medRxiv Search

Search recent medRxiv preprints using the free Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory API (api.medrxiv.org). No API key, no signup, no cost.

Requirements

Node.js 18+ (uses built-in fetch). Zero external dependencies.

CRITICAL: Script Path Resolution

The scripts/search commands below are relative to this skill’s installation directory.

Before running any command, locate the script:

MEDRXIV_SCRIPT=$(find ~/.claude -name "search" -path "*/medrxiv-search/*/scripts/search" -type f 2>/dev/null | head -1)

Then use $MEDRXIV_SCRIPT for all commands.

Commands

Search by keywords

Fetches papers from the last N days, filters by keyword match in title + abstract, ranks by number of keyword hits.

scripts/search query "heart failure treatment" --days 30 --max 20
scripts/search query "diabetes" --category "epidemiology" --days 90
scripts/search query "COVID vaccine efficacy" --days 7 --max 50

Options:

• --days N — date range to search (default: 30)
• --max N — maximum results to return (default: 20)
• --category NAME — filter by medRxiv category (use categories command to list)

Lookup a paper by DOI

Returns all versions of a specific paper.

scripts/search doi "10.1101/2024.12.26.24319649"

List categories

Shows all medRxiv categories you can filter by.

scripts/search categories

When to Use This Skill

• Finding latest medical research before journal publication
• Clinical trial results and outcomes
• Epidemiological studies and public health data
• Rapid response research on emerging health topics
• Any medical preprint search — no auth needed

Output Format

Query results

{
  "success": true,
  "type": "medrxiv_search",
  "query": "heart failure",
  "days": 30,
  "date_range": { "from": "2025-01-10", "to": "2025-02-09" },
  "total_fetched": 4523,
  "result_count": 12,
  "results": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1101/2025.01.15.25320585",
      "title": "Paper Title",
      "authors": "Smith, J.; Doe, A.",
      "author_corresponding": "Smith, J.",
      "institution": "University Hospital",
      "date": "2025-01-16",
      "version": "1",
      "category": "cardiovascular medicine",
      "abstract": "Background: ...",
      "published": "NA",
      "url": "https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.15.25320585v1"
    }
  ]
}

DOI lookup

{
  "success": true,
  "type": "medrxiv_doi",
  "doi": "10.1101/2024.12.26.24319649",
  "version_count": 2,
  "results": [...]
}

Processing Results with jq

# Get titles
scripts/search query "diabetes" | jq -r '.results[].title'

# Get URLs
scripts/search query "diabetes" | jq -r '.results[].url'

# Get abstracts
scripts/search query "diabetes" | jq -r '.results[] | "\(.title)\n\(.abstract)\n---"'

How It Works

The CSHL API returns papers in pages of 100. The query command:

1. Calculates the date range from --days
2. Fetches all papers in that range (paginating automatically)
3. Filters locally by keyword match in title + abstract
4. Ranks by number of keyword hits
5. Returns top N results

This means broader date ranges fetch more data and take longer. Use --days 7 for fast searches.

Error Handling

All commands return JSON with a success field:

{ "success": false, "error": "Error message" }

Exit codes: 0 = success, 1 = error.

Architecture

scripts/
├── search          # Bash wrapper
└── search.mjs      # Node.js CLI (zero deps, built-in fetch)

API: https://api.medrxiv.org/details/medrxiv/ — free, open, no auth.