paper-fetch

Name: paper-fetch Review
Item: paper-fetch
Rating: 3.0
Author: Aaron Matthews

Skill Documents & Content Usable

Works inClaude Code

Usable Scanned — metadata only

Reduces manual paper retrieval overhead by automatically sourcing open-access PDFs across multiple repositories.

Legal open-access PDF downloader by DOI — Unpaywall, arXiv, PMC, bioRxiv. Multi-platform Agent Skill.

Resolve a DOI to a PDF via a 7-source open-access fallback chain (Unpaywall, Semantic Scholar, arXiv, PMC, bioRxiv/medRxiv)
Find papers by title only via Crossref + Semantic Scholar resolution
Bulk-download cited papers automatically during literature reviews

176 starsMIT (commercial OK)FreeQuick setup

Usable rating — This tool is functional but has notable gaps. Review the evaluation notes below before deploying.

Why it matters

Reduces manual paper retrieval overhead by automatically sourcing open-access PDFs across multiple repositories. Eliminates paywalls and broken links for research-heavy workflows.

Best for

Researchers and research-support teams who need automated retrieval of academic paper PDFs by DOI or title during literature reviews and agent workflows.

Works in

Claude Code Claude Cowork Claude Chat

Source

https://github.com/Agents365-ai/paper-fetch

By Agents365-ai

How to Get It

Option 1: Claude Desktop App (Code Mode)Click the + button next to the prompt box → Plugins → Add plugin. Search and click Install. Skills work in Claude Code only.

Option 2: Paste into Claude CodeCopy the command below and paste it into your conversation. Claude will install it.

Command

claude plugins install Agents365-ai/paper-fetch

Tip: Paste this into a Claude Code conversation. Verify command matches your Claude Code version.

Auto-generated from the tool's public listing — not hands-on verified. Cross-check against the source repo's README before running.

First thing to try

After installing, paste this into Claude:

Help me resolve a DOI to a PDF via a 7-source open-access fallback chain (Unpaywall, Semantic Scholar, arXiv, PMC, bioRxiv/medRxiv)

CostFree

Trust Signals Auto-scanned

Stars176Contributors2Last updated2026-07-16LicenseMIT (OK for commercial use)Known CVEsNone foundSources: GitHub Advisory Database + OSV.dev · Scanned 2026-08-11 · scanner vattempted-no-data

Community Pulse Active

Discussed on Hacker News, Reddit

We had him for 15 years and two Coasts. He fetched the paper EVERY day. Lost him — Reddit · 7625 pts
'Fetching' the morning paper — Reddit · 5840 pts
Smoking bans in Australian prisons sees packets of cigarettes trade for $320 | S — Reddit · 1003 pts

3 mentions across 1 sources

Reviewer notes

Auto-scanned review. These are observations, not a security certification.

Scored from trust signals (evidence-eval-v1): 97 GitHub stars; contributors unknown; last commit 2d ago; license MIT.

Things to check

The 7-source fallback chain ends at Sci-Hub mirrors, which are enabled by default — disable this source if copyright compliance matters, and check institutional policy before use. Scanned from public metadata, not hands-on tested.

How to evaluate tools before deploying →

Data shown here comes from public APIs and automated scanning. Reviewer notes reflect one person's experience. This is not a security certification or legal recommendation. Always evaluate tools according to your own organization's policies.

Evaluation Scores

Evaluation

Ease of Use

3/5

Versatility

3/5

Reliability

3/5

Security

3/5

Overall score3.00 / 5.00 UsableEvaluatedMay 2026

Scored from trust signals (evidence-eval-v1): 97 GitHub stars; contributors unknown; last commit 2d ago; license MIT.

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