About Audiobookshelf
Audiobookshelf MCP Server gives AI assistants read-only access to a self-hosted audiobook and podcast library. Its tools cover library search, item details, listening progress, and playback statistics.
Key features
- 01List and search libraries
- 02View audiobook and podcast details
- 03Check current listening progress
- 04Review listening sessions and statistics
- 05Browse series, authors, and collections
Use cases
- 01Find a title by book, author, or narrator
- 02Check where a current audiobook was left
- 03Review recent listening and total listening time
MCP support
The MCP server exposes Audiobookshelf library, item, and playback information as tools for MCP clients. The tools are read-only; playback control and user management are not supported.
Configuration
Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.
We haven’t collected a package or remote endpoint for this server. Follow the instructions in the project README.
Tools
Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.
Details
From the project READMEAudiobookshelf MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol server for Audiobookshelf - gives AI assistants access to your self-hosted audiobook and podcast library.
MCP Registry name: mcp-name: io.github.sierikov/audiobookshelf-mcp
What can it do?
Ask your AI assistant things like:
- "What am I currently listening to?"
- "Search for Dune in my library"
- "What are my listening stats?"
- "What did I listen to recently?"
- "How far am I in Katabasis?"
- "What libraries do I have?"
Tools
| Tool | Description | Toolset |
|---|---|---|
list_libraries | List all libraries | libraries |
search_library | Search by title, author, or narrator | libraries |
list_library_items | List items with pagination | libraries |
get_item | Get detailed info about an audiobook or podcast | items |
get_items_in_progress | Get currently listening items with progress | items |
get_listening_stats | Total listening time and daily breakdown | playback |
get_listening_sessions | Recent listening sessions | playback |
get_media_progress | Progress for a specific item | playback |
list_series | List all series in a library | browse |
get_series | Get series details with books | browse |
get_author | Get author details with books | browse |
list_collections | List collections in a library | browse |
Default toolsets: libraries, items, playback. The browse toolset is opt-in via AUDIOBOOKSHELF_TOOLSETS.
Install in Claude Desktop (one-click)
Download the .mcpb bundle for your platform, open it, and Claude Desktop will walk you through setup.
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | audiobookshelf-mcp-macos-arm64.mcpb |
| macOS (Intel) | audiobookshelf-mcp-macos-amd64.mcpb |
| Windows | audiobookshelf-mcp-windows-amd64.mcpb |
| Linux x64 | audiobookshelf-mcp-linux-amd64.mcpb |
| Linux arm64 | audiobookshelf-mcp-linux-arm64.mcpb |
The
.mcpbformat is currently only supported by Claude Desktop. Other clients use the manual setup below.
Manual setup (all other clients)
1. Get your API token
Audiobookshelf → Settings → Users → your user → API Token
2. Install the binary
go install:
go install github.com/sierikov/audiobookshelf-mcp/cmd/audiobookshelf-mcp@latest
Download and install to /usr/local/bin:
macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -L https://github.com/sierikov/audiobookshelf-mcp/releases/latest/download/audiobookshelf-mcp-macos-arm64 \
-o /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp
macOS (Intel)
curl -L https://github.com/sierikov/audiobookshelf-mcp/releases/latest/download/audiobookshelf-mcp-macos-amd64 \
-o /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp
Linux (x64)
curl -L https://github.com/sierikov/audiobookshelf-mcp/releases/latest/download/audiobookshelf-mcp-linux-amd64 \
-o /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp
Linux (arm64)
curl -L https://github.com/sierikov/audiobookshelf-mcp/releases/latest/download/audiobookshelf-mcp-linux-arm64 \
-o /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/audiobookshelf-mcp
Windows
Download audiobookshelf-mcp-windows-amd64.exe, rename to audiobookshelf-mcp.exe, and place it in a directory on your %PATH% (e.g. C:\Program Files\audiobookshelf-mcp\).
3. Configure your client
Claude Code
claude mcp add audiobookshelf \
-e AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL=https://abs.example.com \
-e AUDIOBOOKSHELF_TOKEN=your-token \
-- audiobookshelf-mcp
Antigravity CLI (formerly Gemini CLI)
antigravity --add-mcp '{"name":"audiobookshelf","command":"audiobookshelf-mcp","env":{"AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL":"https://abs.example.com","AUDIOBOOKSHELF_TOKEN":"your-token"}}'
OpenCode
Add to ~/.config/opencode/config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"audiobookshelf": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "audiobookshelf-mcp",
"args": [],
"env": {
"AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL": "https://abs.example.com",
"AUDIOBOOKSHELF_TOKEN": "your-token"
}
}
}
}
Configuration
| Variable | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL | Yes | — | Your Audiobookshelf server URL |
AUDIOBOOKSHELF_TOKEN | Yes | — | API token from Settings → Users |
AUDIOBOOKSHELF_TOOLSETS | No | libraries,items,playback | Comma-separated toolsets to enable. Use all to enable everything. |
Security
All tools are read-only - no writes, no playback control, no user management. The API token is passed via environment variable, never logged or exposed.
License
MIT
Comments
New to MCP?
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.