Openlibrary MCP Server

Name: Openlibrary MCP Server
Author: cyanheads

by cyanheadsversion 0.4.0i★ –iComputer or cloud

Registry nameio.github.cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Search books and authors, fetch editions, browse subjects, and resolve cover images.

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi3 of 3 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Computer or cloud
Transport: stdio, Streamable HTTP
Category: Search & AI memory

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 3 of 3 passed
Runs on the maker’s server: what you ask it goes through their server.
Can do 10 things (tools) openlibrary_search_books, openlibrary_search_inside, openlibrary_get_work, openlibrary_get_editions …
You fill in yourself: OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS, MCP_LOG_LEVEL

You need

Runs in the cloudNothing to install; it connects over the internet
npmNode.js installed (for the npx command)

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Works in Claude on the web, desktop and mobile:

Open Settings → Connectors
Press Add custom connector
Paste the address below and press Add
If it asks you to sign in, sign in with the maker

https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Or run it on your computer

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config, and paste this into claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openlibrary": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS": "your-value",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add --transport http openlibrary https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Or run it on your computer

claude mcp add openlibrary --env OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS=your-value --env MCP_LOG_LEVEL=your-value -- npx -y @cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server

Fill in the empty values before running it.

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openlibrary": {
      "url": "https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or run it on your computer

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "openlibrary": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS": "your-value",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "openlibrary": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or run it on your computer

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "openlibrary": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS": "your-value",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

ChatGPT connects only to servers on the internet:

Open ChatGPT on the web → Settings → Connectors (Apps)
Press Create or Add (some plans need Developer mode under Advanced first)
Paste the address below, give it a name and save
If it asks you to sign in, sign in with the maker

https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Menu names can differ slightly by plan and over time.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

Values you fill in

OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS env
Apply page and identifier batch limits with continuation guidance. Set false to reject oversized requests.
MCP_LOG_LEVEL env
Sets the minimum log level for output (e.g., 'debug', 'info', 'warn').

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Tool names and descriptions exactly as the server reported them on Nov 7, 2026. The maker wrote them, not us; we show them as plain text.

openlibrary_search_books
Full-text book search across Open Library works. Supports field filters (title, author, subject, publisher, ISBN, language) and returns work-level records with edition counts, cover IDs, and reading availability. Use query for general search or combine specific field filters. Res
openlibrary_search_inside
Search the full text of books scanned by the Internet Archive — the "which book contains this passage?" lookup that the metadata tools cannot answer. Quote a phrase for an exact-phrase match; bare terms match anywhere in the text. Each result is an Internet Archive item with the
openlibrary_get_work
Fetch a work by Open Library Work ID (OL…W). Returns title, description, subjects, cover IDs, and linked author IDs for follow-up lookups. Works represent the abstract book concept independent of any specific edition. A merged work ID resolves to the work it was merged into. To r
openlibrary_get_editions
List editions of a work — different publishers, languages, formats, and print runs. Returns ISBNs, publisher, language, page count, and edition OLIDs. Use after openlibrary_get_work or openlibrary_search_books to find a specific printing. A merged work ID resolves to the work it
openlibrary_get_edition
Resolve one or more editions by identifier: ISBN-10, ISBN-13, OCLC, LCCN, or Open Library Edition ID (OL…M). Every identifier in a call shares one id_type — pass id_type "isbn" for both ISBN-10 and ISBN-13. Up to 50 identifiers resolve in a single upstream batch; with limit clamp
openlibrary_search_authors
Search Open Library authors by name. Returns Open Library Author IDs, names, birth/death dates, top works, and subject associations. Use author IDs for openlibrary_get_author (bio, remote IDs) or openlibrary_get_author_works (list of works).
openlibrary_get_author
Fetch author detail by Open Library Author ID (OL…A). Returns bio, birth/death dates, photo IDs, and linked identifiers from Wikidata, VIAF, ISNI, Goodreads, and LibraryThing. Use openlibrary_search_authors to find an author ID first.
openlibrary_get_author_works
List works by an author. Returns titles, cover IDs, and work OLIDs for drilling into editions or details. Use openlibrary_get_author for author bio and details, or openlibrary_get_editions to explore specific printings.
openlibrary_get_subject
Browse works by subject. Returns matching works with edition counts and cover IDs, plus the total work count for the subject. Case and spacing are normalized before lookup, so "Science Fiction" and "science_fiction" are the same request. Subject tags are user-contributed and the
openlibrary_get_cover_url
Construct a cover image URL for a book or author photo without fetching the image. Returns a direct HTTPS URL in the requested size (S/M/L). The identifier format is validated locally: "id" must be numeric, "isbn" 10 or 13 digits (an ISBN-10 may end in an X check digit), "olid" a

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 7, 2026

✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account cyanheads, which owns the repo
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
✓ Pass
Endpoint responds
Responded in 208 ms (HTTP 200)
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
No sign-in needed
✓ Pass
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Read 10 tool descriptions and found no hidden instructions to the AI

Compared with others in Search & AI memoryi

More stars than 0% of the other 7283 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 75% of the other 7283 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 7283 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is Openlibrary MCP Server safe?

