Summary
Wraps the Gutendex API to give Claude access to Project Gutenberg's entire catalog of public domain books. You get four tools: search by title or author, fetch full book details by ID, pull the most popular downloads, and browse by topic or subject. No authentication required, which makes it dead simple to drop into any MCP client. If you're building anything that needs literary references, historical texts, or just want to query tens of thousands of free books, this handles the API translation so you can ask in plain English and get back titles, authors, formats, and download stats.
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one prompt install →mcp-gutendex
Gutendex MCP — wraps Gutendex API for Project Gutenberg books (free, no auth)
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1476+ live data sources.
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_books | Search for books by title or author name. Returns book IDs, titles, authors, and download counts. |
get_book | Get full details for a book by ID. Returns title, author, publication year, language, available formats, and download count. |
popular_books | Get the most downloaded books ranked by popularity. Returns titles, authors, IDs, and download statistics. |
books_by_topic | Browse books by subject or topic (e.g., 'science fiction', 'philosophy'). Returns matching titles, authors, and IDs. |
Quick Start
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"gutendex": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/gutendex/mcp"
}
}
}
What this endpoint actually serves
tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/gutendex/mcp returns the tools in the table
above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx,
discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.
This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.
Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pipeworx": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
}
}
}
Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1476+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
Using with ask_pipeworx
Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Gutendex data" })
The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
More
License
MIT
Featured
Plug Mailtrap into your AI workflow and let it handle the email.
Connect Mailtrap MCP →Agent, run crypto. Access onchain data & trade routes via 1inch.
Install now →Make coding agent sessions - Searchable, Shareable, Vendor-neutral & Scored.
Try For Free →Your agent targets a perfect 10 Code Health score. Deterministic. Every commit.
Try For Free →Integrate web data into your AI product. One API to scrape website & brand data.
Get API Key Now →belt cli automatically finds the best tools and skills for your agent. image, video, music, tts...
one prompt install →