Apple Books
Hooks directly into Apple Books' SQLite container to expose your library, highlights, and reading state. You get 30+ tools spanning collections, annotations, genre searches, and reading status filters, plus context extraction that shows the paragraph around any highlight. The standout is the "currently reading" resource: Claude sees your active book, the exact chapter you left off on (including its text for non-DRM EPUBs), and recent highlights in one attachment. Prompts like weekly digest and library snapshot turn annotations into summaries. Needs macOS permission to read `~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX/` on first run. Reach for this when you want Claude to reflect on your reading or pull exact quotes with surrounding context.
- GitHub stars
- 64
- tools
- 31
- transport
- STDIO
- env vars
- 4
- last updated
- Oct 1, 2026
Tools
31 toolsPublic tool metadata for what this MCP can expose to an agent.
list_all_collectionsList all collections
List all collections
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_collection_booksGet all books in a collection
Get all books in a collection
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
describe_collectionGet details of a collection
Get details of a collection
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
search_collections_by_titleSearch for collections by title
Search for collections by title
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
create_collectionCreate a new collection
Create a new collection
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
rename_collectionRename a user-created collection
Rename a user-created collection
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
delete_collectionDelete a user-created collection (books untouched)
Delete a user-created collection (books untouched)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
add_book_to_collectionAdd a book to a collection (idempotent)
Add a book to a collection (idempotent)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
remove_book_from_collectionRemove a book from a collection (idempotent)
Remove a book from a collection (idempotent)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
list_all_booksList all books
List all books
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
search_booksFind books whose title or author contains the query, ignoring case, accents and quote/dash style
Find books whose title or author contains the query, ignoring case, accents and quote/dash style
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
search_books_by_titleSearch for books by title (same matching, titles only)
Search for books by title (same matching, titles only)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
describe_bookGet details of a particular book (metadata, progress, annotation count, description), whether its text is readable (see below) and an "Open in Books" link
Get details of a particular book (metadata, progress, annotation count, description), whether its text is readable (see below) and an "Open in Books" link
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
list_annotationsAnnotations for a book in reading order (id + text + chapter per row, with your notes)
Annotations for a book in reading order (id + text + chapter per row, with your notes)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_books_by_genreGet books by genre (substring match)
Get books by genre (substring match)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_books_in_progressGet books currently being read
Get books currently being read
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_finished_booksGet books that have been finished
Get books that have been finished
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_unstarted_booksGet books not yet started
Get books not yet started
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_recently_read_booksGet the most recently read books
Get the most recently read books
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
list_all_annotationsBrowse every annotation grouped by book, newest first, with your notes
Browse every annotation grouped by book, newest first, with your notes
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
recent_annotationsGet most recent annotations (flat, with date + book per row)
Get most recent annotations (flat, with date + book per row)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
describe_annotationGet full details of a single annotation, with the book's "Open in Books" link
Get full details of a single annotation, with the book's "Open in Books" link
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_annotation_contextText window around a highlight (the paragraph it's in), with the highlight marked `«...»`
Text window around a highlight (the paragraph it's in), with the highlight marked `«...»`
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_highlights_by_colorHighlights of a particular color, grouped by book
Highlights of a particular color, grouped by book
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
search_notesSearch user notes (shows highlight + note inline)
Search user notes (shows highlight + note inline)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
search_annotationsSearch across highlights + notes + surrounding text (shows notes inline)
Search across highlights + notes + surrounding text (shows notes inline)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_annotations_by_date_rangeAnnotations within a date range, inclusive of the `before` day, local time (flat, with date + book per row)
Annotations within a date range, inclusive of the `before` day, local time (flat, with date + book per row)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_library_statsGet library summary with reading stats
Get library summary with reading stats
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
list_book_chaptersTable of contents for a book (chapter titles, order, nesting)
Table of contents for a book (chapter titles, order, nesting)
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_chapter_contentPlain-text content of a chapter, with optional `offset` + `max_chars` slicing. `chapter_id="current"` (the default) reads the chapter you're on in Apple Books
Plain-text content of a chapter, with optional `offset` + `max_chars` slicing. `chapter_id="current"` (the default) reads the chapter you're on in Apple Books
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
get_current_reading_positionThe chapter the user last left off reading (via Apple Books' auto-bookmark CFI), with an "Open in Books" link
The chapter the user last left off reading (via Apple Books' auto-bookmark CFI), with an "Open in Books" link
No parameter schema in public metadata yet.
Sponsors
Agent CaffeineSponsoredClose your lid, come back to finished work
SnugSponsoredThe clipboard manager for the AI eraPromote your product hereReach 125k+ visitors monthly
WaxSponsoredBlock anything with supervision, without erasing your iPhonePromote your product hereReach 125k+ visitors monthly
knobsSponsoredSee your site on any phone, any day, in any languageConfiguration
APPLE_BOOKS_MCP_ENABLE_WRITESdefault: falseAllow the collection write tools (create, rename and delete collections; add and remove books). Writes refuse to run while Books is open and take a backup first.
APPLE_BOOKS_DATA_DIRFolder holding the Apple Books stores (BKLibrary and AEAnnotation), if not ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX/Data/Documents.
APPLE_BOOKS_MCP_THREADSdefault: 8How many tool calls may run at once (default 8; 0 runs them one at a time on the event loop).
APPLE_BOOKS_QUERY_TIMEOUTdefault: 30Seconds a library query may run before it is stopped (default 30; 0 for no limit).
Readme
Apple Books MCP
Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Apple Books.
At a glance
Details
- Repository
- github.com/vgnshiyer/apple-books-mcp
- Website
- vgnshiyer.me/AppleBooksMcp
- Package
apple-books-mcp- Transport
- STDIO
- Registry
- MCP registry, active