Apple Books MCP
<!-- mcp-name: io.github.vgnshiyer/apple-books-mcp -->Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Apple Books.
At a glance
- Pick up where you left off — Claude sees the chapter you're on and its text, plus recent highlights in the book.
- Expand on any highlight — get the surrounding paragraph explained in context, with the exact anchor you marked shown in
«...». - Revisit a book — pull your highlights, cluster them by theme, and quote you back to yourself.
- Reflect on your reading — patterns across books, recurring ideas in your highlights, what you're actually drawn to.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/77a5a29b-bfd7-4275-a4af-8d6c51a4527e
And much more!
Available Tools
Collections
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| list_all_collections | List all collections | limit?: int |
| get_collection_books | Get all books in a collection | collection_id: str |
| describe_collection | Get details of a collection | collection_id: str |
| search_collections_by_title | Search for collections by title | title: str |
Editing collections (opt-in)
Off by default. Enable by adding --enable-writes to the server args:
"args": ["apple-books-mcp@latest", "--enable-writes"]
Apple provides no automation API for collections, so these write directly to the library database — behind guard rails: every write refuses while Books is open, takes an automatic WAL-safe backup first (~/.py_apple_books/backups/), validates the schema and aborts on drift, and only touches user-created collections (plus "Want to Read" membership). Deleting a collection never deletes the books in it.
⚠️ If iCloud sync for collections is enabled, direct edits may not propagate to other devices and can be reverted by a cloud re-sync.
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| create_collection | Create a new collection | title: str, details?: str |
| rename_collection | Rename a user-created collection | collection_id: int, new_title: str |
| delete_collection | Delete a user-created collection (books untouched) | collection_id: int |
| add_book_to_collection | Add a book to a collection (idempotent) | collection_id: int, book_id: int |
| remove_book_from_collection | Remove a book from a collection (idempotent) | collection_id: int, book_id: int |
Books
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| list_all_books | List all books | limit?: int |
| describe_book | Get details of a particular book (metadata, progress, annotation count, description) | book_id: str |
| list_annotations | Get all annotations for a book (id + text + chapter per row, chapter-ordered) | book_id: int, limit?: int |
| search_books_by_title | Search for books by title | title: str |
| get_books_by_genre | Get books by genre (substring match) | genre: str, limit?: int |
Reading Status
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| get_books_in_progress | Get books currently being read | limit?: int |
| get_finished_books | Get books that have been finished | limit?: int |
| get_unstarted_books | Get books not yet started | limit?: int |
| get_recently_read_books | Get most recently opened books | limit?: int (default: 10) |
Annotations
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| list_all_annotations | Browse every annotation grouped by book, newest first | limit?: int |
| recent_annotations | Get most recent annotations (flat, with date + book per row) | limit?: int (default: 10) |
| describe_annotation | Get full details of a single annotation | annotation_id: str |
| get_annotation_context | Text window around a highlight (the paragraph it's in), with the highlight marked «...» | annotation_id: int, chars_before?: int (default: 500), chars_after?: int (default: 500) |
| get_highlights_by_color | Highlights of a particular color, grouped by book | color: str, limit?: int |
| search_notes | Search user notes (shows highlight + note inline) | note: str, limit?: int |
| search_annotations | Search across highlights + notes + surrounding text | text: str, limit?: int |
| get_annotations_by_date_range | Annotations within a date range (flat, with date + book per row) | after?: YYYY-MM-DD, before?: YYYY-MM-DD, limit?: int |
Library Stats
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| get_library_stats | Get library summary with reading stats | None |
Book Content
Only works for non-DRM EPUBs (imported books, Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, etc.). Apple Books Store purchases are FairPlay-protected and return a clear error. iCloud-only books return a "not downloaded" hint.
| Tool | Description | Parameters |
|---|---|---|
| list_book_chapters | Table of contents for a book (chapter titles, order, nesting) | book_id: int |
| get_chapter_content | Plain-text content of a chapter, with optional offset + max_chars slicing | book_id: int, chapter_id: str, offset?: int, max_chars?: int |
| get_current_reading_position | The chapter the user last left off reading (via Apple Books' auto-bookmark CFI) | book_id: int |
Available Resources
Attachable data objects accessible from Claude Desktop's resource picker.
| Resource | URI | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Currently Reading | apple-books://currently-reading | The book you're reading right now — most recently opened in-progress book, with metadata, the chapter you left off on plus a preview of its text (for non-DRM EPUBs), and recent annotations. Attach to any conversation to focus Claude on your current read. |
Available Prompts
One-click workflows, accessible from Claude Desktop's prompt picker.
| Prompt | Description | Arguments |
|---|---|---|
| weekly_digest | Summarize what I've read and highlighted in the past week | days?: int (default: 7) |
| library_snapshot | A reflection on my whole reading life | None |
| revisit_book | Revisit your notes and highlights from a specific book | book_title: str |
Installation
Using uv (recommended)
uvx can be used to directly run apple-books-mcp (without installing it).
brew install uv # for macos
uvx apple-books-mcp
Using pip
pip install apple-books-mcp
After installing, you can run the server using:
python -m apple_books_mcp
Using Docker
docker run -v ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX/Data/Documents:/root/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX/Data/Documents:ro ghcr.io/vgnshiyer/apple-books-mcp:latest
First-run permission prompt (macOS)
On first use, macOS will ask whether uvx (or python / docker, depending on how you launched) may "access data from other apps." Click Allow — the MCP reads Apple Books' private container at ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX/, which macOS treats as another app's sandboxed data. Access is read-only and scoped to that container; the server starts successfully either way, but without permission every tool comes back empty.
Configuration
Claude Desktop Setup
Using uvx (recommended)
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-books-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [ "apple-books-mcp@latest" ]
}
}
}
Using python
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-books-mcp": {
"command": "python",
"args": ["-m", "apple_books_mcp"]
}
}
}
Using Docker
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-books-mcp": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "-i", "--rm",
"-v", "~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX/Data/Documents:/root/Library/Containers/com.apple.iBooksX/Data/Documents:ro",
"ghcr.io/vgnshiyer/apple-books-mcp:latest"
]
}
}
}
Upcoming Features
- PDF content access (currently EPUB-only)
- fuller annotation context via CFI → paragraph resolution
Contribution
Thank you for considering contributing to this project!
Development
If you cloned this repository, you can test it using Claude Desktop with below configuration:
Use uv venv to create a virtual environment and install the dependencies.
uv venv
uv sync
Debugging
With Claude Desktop
{
"mcpServers": {
"apple-books-mcp": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/path/to/apple-books-mcp/",
"run",
"apple_books_mcp",
"-v"
]
}
}
}
With inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx apple-books-mcp
Opening Issues
If you encounter a bug, have a feature request, or want to discuss something related to the project, please open an issue on the GitHub repository. When opening an issue, please provide:
Bug Reports: Describe the issue in detail. Include steps to reproduce the bug if possible, along with any error messages or screenshots.
Feature Requests: Clearly explain the new feature you'd like to see added to the project. Provide context on why this feature would be beneficial.
General Discussions: Feel free to start discussions on broader topics related to the project.
Contributing
1️⃣ Fork the GitHub repository https://github.com/vgnshiyer/apple-books-mcp
2️⃣ Create a new branch for your changes (git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature).
3️⃣ Make your changes and test them thoroughly.
4️⃣ Push your changes and open a Pull Request to main.
Please provide a clear title and description of your changes.
License
Apple Books MCP is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. See the LICENSE file for details.