> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.consensus.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# get_full_text

> The Consensus MCP get_full_text tool: read the complete text of open-access papers as Markdown, by the ids from search results or Threads, or by DOI.

`get_full_text` reads the complete text of open-access papers, as Markdown. [`search`](https://docs.consensus.app/mcp-tools/search) returns abstracts and short excerpts. When your assistant needs a paper's methods, results tables, or full argument, it passes the paper's id from search results or a Thread's citations to `get_full_text`.

It works the same way in every MCP client, ChatGPT included.

## How it works

**1. Search or run a Thread**

Your assistant calls `search`, or reads a Thread with [`get_thread`](https://docs.consensus.app/mcp-tools/get-thread). Each search result has an `id:` line, marked `full text available` when the paper is open access and `get_full_text` is available to you. Each paper a Thread cites has a `paper_id` in its `citations`.

**2. Read**

Your assistant calls `get_full_text` with up to 3 of those ids, or DOIs. Each paper comes back as Markdown, up to 40,000 characters at a time.

**3. Continue a long paper**

A paper longer than 40,000 characters ends with a `Continue: get_full_text(cursor="...")` line. Calling it returns the next part, at no extra cost. If the line ends with `· may cost 1 credit`, Consensus couldn't promise a free re-read this time, so the next part may be charged again.

## Parameters

Pass `paper_ids`, `dois`, or both, up to 3 combined. To read the next part of a paper, pass `cursor` on its own instead.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| - | - | - | - |
| `paper_ids` | string array | No | Paper ids: the `id:` shown under each `search` result, or a `paper_id` from a Thread's `citations`. Up to 3 combined with `dois`. |
| `dois` | string array | No | DOIs, with or without a `https://doi.org/` prefix. Up to 3 combined with `paper_ids`. |
| `cursor` | string | No | The cursor from a `Continue:` line, to read that paper's next part. Pass it alone, without `paper_ids` or `dois`. |

## Response

`get_full_text` returns text: each paper you asked for, in order, then the credits the call used.

```text theme={null}
3f1c... · chars 0 to 39,912 of 61,234
## Introduction

Creatine is ...

## Methods

...
Continue: get_full_text(cursor="<cursor>")

8b2d... · blocked: not open access, retracted, or no open-access copy held
https://consensus.app/papers/details/8b2d.../?utm_source=claude_code

Charged 1 credit.
```

Illustrative and trimmed. Each paper starts with a header line: its id (and its DOI, when you passed one), then which characters of its Markdown this part covers. A paper that doesn't come back says why instead:

| Header ends with | Meaning | Charged |
| - | - | - |
| `chars <start> to <end> of <total>` | The paper is open access. This part of its Markdown follows. | 1 credit, once a day |
| `blocked: not open access, retracted, or no open-access copy held` | The paper isn't open access, it was retracted, or its copy in Consensus isn't its open-access copy, so no text comes back. Its Consensus link follows. | No |
| `no full text: open access, but Consensus holds no text for it` | The paper is open access, but there's no text to return. Its Consensus link follows. | No |
| `not found: no Consensus paper has this id` (or `DOI`) | No Consensus paper matches. | No |

Which papers count as open access is the same rule the API uses: gold, diamond, green, and hybrid papers whose text came from an open source such as arXiv or PubMed Central, never from a publisher feed. See [which papers have complete text](https://docs.consensus.app/api-full-text.md#which-papers-have-complete-text).

## Example prompts

* "Find open-access RCTs on creatine and working memory, then read the methods of the two largest."
* "Read the full text of 10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9100 and summarize how the panel weighed the evidence."
* "Read the two papers that Thread cites most and check whether their dosing protocols match."
* "Search Consensus for meta-analyses on mindfulness for anxiety and compare the inclusion criteria of the open-access ones."

## Good to know

* **Cost:** 1 credit per paper returned, from the same monthly allowance as `search` and the API. Blocked and not-found papers cost nothing. A paper charged to you in the last 24 hours normally comes back free, so continuing with a cursor or reading a paper again the same day usually costs nothing. When a `Continue:` line ends with `· may cost 1 credit`, the next part may be charged. See [plans and access](https://docs.consensus.app/mcp-plans-and-access.md#how-calls-are-counted).
* **Cursors expire:** a cursor works for about a day. After that, call `get_full_text` with the paper's id again, which may cost 1 credit.
* **Plans:** requires a paid plan. On a Free plan or without an account, your assistant doesn't see the tool. Upgrade to a paid plan to use it.
* **Rate limit:** 3 `get_full_text` calls per second.
* **Same as the API:** `get_full_text` returns the same text as [`GET /v1/papers/full_text`](https://docs.consensus.app/api-full-text#complete-text), which takes up to 20 papers per request.


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