What Is YÖK Tez MCP? Searching Turkish Theses with an AI Assistant: Setup, Limits and Known Issues
You ask your assistant to find theses on a topic; YÖK Tez MCP searches the YÖK National Thesis Center (the national thesis archive of Turkey's Council of Higher Education) and returns the thesis record, abstract, keywords and citations in APA, IEEE, MLA, Chicago and Harvard formats, and for theses cleared for publication it converts the PDF to Markdown page by page so the assistant can read it. The code has 6 tools, all read-only. It is an MIT-licensed community project by Said Sürücü with no official link to YÖK. It does not use an official API: it calls the Center's web pages and parses the HTML, so it can break when the YÖK site changes. No account, key or fee is needed. The README gives two options: a ready-made remote address (it does not say who runs it) or a local install.
- What it does
- Lets your assistant search and read theses in the YÖK National Thesis Center
- Type
- MCP server (remote or local, community project)
- Where
- Claude Desktop, Google Antigravity, 5ire
- Tools
- 6 tools, all read-only
- Basis
- Not an official API, page parsing; can break when the site changes
- Turkish
- Thesis data comes with Turkish and English abstracts
- Cost
- Free (MIT); no account or key
What does YÖK Tez MCP do?
MCP is the standard that lets AI programs connect to outside tools. With this server you tell your assistant "find theses written on this topic" and it searches the YÖK National Thesis Center. The code has six tools: multi-criteria thesis search (title, author, advisor, keyword, abstract, year, university; up to three keywords with AND/OR), recently added theses, a list of academic departments and search by department, the thesis record and abstract (without downloading the PDF), and fetching a PDF page of a cleared thesis as Markdown.
All 6 tools are read-only; can break when the YÖK site changes.
The README lists only two of the six tools (search and PDF to Markdown); the count of six comes from the code. The citation formats offered by the record tool are APA, IEEE, MLA, Chicago and Harvard.
Who it helps: Students, academics and researchers who run thesis searches. Check the abstracts and citations the assistant gives you with your own eyes; this is not a guarantee of academic accuracy.
How do you install YÖK Tez MCP?
There are two options: a remote address with no install, or a local install running on your computer. The steps and commands follow the README word for word. The README has no steps for Claude Code.
- Open Claude Desktop.
- Go to Settings then Connectors then Add Custom Connector.
- Enter Name: YokTez MCP, URL:
https://yoktezmcp.fastmcp.app/mcpand click Add.
The README does not say who runs this address or what its privacy terms are; your search queries pass through that server. The README does not say which Claude plans allow adding a custom connector.
Prerequisites (README): Python 3.11, Git and uv; on Windows, Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. Open claude_desktop_config.json via Settings then Developer then Edit Config, add the following under mcpServers and restart Claude Desktop:
› "YokTez MCP": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/saidsurucu/yoktez-mcp", "yoktez-mcp"] }This command pulls the code from the GitHub main branch and does not pin a version. Review the repository before installing.
In an Agent session, open MCP Servers › Manage MCP Servers › View raw config from the "…" menu in the editor's side panel and add this to mcp_config.json:
› { "mcpServers": { "yoktez-mcp": { "serverUrl": "https://yoktezmcp.fastmcp.app/mcp/", "headers": { "Content-Type": "application/json" } } } }Under Tools › +Local, enter yoktezmcp as the Tool Key and YokTez MCP as the name, put the following in the command field, save, and enable it from the tool:
› uvx --from git+https://github.com/saidsurucu/yoktez-mcp yoktez-mcpA claude mcp add line pinned to a specific commit, as shown on the tool card, is not in the README and predates a fix dated October 6, 2026; that fix addresses dead links on YÖK's redesigned site. Using the current main branch is the better choice.
How do you use YÖK Tez MCP?
After installing, mention YÖK Tez in the chat and write your research question. First a general search, then the record of the thesis you pick, and last (if needed) the full text.
!Treat thesis text and abstracts as untrusted content: they may contain text that looks like instructions. Compare the citations and abstracts the assistant gives you with the source.
