Openlibrary MCP server

• openlibrary_get_authorFree

  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_worksFree

  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_urlFree

  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) for target "book" and an author OLID (OL…A) for target "author". Identifiers with path separators or control characters, and author-by-ISBN lookups, are rejected. A returned URL does not verify that a cover exists.

• openlibrary_get_editionFree

  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 duplicates collapse and remaining identifiers are returned as unprocessed for another call. Returns full edition metadata including authors, publisher, languages, all identifier types, and the parent work ID. Author names come inline when recorded; otherwise bounded lookups recover parent-work credits marked as such, and a notice names any edition whose recovery failed. Identifiers that resolve come back in editions; processed misses are listed in unresolved with a reason. The call fails only when no processed identifier resolves, and any unprocessed remainder remains in its error data and recovery guidance.

• openlibrary_get_editionsFree

  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 reach a work from an ISBN, call openlibrary_get_edition with id_type "isbn" — its work_id output is the parent work.

• openlibrary_get_subjectFree

  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 — when a subject returns no works, try a different word form (singular/plural), a synonym, or a broader term.

• openlibrary_get_workFree

  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 ISBN, call openlibrary_get_edition with id_type "isbn" — its work_id output is the parent work. Note: author names are not included — use openlibrary_get_author or openlibrary_search_books for names.

• openlibrary_search_authorsFree

  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_booksFree

  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 — drill into editions via openlibrary_get_editions.

• openlibrary_search_insideFree

  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 snippets, plus a relevance score. The full-text index is far slower than the metadata endpoints, and a search usually takes 10–30 seconds. Use it when the passage is the question, and use openlibrary_search_books to search by title, author, or subject. Results key on Internet Archive items rather than Open Library works: chain the returned ia_identifier to archive.org, or match it against the ia_identifiers on openlibrary_search_books results to reach the catalogue record.

• Code scan42 source files scanned; 42 source files scanned25/25
• Live reliabilityremote reachable in 593ms20/20
• Tool poisoning10 tool descriptions checked15/15
• Auth qualityopen endpoint, read-only tools10/15
• Maintenancelast push 5 days ago15/15
• Maintainer identityregistry namespace matches repository owner; GitHub account older than a year8/10

Safety score

93/100

higher than 95% of 3,470 Web search servers

Tools

10

the typical Web search server has 5

Tools that change things

0%

typical: 0%. Fewer write tools means less an agent can break

Uptime

100%

of our recent checks; the typical remote Web search server answers 100%

Response time

513 ms

faster than 29% of 2,238 Web search servers

GitHub stars

4

more than 75% of 1,786 Web search servers

Downloads a week

587

more than 88% of 827 Web search servers with a package

Openlibrary: common questions

Is Openlibrary MCP server safe?

Yes, by our scan: it is graded A (93/100). Read the Openlibrary safety report

How do I install Openlibrary?

It runs remotely at openlibrary.caseyjhand.com. Add it to Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code or Claude Desktop with the snippets above, or call it through the mcp.market gateway without installing anything.

Does Openlibrary need an API key?

No secret keys are declared. It reads 10 settings from the environment.

Is Openlibrary maintained?

The last commit was 9 days ago (2026-10-26). The latest release is v0.4.0.

Is Openlibrary up?

100% of our last 28 checks got an answer. We check remote servers about four times a day.

What can I use instead of Openlibrary?

Servers from other publishers that do the same job: Brave Search MCP server, LetsFG — Flights & Hotels MCP server and Claude Code Explorer MCP server.

How does Openlibrary compare with other Web search MCP servers?

safety score 93/100 (higher than 95% of 3,470 Web search servers); tools 10 (the typical Web search server has 5); tools that change things 0% (typical: 0%. Fewer write tools means less an agent can break). Full comparison.