RefIntegrity

Free, open-source tool that checks if a scientific paper's references have been retracted.

Paste a DOI and RefIntegrity will cross-check the entire reference list against the Retraction Watch database in seconds. No login, no paywall.

Live at: refintegrity.com

---

Features

• Single or bulk DOI check -- paste one DOI or many at once
• BibTeX / RIS file upload -- drag-and-drop your bibliography file
• Detects retractions, expressions of concern, withdrawals, and removals
• Retraction notice links -- direct links to the official retraction notice
• CSV export -- download results for your records
• Multi-language support -- EN, ES, FR, DE, RU, ZH, JA, PT, KO, AR, IT
• MCP server -- integrates with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor
• REST API -- open, no authentication required

How It Works

1. You submit a DOI (or multiple DOIs / a .bib file)
2. RefIntegrity fetches the paper's reference list from OpenAlex
3. All references are batch-checked for retraction status (falls back to Crossref if OpenAlex has no references)
4. Flagged references are enriched with retraction details (type, date, notice DOI) from Crossref
5. Results are displayed instantly with links to retraction notices

Tech Stack

• Frontend: Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS -- no build step, no framework
• Backend: Single Netlify serverless function (ES module)
• Data sources: OpenAlex API + Crossref API
• Testing: Playwright E2E tests
• Hosting: Netlify (static site + functions)
• Zero runtime dependencies

Local Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• An OpenAlex API key (free at openalex.org/settings/api)

Setup

git clone https://github.com/Ctariy/RefIntegrity.git
cd RefIntegrity
npm install

Create a .env file in the project root:

OPENALEX_API_KEY=your_key_here
CONTACT_EMAIL=your@email.com   # optional, for Crossref polite pool

Start the local dev server:

npm run dev
# Opens at http://localhost:8888

Testing

npm test                          # Run E2E tests
npx playwright test --headed      # Watch tests in browser

API

GET /api/check-doi?doi={doi}

Open endpoint, no authentication. CORS enabled.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
doi	string	A DOI (raw, URL form, or doi: prefixed)

Also accepts POST with JSON body: { "doi": "10.1234/..." }.

Response:

{
  "doi": "10.1038/s41577-020-0311-8",
  "title": "The COVID-19 pandemic...",
  "is_retracted": false,
  "referenced_works_count": 138,
  "flagged_count": 1,
  "flagged_references": [
    {
      "openalex_id": "https://openalex.org/W...",
      "doi": "https://doi.org/10.1016/...",
      "title": "...",
      "publication_year": 2020,
      "status": "retraction",
      "update_date": "2024-12-16",
      "update_label": "Retraction",
      "notice_doi": "10.1016/..."
    }
  ]
}

Error codes: 400 (missing/invalid DOI), 404 (DOI not in OpenAlex), 429 (rate limited), 502 (upstream API error).

MCP Server

https://refintegrity.com/mcp

Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor. See the live site for setup instructions.

Project Structure

public/                Static frontend (served directly)
  index.html           Page structure, SEO meta, JSON-LD schema
  app.js               Frontend logic: DOI extraction, API calls, rendering, export
  style.css            Styling
  i18n.js              Internationalization

netlify/functions/
  check-doi.mjs        Serverless API endpoint

tests/
  refintegrity.spec.js Playwright E2E tests

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-change)
3. Make your changes and add tests if applicable
4. Submit a pull request

License

MIT

Credits

• OpenAlex -- open scholarly metadata (250M+ works)
• Crossref -- retraction notice details and DOI resolution
• Retraction Watch -- the retraction database powering OpenAlex retraction data