Open Library
NPM · MCP-OPEN-LIBRARY · SCANNED SEP 27
Search books and authors on the Internet Archive's Open Library
Available components
How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically from public evidence about the published package, including repeated runs of it in an isolated sandbox, and we only credit what we can confirm. How we score → Why this is hard to score →
Supply Chain Security98
- No malware found by supply-chain analysis.Pass
- No known CVEs affecting this package version or its production dependencies.Pass
- No install/post-install scripts declared.Pass
- 34 of 108 dependencies flagged as unhealthy. View diagnostics → Partial
Provenance & Transparency97
- Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL. View diagnostics → Pass
- Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to 8enSmith/mcp-open-library). View diagnostics → Pass
- Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).Pass
- Actively maintained (last published 28 days ago).Pass
- Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository. See how to fix → Fail
Schema Quality & AI Usability79
- AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).Pass
- Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 1055 tokens (~150/item across 7 items; 7 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params. See how to fix → Fail
- Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples. See how to fix → Fail
Stability & Change Management97
- Stability observed for 29 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.Partial
Tool Coverage100
- 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).Pass
- 100% of tool parameters carry a description.Pass
Tool Safety100
- No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.Pass
- We read all 7 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.Pass
- An AI judge read all 7 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.Pass
Capabilities100
- Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.Pass
How do I install the Open Library MCP server?
Open Library runs locally as an npm package, launched with npx -y mcp-open-library. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.
npm · mcp-open-library
claude mcp add 8ensmith-mcp-open-library -- npx -y mcp-open-library
{
"mcpServers": {
"8ensmith-mcp-open-library": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-open-library"
]
}
}
} {
"servers": {
"8ensmith-mcp-open-library": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-open-library"
]
}
}
} codex mcp add 8ensmith-mcp-open-library -- npx -y mcp-open-library
{
"$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
"mcp": {
"8ensmith-mcp-open-library": {
"type": "local",
"command": [
"npx",
"-y",
"mcp-open-library"
],
"enabled": true
}
}
} openclaw mcp add 8ensmith-mcp-open-library --command npx --arg -y --arg mcp-open-library
mcp_servers:
8ensmith-mcp-open-library:
command: "npx"
args: ["-y", "mcp-open-library"] {
"McpServers": {
"8ensmith-mcp-open-library": {
"Transport": "stdio",
"Command": "npx",
"Arguments": [
"-y",
"mcp-open-library"
]
}
}
} assistant mcp add 8ensmith-mcp-open-library -t stdio -c npx -a -y mcp-open-library
{
"mcpServers": {
"8ensmith-mcp-open-library": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-open-library"
]
}
}
} Every change we have recorded for this component, newest first. Security-relevant changes are always shown. ▲ marks a change for the better, ▼ a change for the worse; unmarked changes are neutral.
- 27 Sept 26 +1
No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 93 to 97. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 28 days of observed history at the previous scan, 29 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.
- 25 Sept 26 +1
- We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server See what changed → functional
- 23 Sept 26 +1
No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 80 to 83. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 24 days of observed history at the previous scan, 25 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.
- 22 Sept 26 −3
- Stability: pass → 0.80 functional
- 21 Sept 26 0
- Stability: 0.97 → pass security
- 20 Sept 26 +1
No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 93 to 97. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 28 days of observed history at the previous scan, 29 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.
- 18 Sept 26 +1
No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 87 to 90. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 26 days of observed history at the previous scan, 27 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.
- 16 Sept 26 +1
No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 80 to 83. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 24 days of observed history at the previous scan, 25 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.
Diagnostic detail from the automated scan of this channel: what the scanner observed at each step, so you can see exactly where a check passed or failed. It is informational only and never changes the trust score.
Captured 27 Sept 2026 · Analysed npm/mcp-open-library@1.2.2
Provenance Verified
A signed build attestation was found and verified, binding this exact artifact to the source repository it claims to come from.
| Result | Verified |
|---|---|
| Ecosystem | npm |
| Reason | Verified |
| Discovered via | Registry attestation endpoint |
| Source repo | 8enSmith/mcp-open-library |
| Certificate issuer | https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com |
| Certificate SAN | https://github.com/8enSmith/mcp-open-library/.github/workflows/publish-mcp.yml@refs/tags/v1.2.2 |
| Rekor log index | 2645628931 |
| Predicate type | https://slsa.dev/provenance/v1 |
| Subject digest | sha512:88758d9e046e0738d5d41f076ff01dabbd5d0bdec5b6373c04a2c14223fa16a2792c99a0e4c73bf7480f3b02747b8b2c62a34eaf4a00831ec84d17af2 |
Background: How many MCP packages publish verified provenance →
Dependencies 108 packages
| Packages resolved | 108 |
|---|---|
| Stale | 34 |
| Tree resolution | Complete |
Background: SBOMs and build attestations, explained →
The tools this component advertises to a client, with an estimated token cost for each. Expand a tool to see its parameters and schema. The per-tool counts are indicative and are not scored directly; the schema's total context footprint is one signal in Schema Quality & AI Usability. A tool's description is untrusted text the model reads on every call, which is what makes this list a security surface and not just an inventory: how tool poisoning works →
get_author_info Get author details ~54
Get detailed information for a specific author using their Open Library Author Key (e.g. OL23919A).
