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Calibre

v1.0.0•File Systems•stable

A full-featued Calibre MCP server with granular permissions for read/write/import/etc. Locally tested and freshly released, consider this an alpha. Back your library up before you give an agent write permissions.

agentic-aicalibreebooksmcp-server
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What is Calibre?

Calibre is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to full-featued calibre mcp server with granular permissions for read/write/import/etc. locally tested and freshly released, consider this an alpha. back your library up before you give an agent write pe...

A full-featued Calibre MCP server with granular permissions for read/write/import/etc. Locally tested and freshly released, consider this an alpha. Back your library up before you give an agent write permissions.

This server falls under the File Systems category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.

Features

  • A full-featued Calibre MCP server with granular permissions

Use Cases

Manage eBook libraries with granular permissions through AI.
Perform read, write, import, and export operations on Calibre catalogs.
FaceDeer

Maintainer

LicenseMIT
Languagepython
Versionv1.0.0
UpdatedMay 17, 2026
Statushealthy
Maintenanceactive

Works with

ClaudeOpenAIwindowsmacoslinux
View SourceBrowse All Servers

Installation

Manual Installation

npx calibre-full-mcp-server

Configuration

Configuration Details

Config File

claude_desktop_config.json

Performance

Response Metrics

Response Time< 200ms
ThroughputMedium

Resource Usage

Memory UsageLow
CPU UsageLow

How to Set Up and Use Calibre

Calibre Full MCP Server gives AI agents granular read, write, import, export, and format-conversion access to one or more Calibre ebook libraries. Permissions are configured per library so you can safely expose read-only search to an agent while restricting deletion or writing. The server uses calibre-debug worker processes, meaning Calibre itself does not need to be running.

Prerequisites

  • Calibre installed on the host system (the calibre-debug binary must be on PATH)
  • Python 3.10+ and the uv package manager (pip install uv)
  • A valid Calibre library directory containing metadata.db
  • A config.json file describing library paths and permissions
  • Claude Desktop or another MCP-compatible client
1

Install the MCP server with uvx

uvx installs and runs the package in an isolated environment without polluting your system Python. This is the recommended approach.

# Install uv if not present
pip install uv

# Run directly from GitHub (no separate install step needed)
uvx --from github.com/FaceDeer/calibre_full_mcp_server calibre-full-mcp --help
2

Create the config.json file

The config file defines which libraries to expose and what permissions each has. Set the CALIBREMCP_CONFIGPATH environment variable to its full path.

{
  "libraries": [
    {
      "path": "/home/user/Calibre Library",
      "description": "Main ebook collection",
      "default": true,
      "permissions": {
        "read": ["title", "authors", "tags", "series", "series_index", "comments"],
        "write": false,
        "delete": false,
        "convert": false
      },
      "import": {
        "allowed_paths": ["/home/user/Downloads"]
      },
      "export": {
        "allowed_paths": ["/home/user/exports"]
      },
      "worker_timeout": 300
    }
  ],
  "log_level": "info"
}
3

Configure Claude Desktop

Add the server entry to claude_desktop_config.json. The CALIBREMCP_CONFIGPATH environment variable tells the server where to find your config.json.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "calibre": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "github.com/FaceDeer/calibre_full_mcp_server",
        "calibre-full-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CALIBREMCP_CONFIGPATH": "/home/user/.config/calibre-mcp/config.json"
      }
    }
  }
}
4

Back up your library before granting write access

The project README explicitly warns to back up before giving an agent write permissions. Use Calibre's built-in backup or simply copy the library directory.

# Simple directory backup
cp -r "/home/user/Calibre Library" "/home/user/Calibre Library Backup $(date +%Y%m%d)"

# Or use Calibre's built-in backup (from Calibre desktop: Preferences > Backup/Restore)
5

Test a search query

Restart Claude Desktop and ask a basic question to confirm the server is connected and the library is accessible.

Calibre Examples

Client configuration

Full claude_desktop_config.json entry for a read-only library using uvx.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "calibre": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "github.com/FaceDeer/calibre_full_mcp_server",
        "calibre-full-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "CALIBREMCP_CONFIGPATH": "/home/user/.config/calibre-mcp/config.json"
      }
    }
  }
}

Prompts to try

Natural-language prompts that exercise search, metadata retrieval, and reading.

- "Search my Calibre library for science fiction books tagged 'cyberpunk' and list them with author and series"
- "Find all unread books in my library and sort them by date added"
- "What is the first book in the Expanse series in my library?"
- "Show me the table of contents and first chapter of the book titled Foundation"
- "Import the file /home/user/Downloads/newbook.epub into my library and tag it 'to-read'"

Troubleshooting Calibre

calibre-debug not found or 'command not found' error on startup

Calibre must be installed and calibre-debug must be on the PATH visible to the uvx process. On macOS, Calibre.app bundles the binary at /Applications/calibre.app/Contents/MacOS/calibre-debug — add that directory to your PATH or create a symlink in /usr/local/bin.

Server errors when Calibre Desktop is open with the same library

Calibre does not support concurrent access to a single library. Close Calibre Desktop before using the MCP server, or point the MCP server at a different library path.

CALIBREMCP_CONFIGPATH is set but the server cannot find the config file

Use an absolute path, not a path with ~ or relative segments. Verify the file exists and is readable by running: cat $CALIBREMCP_CONFIGPATH

Frequently Asked Questions about Calibre

What is Calibre?

Calibre is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that full-featued calibre mcp server with granular permissions for read/write/import/etc. locally tested and freshly released, consider this an alpha. back your library up before you give an agent write permissions. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.

How do I install Calibre?

Follow the installation instructions on the Calibre GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.

Which AI clients work with Calibre?

Calibre works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.

Is Calibre free to use?

Yes, Calibre is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.

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Quick Config Preview

{ "mcpServers": { "calibre-full-mcp-server": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "calibre-full-mcp-server"] } } }

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json

Read the full setup guide →

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