Open Access Helper: Effortless Access to Scholarly Articles
Unlock Open Access
Easily find legal, free-to-read versions of paywalled scientific articles. Open Access Helper uses the trusted APIs from unpaywall.org and other sources to locate open access copies, making research more accessible for students, researchers, and curious minds.
How It Works
When you view a research article, the extension detects its DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and checks for an available open access version. Simply click the Open Access Helper badge to access the document!
As you hover over the badge, it will indicate whether you’ll be accessing the “Published Version,” “Accepted Version,” or “Submitted Version.”
EZProxy or OpenAthens Made Simple
If your university library uses EZProxy or OpenAthens for off-campus access, this extension makes it seamless to connect. Just set your institution’s domain (e.g., harvard.edu), and with one click, you can proxy the current page through your library’s server.
100% Legal and Privacy-Respecting
Every link provided leads to officially open-access or legally archived copies of research articles. Plus, Open Access Helper doesn’t collect personal data—just anonymous usage stats to improve functionality.
Open Source & Developer-Friendly
This is a passion project—check out the code, share feedback, or report bugs. Your contributions and ideas are always welcome!
Get started today—make research easier and more accessible with Open Access Helper!
더 보기 New: Facet filters for OpenAlex searches: narrow results by subject, author affiliation, and type, so you're not scrolling through 4,000 papers to find the one you need.
Additionally, I patched a small security quirk before it could cause any mischief - thanks to Yujie Xing (邢语杰) of Shandong University who spotted and responsibly disclosed it.
2026.8 8월 25일
Fixed a small display bug on iPad, sorry if you were inconvenienced by the bug!
2026.7.1 7월 18일
A number of smaller bug fixes that are designed to enhance your experience and the stability of the app
2026.7 7월 14일
A little bug annoyed one of my most loyal users, so I fixed it right away! Always feel free to reach out, if you find something!
2026.6.1 6월 11일
This update includes several minor bug fixes improving overall stability and reliability.
Additionally, the core.ac.uk Discovery source for Open Access copies has been removed. It was rarely used in practice and served almost exclusively as a last-resort fallback, so removing it keeps the addon leaner without any meaningful impact on functionality.
2026.6 6월 9일
This update removes the rarely used CORE Recommender and focuses on what matters most — a smoother, more reliable experience through targeted bug fixes and performance improvements. We've also enhanced OpenAlex support, giving you the ability to set your own API key.
2026.5 5월 15일
This version brings some new features to help get access through EBSCOhost Entitlement API more easily, and it also smooths out a few small hiccups in the web extension!
2026.2 2월 12일
This version brings minor bug fixes and enhancements.
2025.11 2025. 11. 01.
This version brings bug fixes and stability improvements. Additionally for users of iOS26, article abstracts can now be summarized with the built Apple intelligence feature.
2025.10 2025. 10. 06.
We’ve smoothed out in-app navigation and fixed a pesky issue with the extension popup. Plus, you can now see citation counts from OpenAlex.org! Thanks for your continued support—we love having you with us on this journey!
2025.6 2025. 06. 01.
For the Safari Extension:
- Major bug fixes thanks to an improved testing framework (now with 45 end-to-end tests).
- Open Access Button may now appear if no institution is selected. Disable it in Extension Settings > Alternative Access.
- OpenCitations badge now displays citation counts for users who have just installed the extension or who never saved settings. Turn it off in Extension Settings > Additional
- core.ac.uk is now an Open Access source again. Manage this in Extension Settings > Alternative Access.
Enjoy better reliability and more control over your experience!
2025.3 2025. 02. 02.
This version improves notifications when an article has been retracted, using Retraction Watch data. This will help ensure scientific integrity of the scientific articles you read online. It also fixes a bug that prevented the Safari Extension from working fully.
2025.2.2 2025. 01. 07.
This version improves notifications when an article has been retracted, using Retraction Watch data. This will help ensure scientific integrity of the scientific articles you read online.
2025.2 2025. 01. 05.
Another bug had snuck in that prevented users to use older saved searches. This affects only a tiny number of users, but none the less, I wanted to get the update out as quickly as possible.
Other than the bug fixes, you'll get
• Safari Extension: Improved support for EZProxy & OpenAthens.
• App: Rewritten storage layer using SwiftData for better performance.
• Search History: Enhanced readability and usability.
• Search: Support for DOI based searches
• iPadOS: Major improvements to landscape navigation.
2025.1.2 2024. 12. 24.
This version fixes a bug from the previous submission, but still modernizes the underlying application, which has let to multiple enhancements.
• Safari Extension: Improved support for EZProxy & OpenAthens.
• App: Rewritten storage layer using SwiftData for better performance.
• Search History: Enhanced readability and usability.
• iPadOS: Major improvements to landscape navigation.
2025.1.1 2024. 12. 24.
For this version I've worked hard to squash bugs and to modernize the underlying application, which has let to multiple enhancements.
• Safari Extension: Improved support for EZProxy & OpenAthens.
• App: Rewritten storage layer using SwiftData for better performance.
• Search History: Enhanced readability and usability.
• iPadOS: Major improvements to landscape navigation.
2025.1 2024. 12. 23.
Bugs happen, but the summer is a great time to fix them. This version contains some fixes to the extension (better DOI detection on some major aggregator websites). Additionally a problem with infinite scroll within the iOS App was fixed.
2024.1 2024. 08. 10.
This version fixes some minor bugs that will enhance overall stability of the extension!
2023.12 2023. 12. 10.
This version enhanced DOI detection on a popular academic journal aggregator website. Additionally it is now easier to remove an institution from settings.
2023.10 2023. 10. 06.
This version enhances the way you can search for and select your academic institution, improves the settings around EBSCOhost Entitlement API and fixes a translation issue, which could lead to mixed translations of the pop-over.
2023.9.1 2023. 09. 11.
This version brings various bug fixes and enhancements and supports the API for a major academic journal aggregator, helping you find not just Open Access but subscription access as well. Remember to select your institution from the settings! It also fixes a silly little bug in version 2023.8...
2023.8.1 2023. 07. 29.
This version brings various bug fixes and enhancements and supports the API for a major academic journal aggregator, helping you find not just Open Access but subscription access as well. Remember to select your institution from the settings!
2023.8 2023. 07. 28.
This release addresses some naughty bugs and makes your search experience better! Here are the highlights:
I fixed a bug that caused searches in OpenAlex to fail: I know how frustrating it can be when your search results come up empty and apologize for the inconvenience.
Additionally I enhanced the display of search results: Roxanne suggested some great ideas for improving the way search results are displayed and I've implemented them in this release.
2023.3 2023. 04. 02.
This version brings enhanced support for searching OpenAlex.org, such as Author Searches and lateral searches for topics
2022.11 2022. 11. 27.
This version fixes a small bug and provides an improved user experience.
2022.10 2022. 10. 02.
New: Facet filters for OpenAlex searches: narrow results by subject, author affiliation, and type, so you're not scrolling through 4,000 papers to find the one you need.
Additionally, I patched a small security quirk before it could cause any mischief - thanks to Yujie Xing (邢语杰) of Shandong University who spotted and responsibly disclosed it.
더 보기 버전 2026.8 8월 25일
사용자에게 연결되지 않은 데이터 다음 데이터가 수집될 수 있지만 신원에는 연결되지 않습니다.
