Set up literature providers
The Plugin's MCP connection and an online literature account are separate steps. Once the Host exposes Qiongli tools, call qiongli_config_status and qiongli_literature_status to see which providers are configured and available. Installing another MCP package is unnecessary.
Configure a provider
Ask the Host to call qiongli_configure_provider for the provider you need. Open the returned local setup URL and enter the credential there, keeping keys out of the conversation. qiongli_open_config_wizard is a compatibility alias. qiongli_save_provider_config also supports an explicitly requested field write; its secret value is not returned in the result.
| Provider | Fields used by Qiongli 2 |
|---|---|
OpenAlex (openalex) | api_key to activate; optional email |
Semantic Scholar (semantic_scholar) | api_key to activate |
Crossref (crossref) | email to activate |
PubMed (pubmed) | api_key to activate |
arXiv (arxiv) | No credential; available unless disabled |
These are Qiongli's configuration requirements, not a statement that each service requires credentials for every possible API request. Lite and Full share the provider contract in content/mcp-contracts/provider-config.schema.json. After saving, check qiongli_literature_status again. Configured credentials do not prove that a request will succeed; search results report service failures and partial results separately.
Plan and run a search
qiongli_search_plan helps the active agent choose between configured providers, the Host's native search and supplied sources. Its search_execution_mode can describe provider_connected, native_only, hybrid_search or strategy_only, depending on the tools and inputs supplied to the plan. The separate provider_capability_mode is either provider_connected or strategy_only. native_search_queries are suggestions for the Host, not completed searches.
Use qiongli_literature_search for a bounded provider search. MCP servers do not invoke Host-native search; the active agent uses its own available tools for that part. If neither route is available, keep the search strategy and report the gap. An empty provider result is not proof that no relevant papers exist.
For local references, use the separate Zotero tools. For review methods and coverage limits, see rigorous literature search. The Python RESEARCH_MCP_<PROVIDER>_CMD adapter configuration belongs to 1.x and is not the setup path for this native runtime.