primo-mcp-server

MCP server for Ex Libris Primo library discovery -- search university catalogues and subscribed databases (ProQuest, Elsevier, Crossref, Gale, Springer, IEEE, etc.) via the Model Context Protocol.

Features

• Search the full university catalogue and Primo Central Index (millions of records)
• Get record details including abstract, authors, identifiers, and availability
• Autocomplete search suggestions
• Generate citations in APA 7th, Harvard, Chicago, IEEE, and Vancouver styles
• Export to BibTeX, RIS, or CSV for import into reference managers

Installation

git clone https://github.com/geheharidas/primo-mcp-server.git
cd primo-mcp-server
pip install -e .

Register in Claude Code

Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "primo": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "primo_mcp_server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Code. The tools will appear as mcp__primo__primo_search, etc.

Tools

Tool	Description
primo_search	Search the library catalogue with filters (type, date, peer-reviewed)
primo_get_record	Get full details for a record by ID
primo_suggest	Autocomplete search suggestions
primo_cite	Generate formatted citations (APA7, Harvard, Chicago, IEEE, Vancouver)
primo_export	Export records as BibTeX, RIS, or CSV

Usage Examples

From a Claude Code conversation:

• "Search the library for articles about machine learning in entrepreneurship published after 2020"
• "Get the full details for record cdi_crossref_primary_10_1234"
• "Generate APA7 citations for these records"
• "Export the search results as BibTeX"

Configuration

This application requires a .env file to initialize. All hardcoded defaults have been removed. If any required environment variable is missing, the server will fail to start with a clear
initialization error.

Setup

1. Copy the example file: cp .env.example .env
2. Open .env and update the values to match your institution's Primo VE configuration.

Required Variables

Variable	Description
PRIMO_BASE_URL	Primo REST API endpoint
PRIMO_VID	Primo View ID
PRIMO_INSTITUTION_NAME	Display name shown in responses
PRIMO_REQUEST_TIMEOUT	HTTP request timeout in seconds (e.g., 30.0)
PRIMO_MAX_RESULTS_PER_REQUEST	Max results per API request (e.g., 50)
PRIMO_DEFAULT_RESULTS	Default number of results returned (e.g., 10)
PRIMO_TAB_EVERYTHING	Search tab identifier for "Everything"
PRIMO_TAB_CATALOGUE	Search tab identifier for "Catalogue"
PRIMO_SCOPE_COMBINED	Search scope identifier for combined/index search
PRIMO_SCOPE_LOCAL	Search scope identifier for local search
PRIMO_LANGUAGE	Language code for search results (e.g., en)

Optional Variables

Variable	Description
PRIMO_USER_AGENT	HTTP User-Agent string (defaults to primo-mcp-server/0.1.0 if omitted)

Running Tests

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v

Licence

MIT