Open Textbook Finder MCP
Textbooks cost too much. Open Textbook Finder MCP finds free legal copies of textbooks on OpenStax, the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) and Open Library by title, ISBN or course topic. It looks up editions by ISBN and suggests older editions that usually cost less.
- "Is there a free legal copy of the Calculus textbook by Stewart, or something close to it?"
- "Look up ISBN 978-0-13-468599-1 and tell me what other editions exist."
- "My course wants the 9th edition of Stewart Calculus. Is there an older edition that would work?"
[npm]
[downloads]
[license]
Use it with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and any other app that runs a local MCP server. It needs no API key and no account.
What it does
See Tools for the parameters of each one.
Install
Run it straight from npm with npx. You need Node.js 20 or newer, see Node version for the details. There is nothing else to install and no config file for the server itself.
Add it to your AI app's MCP config so the app can start it for you. Every app reads its config from its own file, so pick yours:
All of them start the same server the same way. The only difference is where the config goes.
Claude Desktop
Add this to claude_desktop_config.json:
Restart Claude Desktop after you save the file.
Claude Code
Run this in a terminal:
Cursor
Cursor reads mcp.json from the project folder at .cursor/mcp.json, or from your home folder at ~/.cursor/mcp.json if you want the server in every project. On Windows the home folder file is %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json.
Restart Cursor after you save the file. The Customize page in the sidebar lists the server once it starts, and you can turn it on or off there.
VS Code
Put this in .vscode/mcp.json in your project folder, or in the mcp.json file in your user profile:
VS Code also reads a portable .mcp.json file in the project root. That file uses the name mcpServers instead of servers:
Restart VS Code after you save the file.
Windsurf
Windsurf reads mcp_config.json from ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json. On Windows that is %USERPROFILE%\.codeium\windsurf\mcp_config.json.
Refresh the list of servers in Windsurf after you save the file.
After any of these, try one of the prompts below.
Try these three prompts
-
Find a free copy
"Is there a free legal copy of the Calculus textbook by Stewart, or something close to it?"
The model calls find_free_textbook with that title. It checks the OpenStax list that ships with the server, then asks DOAB and Open Library. OpenStax Calculus Volume 1 comes back first, and an Open Library result is marked free only when there is a public domain copy to read online.
-
Look up an ISBN
"Look up ISBN 978-0-13-468599-1 and tell me what other editions exist."
lookup_isbn checks the check digit first, then returns the title, publisher, publish date and page count from Open Library. It also lists the other editions of the same book, newest first.
-
Find a cheaper older edition
"My course wants the 9th edition of Stewart Calculus. Is there an older edition that would work?"
find_older_edition lists the earlier editions of the book, closest first, with the year, the edition name and the ISBN when Open Library has them. Pass edition_year to say which edition your course asks for.
More things you can ask:
- "List free textbooks for intro statistics."
- "Is there a free textbook for nursing pharmacology?"
- "Find a free legal copy of Pride and Prejudice."
- "Which free textbooks cover microeconomics?"
- "I have the ISBN 9780134685991. Is there a free copy of that book?"
- "Is the 7th edition close enough to the 9th for an intro physics course?"
Tools
Four tools. These names are the ones your AI app sees.
Every tool description sent to your AI app ends with one example prompt, so the model can match a question like "Is there a free copy of this book?" to the right tool and fill in every parameter.
Every tool also returns its results as structured data. Each tool has an output schema, so a client that reads JSON gets fields such as results or suggestions straight away, and the text answer stays the same for an app that only reads words. The fields each tool returns are listed in llms.txt and in glama.json.
Where the books come from
A result has an access value. free means a copy you can read online or keep, borrow means a free loan that you have to return, and none means no free copy is known. Always check the licence on the page you land on before you reuse a book.
FAQ
Does it need an API key?
No. Open Library and DOAB can be searched without a key, and the OpenStax list ships with the server.
Does it find pirated copies?
No. It only returns OpenStax, DOAB and Open Library records, which are open licensed, public domain or legal loans.
What if I only have an ISBN?
Pass it to find_free_textbook or lookup_isbn. Hyphens and spaces are fine. The check digit is tested first, so a typo is reported as a bad ISBN instead of a search that finds nothing.
Can it tell me the price of an older edition?
No. The tool does not know prices, because no free price service exists. It tells you which earlier editions exist so you can check a used book seller yourself.
Will an older edition match my course?
Often an edition one or two releases back keeps the same chapters, but publishers reorder problems and drop sections. Compare the table of contents with your syllabus and ask your instructor before you buy.
What happens if one source is down?
The other sources still answer, and the reply names the source that did not. If every source is down the tool says so instead of returning an empty list.
How it compares
Open Textbook Finder MCP is a free textbook MCP: it needs no key and no account, and it finds legal copies of textbooks on OpenStax, DOAB and Open Library. The course platform MCPs above connect to your LMS account and show what is due, what is missing and what you have earned. They do not search for textbook copies. You can run both side by side, since they read different things and neither needs a key.
Node version
There are two floors here, and they are not the same number.
The server itself is happy on Node.js 20, and that is what engines in package.json says. The test runner wants a newer Node.js, so the development floor lives in devEngines in the same file. npm checks devEngines before install, run and test, so a clone on Node.js 20 stops with a clear message instead of a strange failure part way through the test suite. The 23 and 25 release lines are left out on purpose, because the test runner does not run on them.
Both numbers live in package.json, and a test in tests/node-version.test.ts keeps them in step with the README and with the range the test runner asks for.
Development
The tests call every tool through a real MCP client with a fake network, so they need no account, no key and no internet. They need the newer Node.js from the Node version section above, because of the test runner.
Privacy
There is no key, no login and no account. The server sends your search text or ISBN to two public services and nothing else: openlibrary.org and directory.doabooks.org. The OpenStax match runs on your computer and sends nothing. The server writes no files, keeps no history and has no analytics. Each request carries a User-Agent header with the package name and the repository address, which Open Library asks of every client. Those services have their own privacy policies for the requests they receive.
More free student MCP servers
All free, open source and read only where they touch your accounts. Browse the full list at brightspacemcp.com/more-mcps.
License
MIT
