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Use this page as the shortest path from an integration task to a working Scite request. For machine-readable context, use the automatically generated documentation index, complete documentation, or OpenAPI specification.

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Choose the right integration

Prefer MCP for research inside an MCP-compatible agent. Prefer REST when you need direct endpoint control, persistent application logic, or an OpenAPI-based client.

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Make a request without credentials

Papers and Tallies are public. Use either endpoint to confirm connectivity before debugging authentication:
The Papers response includes publication metadata. The Tallies response counts supporting, contradicting, mentioning, and unclassified citation statements.

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Authenticate safely

Need an API key? On Pro, create one in the API Console. Creating a key doesn’t grant every optional scope; see Authentication for feature access. For higher limits or managed credentials, contact sales. Keep the key in an environment variable rather than source code, prompts, command history, or logs. Paste it at this hidden shell prompt:
Then pass it as a bearer token:
Use the minimum scopes required by the integration. A valid key can still receive 403 User not authorized when its account or scopes don’t include the requested feature.

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Choose a capability

Creating an API key does not grant every capability. Use the access matrix in Authentication before treating a 403 as a code defect.

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Integration rules for agents

  • Treat 401 as a missing, invalid, expired, or revoked credential. Treat 403 as an access or scope problem.
  • Do not retry 401, 403, 404, or 422 without changing the request. Retry 429 and transient 5xx responses with exponential backoff and jitter.
  • Read the returned rate-limit headers instead of hard-coding a request rate.
  • Preserve the exact task ID returned by Assistant or Reference Check. Poll with backoff and an overall timeout.
  • Check hits[].citations[].snippetHidden before using Search citation text. Self-service keys return redacted snippets.
  • Use the response schema in the API Reference tab; do not infer fields from examples alone.
See Errors and rate limits for status handling, retry behavior, and asynchronous polling guidance.
  • Quickstart: make public and authenticated requests
  • Authentication: plans, scopes, and Enterprise credentials
  • Scite MCP: OAuth and API-key setup for MCP clients
  • API Reference: exact parameters, request bodies, and response schemas