Compiling is free

Overleaf MCP for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor: check and compile your paper

Overleaf has no MCP server of its own. The community ones reach a project through Overleaf’s Git integration, which needs a paid plan, or through your login, and some compile it with a TeX you install. They match each \cite key to the .bib, but none checks that the reference is real.

hedwigai’s MCP server does. Every reference in the .bib is looked up in Crossref and at doi.org, and every sentence that cites one is read against it. The same server compiles the project with real TeX on our side, so there is nothing to install.

Connect it in Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http --scope user hedwigai https://mcp.hedwigai.com

Then type /mcp, choose hedwigai and Authenticate. A new account starts with $1 of credit and no card.

Create a free account Check a .bib now, no account Setup and example on GitHub

Next to the community Overleaf MCP servers

	Community Overleaf MCP servers	hedwigai
Read and edit the .tex and .bib files	Yes, through a Git clone or your Overleaf login	Your agent edits the files itself, in a clone, a GitHub sync or a downloaded zip
Compile to PDF	Some do, with latexmk or Tectonic you install; others leave it to Overleaf	Yes, on our servers: Tectonic with BibTeX and journal classes, up to 4 minutes, nothing to install
Check each reference exists as cited	No: \cite keys are matched to the .bib, not looked up	Yes: Crossref, doi.org, OpenAlex and the web; retractions flagged
Check each citing sentence against its source	No	Yes, with the passage that supports or contradicts it
Overleaf plan needed	A paid one for Git; some use your login cookie instead	None: the free plan's source download works

Community servers as their own pages describe them, read 15 October 2026: OverleafMCP reads and writes files over Git; vibeTeX uses Git or an experimental login cookie and compiles with latexmk or Tectonic; ghostiee-11/overleaf-mcp uses your login or Git, compiles with your latexmk and lints labels and citations. Git integration is a premium feature, per Overleaf’s docs; Overleaf’s free plan compiles for 10 seconds. The two work together: keep editing with co-authors in Overleaf, and compile and check from your agent. hedwigai is not affiliated with Overleaf.

How do I use Overleaf with Claude Code?

Any of three ways, then open the folder in Claude Code, Codex or Cursor:

Free plan: in the editor, File, then Download as source (.zip), and unzip it.
Paid plan: clone it with Git, from the project’s Git link, git clone https://git.overleaf.com/<project id>, and push your agent’s changes back.
GitHub sync, also on paid plans: pull the repository Overleaf syncs to.

What do I ask my agent?

Compile main.tex with hedwigai's render_document and fix any errors.
Check every entry in references.bib and fix the ones that are wrong.
Check that each sentence citing a paper says what that paper says.

The compile returns a link to the PDF, or the log’s failing line for the agent to fix and try again. The checks return each reference found, found with a different year or authors, or not found, and each citing sentence supported, contradicted or unsupported, with the passage that settles it.

Codex, Cursor and the Claude app

Codex:

codex mcp add hedwigai --url https://mcp.hedwigai.com
codex mcp login hedwigai

Cursor: add https://mcp.hedwigai.com under mcpServers in ~/.cursor/mcp.json and click Connect. Claude on the web or desktop: Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector, and paste the same URL. For a skill that walks your agent through a paper: npx skills add un-seen/hedwigai-skills --skill latex-papers.

What does it compile, and what not?

LaTeX through Tectonic, with BibTeX and the journal and conference classes (IEEEtran, acmart, elsarticle and the rest of TeX Live 2022), plus Typst and Markdown. A project of many files and images compiles whole. Not supported: biber, LuaLaTeX, and packages that run shell commands, such as minted.

What does it cost?

Compiling is free. Checking references and citing sentences is billed per reference from prepaid credit, and a new account starts with $1 of it. To try the reference check first with no account, paste your .bib into the BibTeX checker: 3 checks a day, 25 entries each.