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Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive

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Re: Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive

#11
post #3

Interesting project! I’m a little surprised that Claude is willing to call these functions. The demo screenshot is downloading a public domain work, I wonder if it would also happily go along with requests for Harry Potter or other copyrighted material?

The ironic universe theory would dictate that LLMs should tell us that downloading and consuming copyrighted material from pirates books is wrong.

Re: Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive

#12
post #2

> This software does not endorse unauthorized acquisition of copyrighted content and should be regarded solely as a utility. Users are urged to respect the intellectual property rights of authors and acknowledge the considerable effort invested in document creation. How sincere is that statement?

I just provide a hammer. Users decide whether they're hitting their own nail or the metal one.

The comparison might be loose, but the problem is similar to releasing a browser. Do you prevent users from accessing websites you think are malicious or illegal? Or do you delegate that responsibility?

I was hesitant about releasing the MCP server as open source software, but I hope (1) it proves useful for others and (2) people understand that the authors of the books they're reading need money to eat, live, and support their families.

Re: Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive

#13
post #2

> This software does not endorse unauthorized acquisition of copyrighted content and should be regarded solely as a utility. Users are urged to respect the intellectual property rights of authors and acknowledge the considerable effort invested in document creation. How sincere is that statement?

I'd bet you won't find a single string containing "acquire copyrighted content arrr!", so pretty sincere. The software doesn't endorse it.

Re: Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive

#15
post #3

Interesting project! I’m a little surprised that Claude is willing to call these functions. The demo screenshot is downloading a public domain work, I wonder if it would also happily go along with requests for Harry Potter or other copyrighted material?

Last I checked downloading isn't the issue. It's distributing. Not an expert though.

> I wonder if it would also happily go along with requests for Harry Potter or other copyrighted material?

There's no way to protect against this. Anna's Archive doesn't include licence information in their data fields. It would be helpful to integrate with another data source that could warn MCP server users when they're attempting potentially risky actions. Please let me know if you have ideas on how to achieve this.

On a related note, please see this reply:

https://news.ycombinator.com/reply?id=44515205

Re: Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive

#16
post #14

I'm an LLM noob, but how feasible it is to make a research agent that can not only download articles, but read and reference them in it's process?

It's doable, as you'll also find MCP servers for reading files [1].

Claude Desktop also has a built-in file reader [2], so you can ask it to read the file and process the content (e.g., generate a summary or even a meta-summary [3]).

[1] https://github.com/sylphxltd/pdf-reader-mcp [2] https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/tree/main/sr... [3] https://x.com/iosifache/status/1942247320302547175

Re: Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive

#19
post #17

What advantage do you get from this being an MCP server rather than simply a command line tool? Genuinely curious, as I'm trying to develop my mental model of when to use one or the other. Lovely project!

Cheers, glad you like it!

I justified the hours I invested by thinking I could search, download, and explore books directly from Claude Desktop. While the initial steps are achievable with a CLI tool, the integration opens up new possibilities.

Some general thoughts:

- You’ll find the MCP mental model similar to the API one. - MCP integrations make it easier for non-technical users to access tools that were previously too technical. - An MCP integration implicitly respects a contract, unlike CLIs and GUIs which involve human aspects (aesthetics, information organisation, etc.). - MCP is an excuse for people to democratize data access. I wrote about this aspect here: https://x.com/iosifache/status/1941049600162574676?s=46

And BTW, that’s a good idea! The functionality should probably also be exposed via CLI.

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