Apple Books▌
by vgnshiyer
Access your Apple Books library, organize notes, and get personalized book recommendations—just like a genius bar appoin
Provides access to Apple Books library data, enabling retrieval and search of book collections, highlights, notes, and reading activity for personalized book organization and recommendations.
Both formats append explainx.ai attribution and the canonical URL for this MCP server listing.
best for
- / Readers who want to analyze their reading habits
- / Students organizing research notes from multiple books
- / Book enthusiasts tracking their library and highlights
capabilities
- / Search through book highlights and notes
- / List books organized by collections
- / Retrieve reading annotations and activity
- / Find highlights by color coding
- / Get book details and metadata
- / Perform full-text search across annotations
what it does
Accesses your Apple Books library data to retrieve books, highlights, notes, and reading activity. Helps organize and analyze your personal reading collection.
about
Apple Books is a community-built MCP server published by vgnshiyer that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Access your Apple Books library, organize notes, and get personalized book recommendations—just like a genius bar appoin It is categorized under productivity.
how to install
You can install Apple Books in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.
license
Apache-2.0
Apple Books is released under the Apache-2.0 license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.
readme
Apple Books MCP
Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Apple Books.
At a glance
- Ask Claude to summarize your recent highlights
- Ask Claude to organize books in your library by genre
- Ask Claude to recommend similar books based on your reading history
- Ask Claude to compare notes from different books read on the same subject
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/77a5a29b-bfd7-4275-a4af-8d6c51a4527e
And much more!
Available Tools
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| list_collections() | List all collections | None |
| get_collection_books(collection_id) | Get all books in a collection | collection_id: str |
| describe_collection(collection_id) | Get details of a collection | collection_id: str |
| list_all_books() | List all books | None |
| get_book_annotations(book_id) | Get all annotations for a book | book_id: str |
| describe_book(book_id) | Get details of a particular book | book_id: str |
| list_all_annotations() | List all annotations | None |
| get_highlights_by_color(color) | Get all highlights by color | color: str |
| search_highlighted_text(text) | Search for highlights by highlighted text | text: str |
| search_notes(note) | Search for notes | note: str |
| full_text_search(text) | Search for annotations containing the given text | text: str |
| recent_annotations() | Get 10 most recent annotations | None |
| describe_annotation(annotation_id) | Get details of an annotation | annotation_id: str |
Installation
Using uv (recommended)
uvx can be used to directly run apple-books-mcp (without installing it).
brew install uv # for macos
uvx apple-books-mcp
Using pip
pip install apple-books-mcp
After installing, you can run the server using:
python -m apple_books_mcp
Configuration
Claude Desktop Setup
Using uvx (recommended)
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-books-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [ "apple-books-mcp@latest" ]
}
}
}
Using python
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-books-mcp": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "apple_books_mcp"]
}
}
}
Upcoming Features
- add docker support
- add resources support
- edit collections support
- edit highlights support
Contribution
Thank you for considering contributing to this project!
Development
If you cloned this repository, you can test it using Claude Desktop with below configuration:
Use uv venv to create a virtual environment and install the dependencies.
uv venv
uv sync
Debugging
With Claude Desktop
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-books-mcp": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/path/to/apple-books-mcp/",
"run",
"apple_books_mcp",
"-v"
]
}
}
}
With inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx apple-books-mcp
Opening Issues
If you encounter a bug, have a feature request, or want to discuss something related to the project, please open an issue on the GitHub repository. When opening an issue, please provide:
Bug Reports: Describe the issue in detail. Include steps to reproduce the bug if possible, along with any error messages or screenshots.
Feature Requests: Clearly explain the new feature you'd like to see added to the project. Provide context on why this feature would be beneficial.
General Discussions: Feel free to start discussions on broader topics related to the project.
Contributing
1️⃣ Fork the GitHub repository https://github.com/vgnshiyer/apple-books-mcp
2️⃣ Create a new branch for your changes (git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature).
3️⃣ Make your changes and test them thoroughly.
4️⃣ Push your changes and open a Pull Request to main.
Please provide a clear title and description of your changes.
License
Apple Books MCP is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. See the LICENSE file for details.
FAQ
- What is the Apple Books MCP server?
- Apple Books is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
- How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
- Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
- How are reviews shown for Apple Books?
- This profile displays 29 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.5 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.