It passed 3 of 3 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

Either way works: install it on your computer or connect to the cloud version.

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.4.0) reached the registry 12 days ago.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. It connects by URL, so apps that accept remote MCP servers work too, such as ChatGPT in developer mode.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: Context7, Codebase Memory, Exa

Alternatives

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Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

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README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

@cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server Search books and authors, fetch editions, browse subjects, and resolve cover images from Open Library via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP. 10 Tools • 2 Catalog Resources • 1 Agent Skill

Public Hosted Server: https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Overview

Open Library's catalog of 20M+ books, editions, authors, and subjects, plus full-text search inside Internet Archive's scanned books. Search and browse, drill from a work into its editions or an author into their works, and construct cover image URLs.

Tools

Tool	Description
`openlibrary_search_books`	Catalog search with field filters (title, author, subject, publisher, ISBN, language), a provider-selected edition, pagination, and optional live reading availability
`openlibrary_get_work`	Fetch a work by Open Library Work ID (OL…W) — title, description, subjects, cover IDs, and author IDs
`openlibrary_get_editions`	List editions of a work — publishers, languages, formats, ISBNs, and print run details
`openlibrary_get_edition`	Resolve up to 50 distinct identifiers per call by ISBN-10, ISBN-13, OCLC, LCCN, or Open Library Edition ID (OL…M), reporting misses and unprocessed identifiers
`openlibrary_search_authors`	Search authors by name — returns Author IDs, birth/death dates, top works, and subject associations
`openlibrary_get_author`	Fetch author detail by Open Library Author ID (OL…A) — bio, dates, photo IDs, and linked identifiers from Wikidata, VIAF, ISNI, Goodreads, and LibraryThing
`openlibrary_get_author_works`	List works by an author — titles, cover IDs, and Work OLIDs for drilling into editions or details
`openlibrary_get_subject`	Browse works by subject tag — returns matching works with edition counts and cover IDs plus the total work count
`openlibrary_search_inside`	Full-text search inside the scanned text of Internet Archive books — returns matching items with snippets
`openlibrary_get_cover_url`	Resolve a cover image URL for a book or author photo in S/M/L size — returns a direct HTTPS URL embeddable in markdown

Resources

Resource	Description
`openlibrary://works/{work_id}`	Work detail by Open Library Work ID — title, description, subjects, cover IDs, and author IDs as injectable context
`openlibrary://authors/{author_id}`	Author detail by Open Library Author ID — name, bio, dates, photo IDs, and linked external identifiers as injectable context

Both resources mirror data also available via openlibrary_get_work and openlibrary_get_author — useful for clients that don't surface MCP resources.

Agent skill

openlibrary-guide covers edition selection, bibliography resolution, passage identification, and incomplete metadata. It is included in npm, Docker, and desktop bundles and served through MCP skill discovery and skill:// resources.

Capability reference

Paginated tools return at most 100 rows per call. Larger positive integer limits are clamped with a notice showing the applied limit and next offset. OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS=false restores schema rejection above 100. Text and structured output carry the same complete domain data, including arrays and numeric precision.

`openlibrary_search_books` tool

Free-text query with Solr field prefixes (title:, author:, subject:, publisher:, isbn:, language:) or dedicated filter parameters; 1–100 results per page (default 10), offset pagination
sort: relevance (default), new, old, rating, editions
language accepts a 3-letter MARC code or a translatable 2-letter ISO code; an untranslatable 2-letter code fails as unknown_language_code rather than being silently dropped
include_availability adds live Internet Archive borrow/read status (~200ms latency), off by default; flags Open Library leaves out are omitted rather than reported as false, and availability: null means none was returned for the work
Returns work-level records with edition counts, cover IDs, subjects, and Internet Archive identifiers
Optional matching_edition and matching_edition_count preserve the Search API's selected edition and matching count. The selected edition is provider-ranked; it does not prove that every unfielded search term matches that edition
invalid_search_query reports upstream HTTP 422 validation with recovery guidance; empty queries with specific filters remain supported

`openlibrary_get_work` tool

Fetch by Open Library Work ID (OL…W), optionally /works/-prefixed; anything else — an ISBN, an edition or author OLID — fails input validation before any request, naming openlibrary_get_edition (id_type: "isbn") as the route from an ISBN to its work
Returns title, description, subjects (plus place/time/people breakdowns), cover IDs, and author IDs — no author names (use openlibrary_get_author or openlibrary_search_books)
A merged work ID stays reachable — the redirect chain is followed to the canonical record, work_id reports the canonical ID, and an enrichment notice names both IDs when they differ
not_found when the Work ID doesn't exist or its redirect chain reaches no work

