited-DOI). Returns citing/cited DOI pair, creation date, and journal self-citation flag. Use citations or references instead when you only have a DOI.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
ociYes

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
citedNoDOI of cited work
citingNoDOI of citing work
creationNoCitation creation date
timespanNoTemporal span of citation
citedPubDateNoPublication date of cited work
citingPubDateNoPublication date of citing work

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections. Dates show when Glama detected each change.

  1. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • addedInput schema / examples
      Added value: +[
+  {
+    "oci": "020010203050401-020010203050402"
+  }
+]
    • changedOutput schema / (root)
      Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "description": "Citation metadata identified by OCI",
+  "properties": {
+    "cited": {
+      "description": "DOI of cited work",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "citedPubDate": {
+      "description": "Publication date of cited work",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "citing": {
+      "description": "DOI of citing work",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "citingPubDate": {
+      "description": "Publication date of citing work",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "creation": {
+      "description": "Citation creation date",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "timespan": {
+      "description": "Temporal span of citation",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}
  2. First observed

TDQS

A4.8/5.0
Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, idempotentHint, and openWorldHint. The description adds return field details (citing/cited DOI pair, creation date, self-citation flag) and explains the OCI format. It does not cover error behavior, but the annotations sufficiently cover safety traits.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Two sentences, front-loaded with the action, followed by the identifier format, return values, and a usage alternative. Every sentence contributes information without redundancy.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With only one required parameter, an output schema present, and strong annotations, the description is complete. It includes usage alternatives and return details, leaving no ambiguity for a simple single-record fetch tool.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters5/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The schema has zero description coverage, but the description fully explains the `oci` parameter format: 'compound ID of the form citing-DOI__cited-DOI'. This provides essential meaning beyond the schema's type and example.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description clearly states the tool 'Fetch one citation record by its Open Citation Identifier (OCI...)' with a specific verb and resource, and distinguishes itself from sibling tools like `citations` and `references` by noting when to use those instead.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It explicitly provides an alternative: 'Use `citations` or `references` instead when you only have a DOI.' This gives clear when-to-use versus when-not-to-use guidance.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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TDQS

A3.7/5.0
Disambiguation2/5

Multiple tools have unclear boundaries: ask_pipeworx and ask_pipeworx_beta are described as currently identical, and citation vs citations differ only by pluralization while actually accepting different ID types (OCI vs DOI). The server is named Opencitations but 31 of 37 tools serve unrelated purposes, so an agent cannot infer what the set is for without reading very long descriptions.

Naming Consistency3/5

All names are snake_case and family prefixes (polymarket_*, ask_pipeworx_*, pipeworx_*) give some predictability. However, conventions are mixed: bare resource nouns (citation, citations, references, metadata) coexist with verb_noun tools (resolve_entity, validate_claim) and noun phrases (recent_changes, entity_profile, deep_research), so there is no single pattern that lets an agent predict tool names.

Tool Count2/5

37 tools is well past the 25+ threshold for a heavy set, and most are redundant with the server's own router tools — ask_pipeworx already reaches 5,759 underlying tools, making many direct tools overlapping conveniences. The scope also wildly overshoots the server name: only 6 of 37 tools serve the Opencitations citation-graph domain.

Completeness3/5

For the named OpenCitations domain, the core citation-graph read operations exist (metadata, incoming citations, outgoing references, counts, OCI record lookup), but there is no paper/DOI discovery or search tool — an agent must already possess a DOI, a dead end for title/author queries. The broader accidental domain (data routing, company research, prediction markets, monitoring) is covered unusually well, but that does not serve the server's stated purpose.

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