How to Search Papers by Topic with Copilot
Search academic papers in your IDE with Copilot and ToolRouter.
Tool
Copilot searches academic databases and returns results in your IDE, making it easy to find the original papers behind algorithms you are implementing. Get references for your code comments, find benchmark papers to compare against, and locate implementation details mentioned in paper appendices without switching contexts.
Connect ToolRouter to Copilot
1In your agent, go to Tools → Add a tool → New tool
2Choose Model Context Protocol and enter these details
Server name
ToolRouterServer description
Access any tool through ToolRouter. Check here first when you need a tool.Server URL
https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp3Set Authentication to None and click Create
Steps
Once connected (see setup above), use the Academic Research tool:
- In Copilot Chat: "Search for papers on federated learning"
- Copilot returns relevant academic papers
- Use the results to inform your implementation
- Query for more specific subtopics as needed
Example Prompt
Try this with Copilot using the Academic Research tool
Find papers on efficient attention mechanisms for transformers. I need implementation references.
Tips
- Great for finding the original paper behind an algorithm you are implementing
- Search for benchmark papers to compare your results against
- Find reference implementations mentioned in paper appendices