# Anna's Archive [Health: Active]

**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools  
**Repository:** https://github.com/SokolskyNikita/annas-mcp  
**GitHub Stars:** 3  
**Views:** 0  
**Installs:** 0  
**Upvotes:** 0  
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/anna-s-archive

## Description
Search Anna's Archive for ebooks and papers by title, author or DOI and download the file you pick.

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `npx` (confidence: high):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "anna-s-archive": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","annas-mcp"],
    "env": {
      "ANNAS_SECRET_KEY": ""
    }
  }
}
```

**Requires environment variables:** `ANNAS_SECRET_KEY` — the values above are empty placeholders; fill in real credentials before running (see the repository for what each one is for).

## Documentation

## What Anna's Archive MCP server does

Anna's Archive MCP server exposes member-authenticated access to Anna's Archive through MCP tools and a matching command-line interface. It is intended for finding books, textbooks, manuals, standards, journal articles, and related catalog records, then downloading a selected file.

Book searches can use title, author, or topic and can be narrowed by format, language, source, or year. Article searches accept keywords, authors, or years, and can also look up an article by DOI. Optional file activity counts can be included in both search types. Metadata searches query catalogs including Open Library, WorldCat, and ISBNdb to help identify editions and ISBNs.

The remaining operations support inspection and retrieval. `book_details` reports identifiers, edition information, descriptions, and reported file problems. `account_status` shows membership information and the number of fast downloads remaining. Book downloads accept a file hash or Anna's Archive book-page URL, while article downloads accept a DOI or hash.

## How it works

The client starts the MCP process with Node.js, and the server signs in using the member's secret key before making its first request. It renews the session when needed and saves the session between runs, so browser cookies do not normally need to be copied. If key-based sign-in fails, an `aa_account_id2` browser cookie can be supplied as a fallback.

Downloads are checked against the archive's MD5 hash. The server can select a working official mirror automatically, or use a configured base URL. Files are written to a configurable local folder, which defaults to an `annas-archive` directory in the user's home folder.

The package also includes `annas-cli`, which supports the same operations from a terminal. Go applications can use the `github.com/SokolskyNikita/annas-mcp/anna` SDK for search, metadata, account, and verified-download operations; the SDK requires Go 1.26 or newer.

## Setup and configuration

Install or run the package with Node.js 18 or newer. Set `ANNAS_SECRET_KEY` to the secret key from the Anna's Archive account page, then register `annas-mcp` in a supported MCP client or run `annas-cli` directly. The README provides configuration examples for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, and Docker.

`ANNAS_DOWNLOAD_PATH` changes the destination for files. `ANNAS_ACCOUNT_COOKIE` supplies the optional browser session cookie, while `ANNAS_BASE_URL` selects a mirror to try first. Set `ANNAS_AUTO_BASE_URL=false` to prevent automatic mirror selection. Docker users should mount the host download directory at `/downloads`.

A paid Anna's Archive membership is required. The Brilliant Bookworm tier supports downloads, while searching through MCP requires Lucky Librarian or a higher tier. The documentation recommends the latter when the agent must both search and download.

## Limitations and notes

Anna's Archive MCP server depends on an active membership and a valid sign-in credential. Without a paid membership, neither search nor download is available through the documented workflow. With the basic paid tier, users may need to provide each book download URL manually because MCP search is restricted to the higher membership level.

The service uses the archive's English interface; language-specific mirror versions are refused. Keep the secret key and any account cookie private. Downloads should be limited to material the user is entitled to obtain under applicable laws and terms.

_Full upstream README: https://allmcps.com/mcp/anna-s-archive/readme_