MCP server

Openlibrary

io.github.cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server

Checked 26 Oct 2026, 08:29 UTC · Connected to it and listed its tools

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

Source

At a glance

Type

MCP server

Publisher

Not verified

Status

Working at last check

Tools

10

Token cost

About 3,924 tokens per request

Sets up in

Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, VS Code, Antigravity, ChatGPT, OpenAI API, Grok

Last checked

26 Oct 2026, 08:29 UTC

Connect it to your agent

Add to CursorAdd to VS CodeVS Code Insiders

Opens the app, which shows the server and asks you to confirm. For other apps, copy the setup below.

Claude Code

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

Claude Desktop

Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, and paste the URL.

Codex (config.toml)

[mcp_servers.openlibrary-mcp-server]
url = "https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp"

Gemini CLI

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

Cursor

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

VS Code

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

Antigravity

agy mcp add openlibrary-mcp-server https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp

ChatGPT

Settings → Apps & Connectors → Advanced settings: turn on Developer mode, then Create a connector and paste the URL. Which plans can do this varies.

OpenAI API (Responses tools)

{"type":"mcp","server_label":"openlibrary-mcp-server","server_url":"https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp","require_approval":"always"}

Grok (xAI API tools)

{"type":"mcp","server_label":"openlibrary-mcp-server","server_url":"https://openlibrary.caseyjhand.com/mcp"}

Tools

• openlibrary_get_author ~173 tokens
  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 ~249 tokens
  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_cover_url ~514 tokens
  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" an edition OLID (OL…M
• openlibrary_get_edition ~588 tokens
  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 clamping enabled, exact d
• openlibrary_get_editions ~351 tokens
  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 was merged into. To
• openlibrary_get_subject ~339 tokens
  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 vocabulary varies —
• openlibrary_get_work ~277 tokens
  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 reach a work from an
• openlibrary_search_authors ~247 tokens
  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_search_books ~737 tokens
  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. Results are work-level
• openlibrary_search_inside ~449 tokens
  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 matching passages as

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