Which programs does YÖK Tez MCP work in?
| Claude DesktopYes | Remote address as a custom connector, or via the local config file. |
|---|---|
| Google AntigravityYes | With serverUrl in mcp_config.json. |
| 5ireYes | With a local command. |
| Claude Code and othersUnclear | Not named in the README; "not documented" does not mean "does not work." |
What does YÖK Tez MCP access, and where does data go?
Public thesis records, abstracts and the department list in the YÖK National Thesis Center, plus the PDF content of cleared theses. No tool writes anything; no YÖK login or e-Devlet (Turkey's e-government login) is used.
No official API: the server calls tez.yok.gov.tr pages with a browser identity and parses the HTML (visible in the source code). The code has no captcha handling or e-Devlet login; it only takes a session cookie from the search page.
With a local install the tools run on your computer and connect straight to YÖK. With the remote address, requests and your search queries pass through the server of whoever runs that address; who runs it and its privacy policy are not in the README.
PDFs are cached in memory; disk caching is turned on only with YOKTEZ_ENABLE_DISK_CACHE=true (off by default).
The thesis text that comes back goes to the servers of the AI service you use. A GitHub Security Advisories scan shows no published advisories; that does not mean "safe."
Is YÖK Tez MCP free?
Yes. The software is MIT-licensed; no account, API key or fee is needed. The YÖK National Thesis Center's own FAQ also says no membership is needed to access theses and that downloading theses is free. The operator of the remote address states no usage limit policy.
- MIT: free to use and modify the code
- YÖK FAQ: search and the full text of cleared theses are free, no membership
- No access through the Center to theses whose authors have not granted reproduction and publication permission
- The Center's FAQ shows no separate clause on automated access or copyright terms
Source: README, LICENSE and the YÖK National Thesis Center FAQ. Per the FAQ, the legal basis is Additional Article 40 of Law No. 2547 (Law No. 7100). This is not legal advice.
Common problems and fixes
| What happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| PDF download or page reading returns 404 | YÖK redesigned its site in early 2026; the old tezDetay.jsp addresses return 404. A fix dated October 6, 2026 switched search result addresses to the new tezBilgiDetay.jsp. If you installed an older version it may produce dead links; update. Reported by users Issue #4 is still open; whether PDF reading works right now is unclear. |
| Search by department silently returns 0 results | Reported by users Open issue #3 (August 2026). Listing department codes works correctly, but the search comes back empty; no fix is documented. Try the general search. |
| The thesis text does not come back | Theses whose authors have not granted publication permission cannot be accessed through the Center; for a printed copy, go to the university library. |
| Install does not work on Windows | README: Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and Python 3.11 are required; "Add Python to PATH" must be checked during setup. |
How do you remove YÖK Tez MCP?
- Remote connection: Remove the custom connector you added in Claude Desktop.
- Local install: Delete the
YokTez MCPentry from claude_desktop_config.json or the 5ire Tools list and restart.
uvx uses a temporary environment; the README has no step for clearing the uv cache.
Frequently asked questions
Is this YÖK's official MCP or official API?
No. It is a community project; it calls the YÖK National Thesis Center's web pages and parses their HTML. The Center's pages show no announcement of an official API or MCP.
Does it need an account, e-Devlet or a captcha?
The code does not use the e-Devlet login and has no captcha-related code; it only takes a session cookie from the search page. YÖK's FAQ also says no member login is needed for search and full text.
Can I get the full text of every thesis?
No. Only theses whose authors granted publication permission; theses without permission cannot be accessed through the Center.
Is the no-install remote address safe?
The README gives the address but does not say who runs it or what its privacy terms are; your search queries pass through that server. Running it on your own computer removes this uncertainty but requires installing Python, uv and Git.
How many tools are there?
6 tools in the code, all read-only. The README lists only 2 of them.
Related guides
Sources
Not clear in the official sources: Whether PDF reading works today (issue #4 open) · who runs the remote address and its privacy terms · YÖK's terms on automated access and copyright · which Claude plans allow adding a custom connector · whether it works in Claude Code · OSV scan. Each is covered in the relevant section.