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Audiobookshelf

Official registry Media and design

Browse your Audiobookshelf libraries and keep listening progress, bookmarks and playlists in sync

Source code Website

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

NPM package audiobookshelf-mcp
Claude Code 
claude mcp add audiobookshelf -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY=<your audiobookshelf_api_key>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS>' -- npx -y audiobookshelf-mcp@0.4.0
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "audiobookshelf": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "audiobookshelf-mcp@0.4.0"
            ],
            "env": {
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY": "<your audiobookshelf_api_key>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Environment variables

  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL required Base URL of the Audiobookshelf instance, e.g. https://abs.example.com
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY required secret API key from Settings -> Users -> API Keys (Audiobookshelf 2.26.0 or newer)
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY Set to true to register only the 29 read tools and no write tools
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS Set to true to accept self-signed certificates for this connection only
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS Comma-separated tool names or list_* prefixes to register; 'essential' selects a curated preset (default: all tools)
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS Comma-separated tool names or list_* prefixes to remove from whatever AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS left
OCI package ghcr.io/ni-c/audiobookshelf-mcp:0.4.0
Claude Code 
claude mcp add audiobookshelf -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY=<your audiobookshelf_api_key>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS>' -- docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/ni-c/audiobookshelf-mcp:0.4.0
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "audiobookshelf": {
            "command": "docker",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "-i",
                "--rm",
                "ghcr.io/ni-c/audiobookshelf-mcp:0.4.0"
            ],
            "env": {
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY": "<your audiobookshelf_api_key>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS>",
                "AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS": "<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Environment variables

  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL required Base URL of the Audiobookshelf instance, e.g. https://abs.example.com
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY required secret API key from Settings -> Users -> API Keys (Audiobookshelf 2.26.0 or newer)
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY Set to true to register only the 29 read tools and no write tools
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS Set to true to accept self-signed certificates for this connection only
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS Comma-separated tool names or list_* prefixes to register; 'essential' selects a curated preset (default: all tools)
  • AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS Comma-separated tool names or list_* prefixes to remove from whatever AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS left

Frequently asked questions

What is Audiobookshelf?

Browse your Audiobookshelf libraries and keep listening progress, bookmarks and playlists in sync

How do I install Audiobookshelf?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add audiobookshelf -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY=<your audiobookshelf_api_key>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_READ_ONLY>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_INSECURE_TLS>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_ALLOW_TOOLS>' -e 'AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS=<AUDIOBOOKSHELF_DENY_TOOLS>' -- npx -y audiobookshelf-mcp@0.4.0. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does Audiobookshelf need an API key?

Yes. It expects AUDIOBOOKSHELF_URL, AUDIOBOOKSHELF_API_KEY, which you set in its configuration.

Is Audiobookshelf open source?

Its code is public on GitHub, but the repository does not declare a standard license.

Who maintains Audiobookshelf?

It is published by ni-c. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.