Skills/PyPI/paper-distill-mcp

paper-distill-mcp@0.2.4

CAUTION· not started

Publisher claims: "MCP server for academic paper search, curation, and multi-platform push" Observed in sandbox: no network, touches nothing outside the project, writes no memory.

Registry PyPI (MCP server)Publisher eclipse-cj · publishing for 252 daysInstalls 255Last detonated 4 h ago
What would fix thisWatchDispute verdict

Coverage

Not started: dependency install failed; the server itself was not observed.
Tested
the dependency install step · every file read, file written and host contacted by what ran
Not tested
server startup · the tool list · tool behavior

What this means for the label: Caution here covers what ran. The server's tools were not exercised with a real credential, so nothing about their behavior is asserted; the credential summary below says what to do with that.

Before you give it your token

It will ask for
CORE_API_KEYDEEPSEEK_API_KEYNCBI_API_KEYS2_API_KEYTELEGRAM_BOT_TOKENZOTERO_API_KEYConfiguration, not credentials: GITHUB_PAGES_URL, NCBI_EMAIL, OPENALEX_EMAIL, PAPER_DISTILL_DATA_DIR, SITE_URL, TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID, UNPAYWALL_EMAIL, ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID
Where it talks to
no vendor host named in the codeAlso doi.org, crossref.org, openalex.org, paperswithcode.com, semanticscholar.org, qq.com, vercel.com, biorxiv.org, core.ac.uk, dblp.org, deepseek.com, ebi.ac.uk, arxiv.org, unpaywall.org — not the publisher's domain; check what for before connecting.
What the honeypot saw
no credential files read · no network
What we could not test
server startup · the tool list · tool behavior

Connect it with a scoped credential, under the guard, and read the third-party hosts first. The code names doi.org, crossref.org, openalex.org, paperswithcode.com, semanticscholar.org, qq.com, vercel.com, biorxiv.org, core.ac.uk, dblp.org, deepseek.com, ebi.ac.uk, arxiv.org, unpaywall.org as well as its own vendor. The guard injects CORE_API_KEY, DEEPSEEK_API_KEY, NCBI_API_KEY, S2_API_KEY, TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, ZOTERO_API_KEY only into requests to the host you bind (and its subdomains) and refuses the rest.

$vet-skills run --net declared -- uvx paper-distill-mcp

Never paste a credential into a chat, a ticket or a report, including ours. How the guard holds it.

Is [email protected] safe to install?

KillerSkills ran it in the KillerSkills honeypot sandbox (2 scenarios; not started: dependency install failed; the server itself was not observed) on 2026-11-14 and scored it 77/100 (Caution). It is not known to be malicious, but it has behaviour or code a security policy should decide on before install. Notable findings: Access to sensitive file paths; Access to sensitive file paths; Access to sensitive file paths. Summary: no network, touches nothing outside the project, writes no memory.

Behavior trace

Honeypot run · 0 s · 2 scenarios · 0 deviations
t+CategoryObserved action
0.0sprocessno install scripts in bundle
0.1sprocessdependency install exit 1 ·
0.1sclaimednot started: dependency install failed (exit 1); the server itself was not observed
0.1sprocessscript backend runs setup only
0.1sprocessno install scripts to re-run

Static findings

HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathspaper_digest/pipeline.py:39 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesload_dotenv(PROJECT_ROOT / ".env")Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsintegrations/zotero_api.py:535 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesraise ValueError("ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID and ZOTERO_API_KEY must be set in .env")Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsintegrations/zotero_api.py:476 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system files"ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID and ZOTERO_API_KEY must be set in .env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsmcp_server/config.py:109 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system files# Load .env from data dirFix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Collapsed <details> block carrying instructionsREADME.md:42 · Collapsed <details> block carrying instructions<summary>Other installation methods (pip / Homebrew / Docker / source)</summary> **pip:** ```bash pip install paper-distill-mcp ``` **Homebrew:** ```bash brew tFix: Remove the text that addresses the agent rather than the reader; describe behavior, do not instruct.
AST01
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsgenerate/non_pushed_papers.py:126 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedmcp_server/server.py:925 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["git", "push"], cwd=str(repo), check=True, capture_output=True)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsintegrations/zotero_api.py:10 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesRequires ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID and ZOTERO_API_KEY in .env.Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsgenerate/daily_digest.py:336 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathspaper_digest/openclaw_runner.py:26 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesload_dotenv(PROJECT_ROOT / ".env")Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathssearch/query_all.py:29 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesload_dotenv(PROJECT_ROOT / ".env")Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedmcp_server/server.py:921 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsmcp_server/config.py:110 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = Path(data_dir) / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsbot/notifier.py:140 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsgenerate/obsidian_note.py:433 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesload_dotenv(project_root / ".env")Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsintegrations/zotero_api.py:468 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = project_root / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathscurate/ranker.py:279 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathssearch/core_search.py:8 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesSet CORE_API_KEY in .env.Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedmcp_server/server.py:920 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["git", "add"] + files_to_add, cwd=str(repo), check=True, capture_output=True)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsintegrations/zotero_api.py:528 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = project_root / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathsgenerate/obsidian_note.py:589 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesenv_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / ".env"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05

Cost to the agent

Instructions loaded
≈57 tok
1 file · 59 in bundle
Tool list per prompt
≈0 tok
0 tools · 0 per tool
Handshake
no reply
launch to tools/list, stdio
Undocumented tools
0
description under 20 chars · avg 0

Tokens estimated at four characters each. The tool list is re-read by the agent on every turn, so it is the number to compare between servers that do the same job: ranked across the index.

Known vulnerabilities

No advisories in OSV for paper-distill-mcp@0.2.4 as of 4 h ago. This is the package itself, not its dependencies.

What would make this Verified

3 points to 80 · weights: behavior 45%, static 25%, prompt 15%, publisher 15%
  1. Unclaimed publisher≈ +8 on the totalClaim eclipse-cj: a verified publisher gets +50 on publisher trust. It is free and usually instant with GitHub sign-in.
  2. Hidden instructions≈ +6 on the totalRemove HTML comments, zero-width characters and white-on-white text that carry instructions. Everything the agent is meant to read should be visible to the person reading the file.
  3. Access to sensitive file paths≈ +4 on the totalStop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
  4. Python subprocess execution detected≈ +2 on the totalBuild commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
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