Apple Books README
The full upstream README, mirrored here for reference. Install config, tool schemas, adoption signals, and an original overview live on the Apple Books listing page.
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:
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).
Using pip
After installing, you can run the server using:
Using Docker
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)
Using python
Using Docker
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.
Debugging
With Claude Desktop
With inspector
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.