Type: Scientific paper repository
Collection: 85M+ papers
Account required: No
Created by: Alexandra Elbakyan, 2011
Clearnet: sci-hub.se (changes frequently)
Last verified: March 2026
Onion Address
http://scihub22266oqcxt.onion
Clearnet alternatives (change due to blocking): sci-hub.se, sci-hub.st, sci-hub.ru. The .onion address bypasses ISP-level blocking entirely.
How to Find Any Paper
The most reliable method is DOI search. A DOI looks like 10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2 — always starting with “10.” Find it on the publisher’s page or in Google Scholar. Paste it into Sci-Hub’s search box. The paper appears immediately.
URL search also works — paste the full publisher page URL. Title search is least reliable but useful when you don’t have the DOI.
Coverage
| Publisher | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Elsevier | ✅ Extensive |
| Springer / Nature | ✅ Extensive |
| Wiley | ✅ Extensive |
| IEEE | ✅ Strong |
| PLOS (open access) | ⚠️ Already free — use publisher directly |
| arXiv preprints | ⚠️ Already free — use arXiv.org |
| Very recent papers (<6 months) | ⚠️ May not yet be indexed |