Use Cases▌
Extended AI Capabilities
Add new capabilities to Claude beyond text generation
Example
Access external data sources, execute code, interact with tools and services
Transform Claude from chatbot to action-taking agent
Context Enhancement
Provide Claude with access to relevant context and data
Example
Load project documentation, access knowledge bases, query databases
Get more accurate, context-aware responses
Workflow Automation
Automate multi-step workflows combining AI and external tools
Example
Research → Summarize → Create document → Send notification
Complete complex tasks end-to-end without manual steps
Implementation Guide▌
Prerequisites
- ›Claude Desktop 0.7.0+ or Cursor IDE with MCP support
- ›Basic understanding of MCP architecture and capabilities
- ›Access credentials for integrated services (if required)
- ›Willingness to experiment and iterate on configuration
Time Estimate
15-60 minutes depending on server complexity
Installation Steps
- 1.Install MCP server: npm install -g [package-name] or via GitHub
- 2.Add server configuration to ~/.claude/mcp.json
- 3.Provide required credentials and configuration
- 4.Restart Claude Desktop to load new server
- 5.Test basic functionality with simple prompts
- 6.Explore capabilities and experiment with use cases
- 7.Document successful patterns for reuse
Troubleshooting
- ⚠MCP server not loading: Check config syntax, verify installation
- ⚠Connection errors: Check network, firewall, credentials
- ⚠Feature not working: Read server docs, check required parameters
- ⚠Performance issues: Monitor resource usage, check for network latency
- ⚠Conflicts with other servers: Check port assignments, namespace collisions
Best Practices▌
✓ Do
- +Read server documentation thoroughly before setup
- +Start with simple use cases to validate functionality
- +Test in non-production environment first
- +Monitor resource usage and performance
- +Keep servers updated for bug fixes and new features
- +Document configuration for team members
- +Use environment variables for sensitive configuration
✗ Don't
- −Don't grant overly permissive access to MCP servers
- −Don't skip reading security considerations in docs
- −Don't expose sensitive data without proper controls
- −Don't run untrusted MCP servers without code review
- −Don't ignore error messages—investigate root cause
💡 Pro Tips
- ★Combine multiple MCP servers for powerful workflows
- ★Create custom MCP servers for your specific needs
- ★Share successful configurations with team
- ★Use MCP inspector for debugging
- ★Join MCP community for tips and troubleshooting
Technical Details▌
Architecture
Model Context Protocol standardizes how AI hosts (Claude, Cursor) communicate with external tools and data sources through server implementations.
Protocols
- Model Context Protocol (MCP)
- JSON-RPC 2.0
- stdio or HTTP transport
Compatibility
- Claude Desktop
- Cursor IDE
- Custom MCP clients
When to Use This▌
✓ Use When
Use when you need Claude to access external data, execute actions, or integrate with tools. Best for extending AI capabilities beyond conversation.
✗ Avoid When
Avoid when native integrations exist (use official APIs directly), for real-time critical systems, or when security/compliance requires zero external dependencies.
Integration▌
- →Tool composition: Chain multiple MCP tools in workflows
- →Context augmentation: Provide AI with relevant external data
- →Action delegation: Let AI execute tasks on external systems
- →Bidirectional sync: Keep AI context and external systems in sync
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
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Ratings
4.5★★★★★29 reviews- ★★★★★Isabella Kim· Dec 12, 2024
We evaluated Apple Books against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.
- ★★★★★Layla Li· Nov 27, 2024
Apple Books reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
- ★★★★★Tariq Li· Nov 3, 2024
Apple Books is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.
- ★★★★★Lucas Abebe· Oct 22, 2024
Strong directory entry: Apple Books surfaces stars and publisher context so we could sanity-check maintenance before adopting.
- ★★★★★Layla Rao· Sep 25, 2024
Apple Books is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
- ★★★★★Yash Thakker· Sep 13, 2024
Strong directory entry: Apple Books surfaces stars and publisher context so we could sanity-check maintenance before adopting.
- ★★★★★Arjun Gupta· Sep 1, 2024
Useful MCP listing: Apple Books is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.
- ★★★★★Zaid Zhang· Aug 20, 2024
Apple Books is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
- ★★★★★Layla Kim· Aug 16, 2024
Useful MCP listing: Apple Books is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.
- ★★★★★Dhruvi Jain· Aug 4, 2024
Apple Books is among the better-indexed MCP projects we tried; the explainx.ai summary tracks the official description.
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