Gutendex vs Uooks
A side-by-side look at the Gutendex and Uooks MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Gutendex for art & culture work as a local process; choose Uooks 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 Gutendex when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
search_books, get_book, popular_books.
Choose Uooks when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Art & Culture domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You want tools like
search_books, get_book, get_author.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Art & Culture | Art & Culture |
| Quality signal | 55/100 · Good | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 4 | 4 |
| Full listing | View Gutendex | View Uooks |
Tools & capabilities
Gutendex tools 4
search_booksSearch for books by title or author name. Returns book IDs, titles, authors, and download counts.get_bookGet full details for a book by ID. Returns title, author, publication year, language, available formats, and download count.popular_booksGet the most downloaded books ranked by popularity. Returns titles, authors, IDs, and download statistics.books_by_topicBrowse books by subject or topic (e.g., 'science fiction', 'philosophy'). Returns matching titles, authors, and IDs.
Uooks tools 4
search_booksSearch for books by title, author, or keyword. Returns title, author, year, ISBN, and cover image URL. Use this to discover books before fetching full details.get_bookFetch Open Library edition details for a book by ISBN-10 or ISBN-13. Returns title, publish_date, number_of_pages, subjects (up to 10), description, cover_url, and author_keys for follow-up get_author calls.get_authorFetch an author's profile from Open Library by their author key (e.g., 'OL23919A'). Returns name, birth_date, death_date, biographical summary, and Wikipedia URL.get_book_workFetch the canonical Open Library "work" record (the concept of a book across all its editions), by work ID (e.g. "OL45804W"). Returns title, description, first publish date, subjects, and author keys. Use search_books to find a work_id (the W-suffixed key); use get_book for a specific edition by IS…
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.
Gutendex
{
"mcpServers": {
"gutendex": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-gutendex"
]
}
}
}
Uooks
{
"mcpServers": {
"uooks": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-books"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Gutendex is categorized under Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Uooks belongs to Art & Culture and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Gutendex for art & culture work and Uooks 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.
Gutendex has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Uooks is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. 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 gutendex and uooks as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Gutendex has a quality signal of 55/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. Uooks has 53/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.