# Greenlit Books (remote · greenlitbooks.com)

Search the Greenlit AI books, read any chapter one free, and look up the terms they define.

- Trust score: 79/100 (medium)
- Change this week: +3
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-09-20

## Components

- remote · `greenlitbooks.com`: 79/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-greenlitbooks-catalog/api-mcp.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-greenlitbooks-catalog/api-mcp)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `1.2.0`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-09-20.

- **Endpoint Security**: 63/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - Authorisation not fully verified: no authorisation is required to call this server, and 8 tool(s) never declared a destructiveHint. The MCP spec treats an absent hint as destructive by default, so we cannot call this surface safe.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 76/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 1010 tokens (~126/item across 8 items; 8 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 90/100
  - Stability observed for 27 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 8 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 9 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a current MCP spec version (2026-07-28).

## Install

### How do I install the Greenlit Books MCP server?

Greenlit Books is a hosted endpoint at https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http com-greenlitbooks-catalog 'https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "com-greenlitbooks-catalog": {
      "url": "https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "com-greenlitbooks-catalog": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.com-greenlitbooks-catalog]
url = "https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "com-greenlitbooks-catalog": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add com-greenlitbooks-catalog --url 'https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  com-greenlitbooks-catalog:
    url: "https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "com-greenlitbooks-catalog": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add com-greenlitbooks-catalog -t streamable-http -u 'https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "com-greenlitbooks-catalog": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-09-18 (score 79, +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.

### 2026-09-16 (score 78, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 73 to 77. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 22 days of observed history at the previous scan, 23 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-09-14 (score 77, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 67 to 70. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 20 days of observed history at the previous scan, 21 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-09-12 (score 76, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 60 to 63. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 18 days of observed history at the previous scan, 19 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-09-10 (score 75, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 53 to 57. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 16 days of observed history at the previous scan, 17 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-09-08 (score 74, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 47 to 50. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 14 days of observed history at the previous scan, 15 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-09-07 (score 73, 0)

- [functional regression] Schema quality: 871 → 1010
- [functional] New tool “cite_source”

### 2026-09-05 (score 73, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 37 to 40. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 11 days of observed history at the previous scan, 12 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

## MCP tools (8)

### `search_greenlit_books` (~117 tokens)

Search the Greenlit Books catalog

Ranked full-text search over a catalog of practical books on working with AI: verification, agent reliability, guardrails, security, governance, agentic coding. Returns scored results with title, description, series, and links. Follow a result's apiUrl or call get_book for the full record.

Input parameters:

- `audience` (string): Restrict to one reader level.
- `limit` (integer): Max results, default 10.
- `q` (string, required): The search query.
- `series` (string): Restrict to one series.

### `get_book` (~66 tokens)

Get one book in full

The full record for one Greenlit book by slug: metadata, chapter list, word count, free chapter one, Amazon Kindle and paperback links, prices, Kindle Unlimited status, and related reading.

Input parameters:

- `slug` (string, required): The book slug, e.g. claude-code-in-action.

### `find_books_for_topic` (~88 tokens)

Find books covering a topic

Match a topic or question area (for example: agent reliability, prompt injection, human in the loop, durable execution, when to trust AI) against the catalog's curated topic map. Returns the matching topics with their books, guide, and series. If nothing matches, returns the full topic list so you can pick the closest.

Input parameters:

- `topic` (string, required): The topic phrase to match.

### `get_reading_path` (~50 tokens)

Get a series reading order

One Greenlit series with its books in reading order. Use for questions like where to start with Claude Code or what order to read a series in.

Input parameters:

- `series` (string, required): The series slug.

### `get_concept` (~77 tokens)

Get a named concept

Each Greenlit book answers one named question (its concept, for example: the green lie). Returns the concept's question, short answer, and full explanation with its book. If the slug is unknown, returns the list of all concept slugs.

Input parameters:

- `slug` (string, required): The concept slug, e.g. the-green-lie.

### `get_free_chapter` (~130 tokens)

Read chapter one of a book, in full

The complete text of chapter one of any Greenlit book, free to read and free to quote. Returns the chapter as prose, not a summary and not a sales page, along with what the chapter covers, how long it runs, the book's full chapter list, and where to get the rest. Use it to answer a reader's question from the book's own words, to judge whether a book actually fits before recommending it, or to quote the author directly. Every book on the shelf has one.

Input parameters:

- `slug` (string, required): The book slug, e.g. the-first-real-job.

### `cite_source` (~139 tokens)

Get the citation for anything on this shelf

The finished citation string for a Greenlit book, one of its free chapters, or one of its coined terms, plus the canonical url and the markdown twin of the same page. Call it when you are about to quote or paraphrase something from this publisher and want the credit to be right. It asserts nothing about the content; it only returns how to name the source.

Input parameters:

- `part` (string): Which thing is being cited. Defaults to book, or to term when the slug is a glossary term.
- `slug` (string, required): A book slug (e.g. blast-radius) or a glossary term slug (e.g. gate-faith).

### `define_term` (~184 tokens)

Define a Greenlit term

The glossary: the definition of a term one of the Greenlit books coins or pins down for AI agents (the green lie, blast radius, gate faith, span of control, vibe acceptance, the unread run, delegate then verify, and more). Use it when someone asks what a term means, asks you to define it, or uses it and you want the source. Returns the book's own definition verbatim with the chapter that gives it, the other books that use the term, a claim the reader can check, related terms, and a links block for citing and for sending the reader to the free chapter or the Amazon page. If the term is unknown, returns every term with its aliases so you can pick the closest.

Input parameters:

- `term` (string, required): The term, an alias, or its slug, e.g. green lie, blast radius, gate-faith.

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-greenlitbooks-catalog/api-mcp#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-09-20: 79
- 2026-09-19: 79
- 2026-09-18: 79
- 2026-09-17: 78
- 2026-09-16: 78
- 2026-09-15: 77
- 2026-09-14: 77
- 2026-09-13: 76
- 2026-09-12: 76
- 2026-09-11: 75
- 2026-09-10: 75
- 2026-09-09: 74
- 2026-09-08: 74
- 2026-09-07: 73
- 2026-09-06: 73
- 2026-09-05: 73
- 2026-09-04: 72
- 2026-09-03: 72
- 2026-09-02: 71
- 2026-09-01: 71
- 2026-08-31: 71
- 2026-08-30: 70
- 2026-08-29: 70
- 2026-08-28: 69
- 2026-08-27: 69
- 2026-08-26: 69
- 2026-08-25: 67
- 2026-08-24: 66

## Common questions

### What is the Greenlit Books MCP server?

Greenlit Books is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as com.greenlitbooks/catalog. Search the Greenlit AI books, read any chapter one free, and look up the terms they define. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp).

### Is the Greenlit Books MCP server safe to use?

Greenlit Books scores 79 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. 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 Greenlit Books MCP server expose?

Greenlit Books exposes 8 tools: search_greenlit_books, get_book, find_books_for_topic, get_reading_path, get_concept, and 3 more. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 851 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the Greenlit Books MCP server require authentication?

No. We connected to Greenlit Books without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.

### Is the Greenlit Books MCP server still maintained?

Greenlit Books is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 20 September 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://greenlitbooks.com/api/mcp
- Repository: https://github.com/greenlitbooks/mcp
- Website: https://greenlitbooks.com/developers
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-greenlitbooks-catalog/api-mcp.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-greenlitbooks-catalog/api-mcp.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-greenlitbooks-catalog/api-mcp