Download Books
FreeNot checkedEnables agents to search and download books from LibGen and Z-Library via MCP tools, abstracting provider details behind neutral labels.
About
Enables agents to search and download books from LibGen and Z-Library via MCP tools, abstracting provider details behind neutral labels.
README
Local MCP server and Codex skill for agent-driven book search and download through LibGen and Z-Library / Zeta Library.
This repo wraps two existing Python clients:
- onurhanak/libgen-api-enhanced for LibGen / Library Genesis search and download metadata.
- sertraline/zlibrary for Z-Library / Zeta Library search and authenticated downloads.
The purpose is to make those sources usable from MCP clients such as Codex, Claude Code, and other agents while keeping provider-specific details out of the agent-facing tool contract. The README is explicit for humans and GitHub search; the MCP tools and skill use neutral provider labels and clean IDs.
The MCP surface is intentionally small:
search_books(...)returns clean candidates with a temporaryid.download_book(id=...)downloads the selected candidate into a local library folder.
Internally, the server can query LibGen, Z-Library / Zeta Library, or both. Externally, provider internals stay behind neutral labels (provider_1, provider_2, all) so agents can use the MCP tools without handling provider-specific links, hashes, mirrors, URLs, or identifiers.
Use only sources, credentials, and documents you are authorized to access.
Install
git clone https://github.com/mateogon/download-books-mcp.git
cd download-books-mcp
uv sync
Copy the environment example and fill local values:
cp .env.example .env
Important settings:
DOWNLOAD_BOOKS_PROVIDER=all
DOWNLOAD_BOOKS_LIBRARY_DIR=~/Downloads/books
BOOK_PROVIDER_2_EMAIL=
BOOK_PROVIDER_2_PASSWORD=
Agent Installation
There are two pieces:
- MCP server: the runtime tools agents call.
- Skill: the workflow that tells Codex how to use those tools cleanly.
Add the MCP server to Codex by copying examples/codex-config.toml into ~/.codex/config.toml and replacing /absolute/path/to/download-books-mcp with your clone path.
Install the Codex skill:
./scripts/install-codex-skill.sh
Restart Codex after changing MCP config or installing the skill.
For Hermes, use examples/hermes-mcp.yaml.
MCP Tools
search_books
Parameters:
query: str
limit: int = 10
preferred_language: str = "English"
provider_name: str = "default" # default | all | provider_1 | provider_2
search_type: str = "default" # default | title | author
topic: str = "books"
preferred_author: str | None = None
Clean results include:
id, title, author, year, language, extension, size, publisher, pages, score
Raw provider internals are cached locally for download_book, but they are not returned in normal MCP results.
download_book
Parameters:
id: str | int
library_dir: str | None = None
If library_dir is omitted, the server uses DOWNLOAD_BOOKS_LIBRARY_DIR.
Default output layout:
<library_dir>/Sources/<Author - Title>/00 - Fuentes/<Title>.<extension>
CLI
Search clean candidates:
uv run download-books search "The Embodied Mind" --search-type title --limit 10
Download a selected result:
uv run download-books download <ID>
Local diagnostic output:
uv run download-books search "The Embodied Mind" --raw --json
Provider Routing
Visible provider options are:
defaultusesDOWNLOAD_BOOKS_PROVIDER, defaulting toallallsearches every available configured providerprovider_1searches only the LibGen adapterprovider_2searches only the Z-Library / Zeta Library adapter
Agents should normally leave provider routing at default.
The MCP and skill intentionally keep the neutral names. Humans reading this repo should understand the mapping; agents using the tool should not need to.
Development
uv run --extra dev pytest
uv run python -m compileall src
Install Download Books in Claude Desktop, Claude Code & Cursor
unyly install download-books-mcpInstalls into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor & VS Code — handles npx, uvx and build-from-source repos for you.
First time? Get the CLI: curl -fsSL https://unyly.org/install | sh
Or configure manually
Run in your terminal:
claude mcp add download-books-mcp -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/mateogon/download-books-mcp download-books-mcpFAQ
Is Download Books MCP free?
Yes, Download Books MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.
Does Download Books need an API key?
No, Download Books runs without API keys or environment variables.
Is Download Books hosted or self-hosted?
Self-hosted: the server runs locally on your machine via the install command above.
How do I install Download Books in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?
Open Download Books on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.
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