# OSF Scientific Literature Search

> OSF Scientific Literature Search is a paid API for AI agents from api.osf-master-server.com, paid per call via x402, $0.05/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-13).

Search scientific and scholarly literature by keyword across CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, and OpenAlex in a single API call, returning titles, authors, venues, publication years, DOIs, and provenance URLs.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://api.osf-master-server.com/x402/research/papers/:query
- Price: $0.05/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-13
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/osf-scientific-literature-search-12f8355a
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_FT5i2YEKm8f0ZoWRQjegJ

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability osf-scientific-literature-search-12f8355a
```

Example prompt: Search across PubMed, arXiv, CrossRef, and OpenAlex for papers on 'transformer attention mechanisms' and give me the titles, authors, journals, publication years, and DOIs for the top results.

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need to search scientific and academic literature across multiple databases simultaneously without managing separate API keys for CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, and OpenAlex. Ideal for literature review automation, citation lookup, systematic reviews, and evidence synthesis workflows where cross-database coverage and provenance tracing matter.

## Known failure modes

- No results found for highly niche or misspelled query terms
- DOI not available for preprints or grey literature
- Rate limiting or 402 payment failure if USDC balance is insufficient
- Query too broad returns low-relevance mixed results across databases
- Some records may lack complete author or venue metadata depending on source

## How this service works

Search 1.2 million+ scholarly works by keyword across arXiv (700,000+ preprints, all categories, 2024 to 2026), CrossRef, PubMed, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov in one call. Returns title, authors, journal or venue, year, DOI, and a provenance URL per match. For research agents, literature review, citation lookup, and clinical evidence workflows.

## Output

A list of matching scholarly papers, each with: title, authors, journal or conference venue, publication year, DOI, and a provenance URL linking back to the original source database (CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, or OpenAlex).

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET",
      "HEAD",
      "DELETE"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "pathParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
      "query"
     ],
     "properties": {
      "query": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "Keyword(s): topic, author, title terms, or DOI. E.g. 'CRISPR off-target' or 'transformer attention'."
      }
     }
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {}
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/osf-scientific-literature-search-12f8355a/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from api.osf-master-server.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/api.osf-master-server.com/llms.txt)