medsci-skills MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

23 skills spanning design → analysis → manuscript → submission
33 reporting-guideline compliance audits (STROBE, PRISMA, STARD, CONSORT…)
Python/R code generation for 13+ common study designs
Verified citations — anti-hallucination by default
Built by an actively publishing physician

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

medsci-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "medsci-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "medsci-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "medsci-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "medsci-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "medsci-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills",
        "~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "medsci-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills",
          "~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add medsci-skill -- git clone https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills ~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use medsci-skills

Draft a STROBE-compliant observational study manuscript

👤 Clinical researchers with a cleaned dataset and ready to write ⏱ ~120 min advanced

When to use: You have analyses done and need to turn them into a submittable IMRAD manuscript.

Prerequisites

Cleaned, de-identified dataset + analysis outputs — Use the de-identification and stats skills first if not done
Skill installed — git clone https://github.com/Aperivue/medsci-skills ~/.claude/skills/medsci-skills

Flow

Draft methods and results from outputs

Use medsci-skills. Here are my analysis outputs and study design (retrospective cohort). Draft the Methods and Results sections, STROBE-compliant.✓ Copied

→ Full drafts with STROBE item mapping
Run compliance audit

Now audit this manuscript against the STROBE checklist — flag every missing item.✓ Copied

→ Table: item / present? / note
Self-review from reviewer perspective

Now critique this manuscript as a reviewer at the target journal would. Be harsh.✓ Copied

→ Numbered critique with line-level references

Outcome: A manuscript that clears a reporting-guideline audit and has been stress-tested before submission.

Pitfalls

Citations that look right but don't exist — The skill enforces verification — never accept a citation you can't open in PubMed

Combine with: arxiv · biomcp

Run a PRISMA-compliant systematic review pipeline

👤 Researchers starting a systematic review / meta-analysis ⏱ ~240 min advanced

When to use: You're beginning a PRISMA-guided review.

Flow

Build search strategy and fetch

Use medsci-skills to design a PRISMA search for '<topic>'. Run it against PubMed and Europe PMC.✓ Copied

→ Boolean strategy + hit counts per database
Screen and extract

For the included studies, extract into the meta-analysis pipeline format.✓ Copied

→ Structured extraction table
Generate PRISMA flow diagram and forest plot

Now generate the PRISMA diagram and forest plot figures at journal resolution.✓ Copied

→ PDF/PNG figures ready to paste

Outcome: A compliant SR manuscript scaffold with figures.

Pitfalls

Over-inclusive search returns 10k+ hits — Tighten terms with the skill's query-refinement helper

Combine with: arxiv

Calculate sample size with an IRB-ready justification paragraph

👤 PIs preparing an ethics submission ⏱ ~15 min intermediate

When to use: Before IRB review, when you need the stats justification done right.

Flow

Specify effect size, alpha, power

Use medsci-skills sample-size. Design: two-arm RCT. Primary outcome: continuous, expected difference 0.3 SD, alpha 0.05, power 0.8, 1:1 allocation.✓ Copied

→ N per arm + the formula + an IRB-ready paragraph

Outcome: A justification block you can paste into the protocol.

Draft point-by-point responses to reviewer comments

👤 Authors preparing a revision ⏱ ~45 min intermediate

When to use: You got R1 reviews back and need a disciplined response.

Flow

Structure the response letter

Here are the reviewer comments. Use medsci-skills to draft a point-by-point response — quote comment, response, revised manuscript location.✓ Copied

→ Structured table-like response with line refs

Outcome: A cover letter editors will thank you for.

Pitfalls

Agreeing with every comment and weakening the paper — Ask the skill to push back on comments you disagree with, with evidence

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

medsci-skill + arxiv + biomcp

Pull primary literature with verifiable IDs for citations

Use biomcp + medsci-skills literature-search to find RCTs on <topic> from 2020–2025.✓ Copied

medsci-skill + filesystem

Keep protocol / manuscript / figures / stats in one versioned folder

Create project structure per medsci-skills conventions and initialize git.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
literature-search	topic, databases	Start of any research task
sample-size	design, effect size, alpha, power	Protocol writing
deidentify	clinical dataset	Before any data work
stats-code	design, data structure	Analysis phase
manuscript-imrad	outputs, design	Writing phase
compliance-audit	manuscript, guideline (STROBE/PRISMA/…)	Pre-submission
journal-recommender	manuscript	Picking where to submit
reviewer-response	reviews, manuscript	Revision phase

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: None from the skill itself
Tokens per call: Large — manuscript drafts run 10–30k tokens
Monetary: Free, OSS
Tip: Draft with a smaller model, polish with Opus — the 2-pass approach halves spend

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: No credentials stored; any DB API keys (PubMed, etc.) read from env

Data egress: Only to databases you configure — PubMed, arXiv, etc. Never send PHI to external LLMs without de-identification.

Always run deidentify before feeding patient data to the manuscript/stats skills.
Citations must be spot-checked — the skill verifies, but humans sign the paper.

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

literature-search returns no results

Broaden terms; the skill defaults to strict Boolean

Compliance audit flags many items as missing

That's expected on a first draft — work through them in order of severity

Alternatives

medsci-skills vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
biomcp	You mainly need biomedical data retrieval without the manuscript layer	Less writing support
arxiv	Pre-prints only	No medical guideline compliance

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

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