Calibre Web vs Gutendex

In-depth architectural comparison of the Calibre Web and Gutendex MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Calibre Web when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: search_books, list_books, list_shelves.

Explore Calibre Web Details

G

Choose Gutendex when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: search_books, get_book, popular_books.

Explore Gutendex Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Calibre Web Developer Tools	G Gutendex Developer Tools
Summary	Read-only MCP server for Calibre-Web: library search, browsing and covers via the OPDS feed	Gutendex MCP — wraps Gutendex API for Project Gutenberg books (free, no auth)
Category & Scope	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Quality signal

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "calibre-web": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "calibreweb-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gutendex": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "gutendex"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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