Calibre MCP Server

A lightweight Node.js MCP server for searching and reading books from your Calibre ebook library. Designed specifically for Windows compatibility.

Features

Library Search: Search your Calibre library by title, author, or content
Book Reading: Retrieve and read book contents in various formats
Metadata Access: Get detailed book information and metadata
Windows Compatible: Optimized for Windows environments
Zero Dependencies: Lightweight implementation with no external dependencies

Prerequisites

Node.js >= 16.0.0
Calibre installed on Windows

Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/calibre-mcp-nodejs.git
cd calibre-mcp-nodejs

Install dependencies:

npm install

Usage

Starting the Server

npm start

Available Tools

search: Search for books in your Calibre library
fetch: Retrieve specific content from books using epub:// URLs

Example MCP Configuration

Add to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "calibre": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/calibre-mcp-nodejs/server.js"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration

The server automatically detects your Calibre library location. The search looks for Calibre in common installation paths:

C:\Program Files\Calibre2\
C:\Program Files (x86)\Calibre2\
Custom paths via environment variables

API Reference

Search Books

// Search by title
search({ query: "title:\"The Great Gatsby\"" })

// Search by author  
search({ query: "author:\"F. Scott Fitzgerald\"" })

// Full-text search
search({ query: "green light" })

Fetch Book Content

// Fetch specific book content
fetch({ url: "epub://book_id/chapter_1" })

Project Structure

calibre-mcp-nodejs/
├── server.js          # Main MCP server
├── package.json       # Dependencies and scripts
├── test.js            # Test file
├── test.bat           # Windows test script
└── README.md          # This file

Testing

Run the test:

npm test

Or use the Windows batch file:

test.bat

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Calibre Not Found: Ensure Calibre is installed in a standard location
Library Access: Make sure the Calibre library is accessible and not locked
Permissions: Run with appropriate permissions to access Calibre files

Debug Mode

Set the DEBUG environment variable for verbose logging:

set DEBUG=calibre:*
npm start

Supported Formats

The server supports all formats that Calibre can handle:

EPUB
PDF
MOBI
AZW/AZW3
TXT
HTML
And many more

Performance

This lightweight server is designed for:

Fast startup times
Low memory usage
Quick search responses
Minimal system impact

Comparison with RAG Version

This is the lightweight version. For advanced features like vector search, semantic similarity, and RAG capabilities, see calibre-rag-mcp-nodejs.

Feature	Simple Version	RAG Version
Basic Search	✅	✅
Book Reading	✅	✅
Dependencies	None	Many
Memory Usage	Low	High
Vector Search	❌	✅
Semantic Search	❌	✅
OCR Support	❌	✅
Project Organization	❌	✅

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Add tests for new functionality
Submit a pull request

License

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues and questions, please open an issue on GitHub.

Changelog

v2.0.0

Improved Windows compatibility
Enhanced search functionality
Better error handling
Optimized performance

v1.0.0

Initial release
Basic search and fetch functionality
Windows support