Gutenberg MCP Server vs Poetrydb
A side-by-side look at the Gutenberg MCP Server and Poetrydb MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Gutenberg MCP Server for art & culture work as a local process; choose Poetrydb for art & culture as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Gutenberg MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, MCP_HTTP_PORT. - You want tools like
gutenberg_search_books, gutenberg_get_book, gutenberg_get_text.
Choose Poetrydb when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_poems, get_poem_lines, random_poems.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Art & Culture | Art & Culture |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 48/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPEMCP_LOG_LEVELMCP_HTTP_PORT | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 3 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Gutenberg MCP Server | View Poetrydb |
Tools & capabilities
Gutenberg MCP Server tools 4
gutenberg_search_booksSearch the catalog by title, author, topic, language, or author lifespan, with pagination and popularity sortinggutenberg_get_bookFetch complete metadata for a book by ID — authors, translators, editors, full formats map, subjects, copyright statusgutenberg_get_textRetrieve a book's plain-text content stripped of license boilerplate, with offset/limit chunkinggutenberg_browse_popularBrowse the most-downloaded books, optionally filtered by language or topic
Poetrydb tools 4
search_poemsSearch PoetryDB for poems by title or partial title (e.g., "The Road Not Taken"). Returns matching poems with full text, author, and line count. Note: searches titles only, not poem body text.get_poem_linesFull-text search within poem lines on PoetryDB — finds any poem containing the given phrase in one of its lines. Returns full poem text (capped). Keyless.random_poemsFetch one or more random public-domain poems from PoetryDB. Returns full poem text (capped). Keyless.list_authorsList all authors available in PoetryDB. Keyless.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Gutenberg MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"gutenberg-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": [
"@cyanheads/gutenberg-mcp-server@latest"
],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "YOUR_MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE_HERE",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "YOUR_MCP_LOG_LEVEL_HERE",
"MCP_HTTP_PORT": "YOUR_MCP_HTTP_PORT_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Poetrydb
{
"mcpServers": {
"poetrydb": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-poetrydb"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Gutenberg MCP Server is categorized under Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Poetrydb belongs to Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Gutenberg MCP Server for art & culture work and Poetrydb for art & culture.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Gutenberg MCP Server has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Poetrydb has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add gutenberg-mcp-server and poetrydb as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Gutenberg MCP Server has a quality signal of 56/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 3 GitHub stars. Poetrydb has 48/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.