21–30 of 85 posts
> 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?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 thi…
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 previousl…
An MCP server provides enough metadata and self-documentation that it's quite straightforward to make a MCP-agnostic CLI client that adapts an arbitrary MCP server into a set of flags that allow you to call its explicit tools with explicit arguments - without ever needing to involve an LLM in the mix! You could even have that CLI tool launch the MCP server as a local subprocess, if you wanted - again, all deterministically.
And if you want to have an SDK in any language under the sun, once you have an MCP outputting reasonable tool descriptions, any LLM could make a best-in-class SDK for you in a heartbeat following that language's best practices.
So it's not unreasonable for someone working on a greenfield project to make an MCP server first nowadays!
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?
> 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?
Am I correct here?
Does this MCP server allow one to download just a single book?
I remember once using an IPFS based tool to download a single 200-year-old, out-of-copyright copy of "Last of the Mohicans" from Anna's Archive. It worked, but was very very complicated to figure out how to make it work.
My understanding of Anna's Archive is that one has to download large zip files (>10 Gb) containing thousands of books even if one wants only a single book. Am I correct here? Does this MCP server allow one to download just a single book? I remember once using an IPFS based tool to download a single 200-year-old, out-of-copyright copy of "Last of the Mohicans" from Anna's Archive. It worked, but was very very complica…
My understanding of Anna's Archive is that one has to download large zip files (>10 Gb) containing thousands of books even if one wants only a single book. Am I correct here? Does this MCP server allow one to download just a single book? I remember once using an IPFS based tool to download a single 200-year-old, out-of-copyright copy of "Last of the Mohicans" from Anna's Archive. It worked, but was very very complica…
- search for book
- tap a result
- see a list of links to download mirrors (under 'slow downloads'), tap a link
- get a countdown timer
- timer expires, download links appear
- click a link, book downloads just like any other download> 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)…
I might liken the situation more to releasing a browser and setting thepiratebay as the homepage.
My understanding of Anna's Archive is that one has to download large zip files (>10 Gb) containing thousands of books even if one wants only a single book. Am I correct here? Does this MCP server allow one to download just a single book? I remember once using an IPFS based tool to download a single 200-year-old, out-of-copyright copy of "Last of the Mohicans" from Anna's Archive. It worked, but was very very complica…