Openlibrary MCP Server

@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. Its 10 documented tools cover openlibrary, author.

People connecting media tools to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-25 · ★ 3 · #45 OF 155 MAINTAINED MEDIA · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

Apache-2.0 · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Openlibrary MCP Server

before you install - you'll need

Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting.

Claude Code

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

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

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

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp

transport: streamable-http

endpoint alive - responded to MCP initialize · probed 2026-08-25

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions · remote - your agent's requests go to openlibrary.caseyjhand.com

endpoint auth accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize - no credentials needed to connect

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server - published under the repo owner's npm scope (@cyanheads)

registry namespace io.github.cyanheads is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Openlibrary MCP Server can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can fetch a work by Open Library Work ID (OL…W) - title, description, subjects, cover IDs, and author IDs, list editions of a work - publishers, languages, formats, ISBNs, and print run details, resolve up to 50 editions in one call by ISBN-10, ISBN-13, OCLC, LCCN, or open Library Edition ID (OL…M), reporting per-identifier misses, and search authors by name - returns Author IDs, birth/death dates, top works, and subject associations.

Capability map

Tools grouped from the project's README - what Openlibrary MCP Server lets an agent do.

Openlibrary

7 tools - e.g. Full-text book search with field filters (title, author, subject, publisher, ISBN, language), sort options, pagination, and optional live reading availability; Fetch a work by Open Library Work ID (OL…W)…

openlibrary_search_books · openlibrary_get_work · openlibrary_get_editions · openlibrary_get_edition · openlibrary_get_subject · openlibrary_search_inside…

auth & access

3 tools - e.g. Search authors by name - returns Author IDs, birth/death dates, top works, and subject associations; Fetch author detail by Open Library Author ID (OL…A) - bio, dates, photo IDs, and linked identifiers…

openlibrary_search_authors · openlibrary_get_author · openlibrary_get_author_works

Latest releases

v0.2.4 · 2026-08-25

mcp-ts-core 0.12.3 - SDK v2 adoption · Tool inputs reject unknown top-level arguments; advertised output schemas include the error envelope · HTTP transport serves protocol revision 2026-07-28 alongside existing 2025…

v0.2.3 · 2026-07-26

Empty-title/name heading placeholders · Records with no upstream title or name rendered as a bare markdown · heading marker in content[]. A shared placeholder module now stands · in at all eight affected render sites.…

v0.2.2 · 2026-07-26

Cover ID sentinels and author merge redirects · Drop Open Library's -1/0 sentinel from cover_ids/photo_ids across getWork, getEditions, toEditionDetail, getAuthor, and getAuthorWorks (#26) · openlibrary_get_author and…

04 · Who maintains Openlibrary MCP Server

openlibrary-mcp-server is maintained by cyanheads. We track 125 MCP servers from cyanheads - 124 actively maintained, 1,730 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Dec 2024. Full record: all servers from cyanheads.

  1. mcp-ts-core Agent-native TypeScript framework for building MCP servers with declarative definitions. ★ 148
  2. obsidian-mcp-server Read, write, search, and surgically edit Obsidian notes, tags, and frontmatter via MCP. ★ 668
  3. git-mcp-server Comprehensive Git MCP server enabling native git tools including clone, commit, worktree, & more. ★ 235
  4. pubmed-mcp-server Search PubMed/Europe PMC, fetch articles and full text (PMC/EPMC/Unpaywall), citations, MeSH terms. ★ 137
  5. clinicaltrialsgov-mcp-server Search ClinicalTrials.gov - find studies, retrieve results, match patients to eligible trials. ★ 90
  6. mcp-ts-template TypeScript template for building MCP servers with declarative tooling, observability, and auth. ★ 148

05 · Facts

repository
github.com/cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server
category
media - ranked #45 of 155 actively-maintained media servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence
10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-25)
registry
io.github.cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server (active, first published 2026-05-24 · 23 versions)
packages
npm:@cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server · npm:@cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server

06 · Openlibrary MCP Server FAQ

Is Openlibrary MCP Server still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-25 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Openlibrary MCP Server do?

With this server connected, an agent can fetch a work by Open Library Work ID (OL…W) - title, description, subjects, cover IDs, and author IDs, list editions of a work - publishers, languages, formats, ISBNs, and print run details, resolve up to 50 editions in one call by ISBN-10, ISBN-13, OCLC, LCCN, or open Library Edition ID (OL…M), reporting per-identifier misses, and search authors by name - returns Author IDs, birth/death dates, top works, and subject associations.

How do I install Openlibrary MCP Server?

Run `npx -y @cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server`. The README documents 2 environment variables (MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL) to set first. Set MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL before connecting. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Openlibrary MCP Server require authentication?

No - the endpoint accepted our unauthenticated MCP initialize when probed on 2026-08-25; you can connect without credentials.

07 · Alternatives to Openlibrary MCP Server

Alternatives to Openlibrary MCP Server

Maintained media servers if Openlibrary MCP Server isn't the fit.

  1. Openshorts Turn long videos into viral vertical shorts and publish them to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. ★ 3,410 · 2026-08-25
  2. Claude Real Video Let any LLM watch a video locally - and search everything it has ever watched. ★ 2,061 · 2026-08-22
  3. Voicemode Natural voice conversations for AI assistants - STT/TTS via MCP ★ 1,337 · 2026-08-09
  4. Nova3 D Structured, part-aware 3D generation for AI agents. Named-part GLB, preview URL, Blender script. ★ 682 · 2026-08-12
  5. Comfyui MCP MCP server + Claude Code plugin for ComfyUI: run workflows, generate images, manage models & VRAM. ★ 671 · 2026-08-25
  6. Yutu The AI-powered toolkit that grows your YouTube channel on autopilot ★ 620 · 2026-08-23

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