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| author_key | string | yes | The Open Library key for the author (e.g., OL23919A). |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
get_author_photo Get author photo URL ~75
Get the URL for an author's photo using their Open Library Author ID (OLID e.g. OL23919A). Reports when no photo exists rather than returning a URL to a blank placeholder.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| olid | string | yes | The Open Library Author ID (OLID) for the author (e.g. OL23919A). |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
get_authors_by_name Find authors by name ~138
Search for author information on Open Library. Returns at most `limit` authors (default 10) together with `num_found`, the total number of matches; page through them with `offset`. Each result's `key` can be passed to `get_author_info` for that author's full record.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| limit | integer | – | Maximum number of results to return (1-50, default 10). |
| name | string | yes | The name of the author to search for. |
| offset | integer | – | Number of results to skip, for paging through the total reported as num_found (0-1000, default 0). |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
get_book_by_id Get book by identifier ~74
Get detailed information about a book using its identifier (ISBN, LCCN, OCLC, OLID).
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| idType | string | yes | The type of identifier used (isbn, lccn, oclc, olid). Case-insensitive. |
| idValue | string | yes | The value of the identifier. |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
get_book_by_title Find books by title ~187
Search for a book by its title on Open Library. Returns at most `limit` results (default 10) together with `num_found`, the total number of matches; page through them with `offset`. Each result carries `best_edition` — one edition of the work, with its `isbn_13`/`isbn_10` where Open Library has them, and its `edition_key`, which can be passed to `get_book_by_id` as `{ idType: "olid" }` for that edition's full record.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| limit | integer | – | Maximum number of results to return (1-50, default 10). |
| offset | integer | – | Number of results to skip, for paging through the total reported as num_found (0-1000, default 0). |
| title | string | yes | The title of the book to search for. |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
get_book_cover Get book cover URL ~125
Get the URL for a book's cover image using a key (ISBN, OCLC, LCCN, OLID, ID) and value. Reports when no cover exists rather than returning a URL to a blank placeholder.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| key | string | yes | The type of identifier used (ISBN, OCLC, LCCN, OLID, ID). ID is Open Library's internal cover ID. |
| size | string | – | The desired size of the cover (S, M, or L). Defaults to L. |
| value | string | yes | The value of the identifier. |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
search_books Search books ~402
Search Open Library across titles, authors, subjects, places, people, publishers and ISBNs. Provide at least one search criterion: q, title, author, subject, place, person, publisher, isbn; combining several narrows the search. Returns at most `limit` results (default 10) together with `num_found`, the total number of matches; page through them with `offset`. Each result carries `best_edition` — one edition of the work, with its `isbn_13`/`isbn_10` where Open Library has them, and its `edition_key`, which can be passed to `get_book_by_id` as `{ idType: "olid" }` for that edition's full record.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| author | string | – | Search by author name. |
| isbn | string | – | Search by ISBN-10 or ISBN-13. |
| language | string | – | Restrict results to a language, as a 3-letter MARC code (e.g. eng, fre, spa). |
| limit | integer | – | Maximum number of results to return (1-50, default 10). |
| offset | integer | – | Number of results to skip, for paging through the total reported as num_found (0-1000, default 0). |
| person | string | – | Search by a person the book is about. |
| place | string | – | Search by a place the book is about. |
| publisher | string | – | Search by publisher. |
| q | string | – | Free-form query searched across all fields. Supports Solr syntax, e.g. `subject:cyberpunk AND first_publish_year:[1980 TO 1990]`. |
| sort | string | – | Result ordering. Omit for relevance. `new`/`old` order by first publication date, `rating` by average rating. |
| subject | string | – | Search by subject. |
| title | string | – | Search by book title. |
No output schema declared.
No examples provided.
What is the Open Library MCP server?
Open Library is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.8enSmith/mcp-open-library. Search books and authors on the Internet Archive's Open Library. This page covers its npm package (mcp-open-library).
Is the Open Library MCP server safe to use?
Open Library scores 95 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. We found no known CVEs affecting it as of 27 September 2026. It declares no install or post-install scripts. Its build provenance is signed and verified. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.
What tools does the Open Library MCP server expose?
Open Library exposes 7 tools: search_books, get_book_by_title, get_book_by_id, get_authors_by_name, get_author_info, and 2 more. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 1,055 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.
Is the Open Library MCP server still maintained?
Open Library is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 27 September 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.
What licence is the Open Library MCP server under?
Open Library declares the MIT licence, which is OSI-approved. That covers the source only, and says nothing about the cost of any service it calls.