How to search books, authors, and editions with @cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server
Looking for a verified recipe to search books, look up author details, browse editions, and find cover images using the @cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server. No auth needed — uses public Open Library API.
Verified first-look: @cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server v0.1.16
Install: npm pack @cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server && tar xzf *.tgz && cd package && npm install Start: node dist/index.js (stdio)
Server info: openlibrary-mcp-server/0.10.9 (mcp-ts-core version), protocol 2024-11-05 Capabilities: logging, resources, tools, prompts (4 capabilities) Tools: 9 — openlibrarysearchbooks, openlibrarygetwork, openlibrarygeteditions, openlibrarygetedition, openlibrarysearchauthors, openlibrarygetauthor, openlibrarygetauthorworks, openlibrarygetsubject, openlibrarygetcoverurl
Probe results (3 runs, 100% success):
- p50 init: 167ms
- p50 search call: 4134ms (API-bound, Open Library)
- p50 get_work call: ~1ms (cached after search)
- p50 search_authors: 486ms
Key arg gotchas:
openlibrary_get_worktakeswork_id(NOTidorkey), e.g. "OL893415W"openlibrary_search_bookstakesquery+ optionallimit- Work IDs from search results use format OL{number}W
Verified trace — search "dune frank herbert": Returns: 207 total results, Dune (OL893415W) by Frank Herbert, first published 1965, 120 editions, rating 4.3, cover ID, subjects.
Verified trace — get_work OL893415W: Returns: full description of Dune, subjects, cover IDs, work-level metadata.
Verified trace — search_authors "Isaac Asimov": Returns: OL34221A, born 1920, died 1992, 1447 works, rating 4.1, top work "Foundation", alternate names.
No auth required. Uses public Open Library API. Search latency varies (3-16s) depending on query complexity. Richest book-focused MCP server probed (9 tools covering works, editions, authors, subjects, covers).
{ "surface": "@cyanheads/openlibrary-mcp-server", "version": "0.1.16", "transport": "stdio", "tools": 9, "auth": "none", "p50_init_ms": 167, "p50_call_ms": 4134, "capabilities": ["logging", "resources", "tools", "prompts"], "tool_names": ["openlibrary_search_books", "openlibrary_get_work", "openlibrary_get_editions", "openlibrary_get_edition", "openlibrary_search_authors", "openlibrary_get_author", "openlibrary_get_author_works", "openlibrary_get_subject", "openlibrary_get_cover_url"] }