`openlibrary_get_editions` tool

List editions of a work by Work ID (OL…W), optionally /works/-prefixed; 1–100 per page (default 10), offset pagination, with the requested offset echoed in the output
Same work_id validation as openlibrary_get_work — an ISBN resolves to its work through openlibrary_get_edition (id_type: "isbn")
Returns ISBN-10/13, publishers, languages, page count, cover IDs, and edition OLIDs (OL…M), plus physical_format and edition_name when recorded
A merged work ID stays reachable — the editions of the canonical work come back under its ID in work_id, with an enrichment notice naming both IDs; a live work still costs one request
not_found when the Work ID doesn't exist or its redirect chain reaches no work

`openlibrary_get_edition` tool

Accepts 1–1,000 input strings, deduplicates exact strings, and processes the first 50 distinct identifiers in one upstream batch; the remainder is returned as unprocessed for resubmission. Every identifier shares one id_type: isbn (10 or 13 digits, an ISBN-10 may end in an X check digit), oclc (numeric), lccn (unchecked), or olid (OL…M). With OPENLIBRARY_CLAMP_LIMITS=false, the input array is limited to 50 entries
Partial success: identifiers that resolve return in editions (request order); the rest land in unresolved with invalid_identifier (malformed, never sent upstream) or not_found (well-formed, no record) — the call fails only when nothing resolves
upstream_unavailable (retryable) when Open Library's batch lookup itself fails — an HTTP error status other than a rate limit, or an HTML page — so an upstream outage never reads as a missing edition
Authors come inline — the edition's own credits, or ones marked source: "work" recovered from the parent work when the edition itself lists none; if those lookups fail, the batch still returns, and an enrichment notice names the editions whose authors are missing or shown by ID
Returns ISBN-10/13, OCLC, LCCN, LC call numbers, publishers, all cataloged languages, page count, cover IDs, parent work ID, and an Internet Archive ebook_url when one exists. The singular language remains the first cataloged language; physical_format and edition_name preserve the catalog's wording when present
If no processed identifier resolves, the existing typed error also carries every unprocessed identifier in its data and recovery hint

`openlibrary_search_authors` tool

Search by name — partial and alternate names match; 1–100 per page (default 10), offset pagination
Returns Author ID (OL…A), alternate names, birth/death dates, top work, work count, top subjects, and average rating

`openlibrary_get_author` tool

Fetch by Author ID (OL…A); a leading /authors/ prefix is stripped
Returns bio, birth/death dates, photo IDs, and linked identifiers (Wikidata, VIAF, ISNI, Goodreads, LibraryThing)
A merged author ID stays reachable — the response is the canonical record, and an enrichment notice names the canonical ID when it differs from the one requested
not_found when the Author ID doesn't exist, names a record that is not an author (a work or edition OLID), or its redirect chain reaches no author

`openlibrary_get_author_works` tool

List works by Author ID (OL…A); 1–100 per page (default 20), offset pagination, with the requested offset echoed in the output
Returns title, first-publish date, cover IDs, and Work ID (OL…W) per work
A merged author ID stays reachable — an enrichment notice names the canonical ID when it differs from the one requested
not_found when the Author ID doesn't exist, names a record that is not an author (a work or edition OLID), or its redirect chain reaches no author

`openlibrary_get_subject` tool

Subject name is trimmed, lowercased, and normalized from whitespace to underscores; 1–100 per page (default 12), offset pagination, with the requested offset echoed in the output
Blank input fails as invalid_subject before any request
Returns canonical subject name, normalized subject key, total work count, and per-work author names, edition count, and cover ID
Empty results carry a recovery notice suggesting a different word form, synonym, or broader term — subject tags are user-contributed and inconsistent

`openlibrary_search_inside` tool

Full-text search across Internet Archive's scanned book text — the only tool that answers "which book contains this passage?"; quot

Only the beginning is shown; read the rest in the repo

Openlibrary MCP Server

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

Or run it on your computer

Or run it on your computer

Or run it on your computer

Or run it on your computer

Values you fill in

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Search & AI memoryi

Common questions

Alternatives

Context7

Codebase Memory

Exa

README from the maker

Overview

Tools

Resources

Agent skill

Capability reference

openlibrary_search_books tool

openlibrary_get_work tool

openlibrary_get_editions tool

openlibrary_get_edition tool

openlibrary_search_authors tool

openlibrary_get_author tool

openlibrary_get_author_works tool

openlibrary_get_subject tool

openlibrary_search_inside tool

`openlibrary_search_books` tool

`openlibrary_get_work` tool

`openlibrary_get_editions` tool

`openlibrary_get_edition` tool

`openlibrary_search_authors` tool

`openlibrary_get_author` tool

`openlibrary_get_author_works` tool

`openlibrary_get_subject` tool

`openlibrary_search_inside` tool