About Itunes Search
Itunes Search is an MCP server for searching and looking up Apple's iTunes Store catalog, including music, films, podcasts, books, and apps. It also provides selected top-chart lists and requires no authentication.
Key features
- 01Search across iTunes Store media
- 02Look up items by exact identifiers
- 03Retrieve top movie, podcast, and book lists
- 04Filter results by country and media type
Use cases
- 01Finding music, films, podcasts, or apps
- 02Looking up an item by ISBN or UPC
- 03Retrieving country-specific top lists
MCP support
Exposes catalog search, identifier lookup, and chart tools to MCP clients through a Pipeworx endpoint or a standalone stdio server. The data access requires no authentication.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http pipeworx-io-itunes-search https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/mcp{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-itunes-search":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"pipeworx-io-itunes-search":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-itunes-search":{"type":"http","url":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"pipeworx-io-itunes-search":{"serverUrl":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
46| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| q | string | No | Alias for question. |
| ask | string | No | Alias for question. |
| text | string | No | Alias for question. |
| input | string | No | Alias for question. |
| packs | array | No | OPTIONAL. Restrict routing to these pack slugs (e.g. ["sec-form-d","sec-13f"]) — the router then picks only from tools in those packs. Omit for the default full-catalog routing. Slugs come from list_packs / search_packs / https://pipeworx.io/directory; unlisted or unknown slugs are ignored and named in _meta.pack_scope.ignored, and if none of them resolves the question is routed across the whole catalog with _meta.pack_scope.full_catalog:true (never an empty answer). |
| query | string | No | Alias for question. |
| prompt | string | No | Alias for question. |
| message | string | No | Alias for question. |
| question | string | Yes | Your question or request in natural language. Accepts query, q, prompt, text, input, ask, message as aliases. |
Details
From the project README@pipeworx/itunes-search
Apple iTunes Search MCP — search across the iTunes Store catalog: music, movies, podcasts, audiobooks, ebooks, software/apps. No auth.
Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1882+ live data sources. This is an independent, unofficial integration — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the upstream provider.
Tools
search(term, media?, entity?, attribute?, country?, limit?, lang?, explicit?)— primary searchlookup(id?, bundle_id?, isbn?, upc?, amg_artist_id?, amg_album_id?, country?, entity?, limit?)— exact-ID lookuptop_movies(country?, limit?)— top-grossing movies (RSS-based)top_podcasts(country?, limit?)— top podcaststop_books(country?, limit?, free_or_paid?)— top ebooks
Data source
- Search:
https://itunes.apple.com/search - Lookup:
https://itunes.apple.com/lookup - Charts:
https://rss.applemarketingtools.com/api/v2/<country>/...
Rate limit ~20 req/min per IP for search/lookup; charts are static and cached.
Quick Start
Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"itunes-search": {
"url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/mcp"
}
}
}
What this endpoint actually serves
tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/itunes-search/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 1882+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx
reaches all of them from either one.
No MCP client? Call it over HTTP
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/itunes_search_search \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"term":"Taylor Swift"}'
No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/itunes_search_search. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.
Standalone (no gateway account)
This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:
{
"mcpServers": {
"itunes-search": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-itunes-search"]
}
}
}
Or run it directly to confirm it starts:
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-itunes-search
It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call
for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.
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 Itunes Search data" })
The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.
More
License
MIT
Comments
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From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.