# source-library

Search rare pre-modern books, read AI English translations, cite exact pages, and find related images from an MCP-connected library.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 23
- Author: Embassy-of-the-Free-Mind
- License: AGPL-3.0 · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/Embassy-of-the-Free-Mind/sourcelibrary-v2/tree/HEAD/mcp-server
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/embassy-of-the-free-mind-source-library

## What it does

source-library gives an agent access to more than 22,000 rare pre-modern texts covering alchemy, Hermetica, Kabbalah, theology, and early science. It supports full-text and semantic passage search, book reading, metadata lookup, and AI-generated English translations.

The server includes 12 tools for discovering books, searching within a volume, retrieving exact page quotations, checking duplicates, sending feedback, and finding images. The collection contains 73K+ images. A quotation response includes the translated page, OCR, page details, and a source link.

Setup runs through `npx`, and no API key is required. The MCP server can be connected to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, and Gemini CLI.

## Requirements
- Needs: Node.js (commands run via npx)

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add source-library -- npx -y @source-library/mcp-server
```

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add mcp-server -- npx -y @source-library/mcp-server
```

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-server": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@source-library/mcp-server"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "mcp-server": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "@source-library/mcp-server"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add mcp-server npx -y @source-library/mcp-server
```

## When to use it
- search historical books for a specific topic
- find related passages when wording differs
- read a volume chapter by chapter
- retrieve a page-accurate quotation with its source
- locate illustrations matching a subject

## Example prompts
- Search the library for early texts about alchemical symbolism and return page links.
- Find passages conceptually related to distributed cognition in pre-modern books.
- Read this book by chapter and provide an exact quotation with its citation.

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From the same set: [embassy-of-the-free-mind/sourcelibrary-v2](https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/by/embassy-of-the-free-mind/sourcelibrary-v2.md) — 2 cards

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