{"id":"b7e024c4-def6-4d8b-9e0d-c486edf8032b","slug":"mcp-hathitrust","kind":"mcp","name":"mcp-hathitrust","summary":"HathiTrust Bibliographic API MCP.","owner":"pipeworx-io","repoUrl":"https://github.com/pipeworx-io/mcp-hathitrust","license":"MIT","licenseTier":"permissive","trust":"community","stars":0,"match":null,"fewStars":true,"format":"mcp","createdAt":"2026-06-10T17:06:01.000Z","addedAt":"2026-10-14T05:54:03.913Z","logoUrl":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/270792911?v=4","linkOnly":false,"collection":null,"skillPath":null,"categories":["cloud-infra","memory-knowledge"],"tags":["hathitrust","pipeworx"],"runtime":"remote","local":false,"cloudCapable":false,"cloudCapability":"unknown","cloudReadyOnPlatform":false,"needsApiKey":false,"reviewed":false,"syncedAt":"2026-10-17T18:04:48.795Z","sample":false,"url":"https://conduits.dev/tools/mcp-hathitrust","language":"TypeScript","transports":["http"],"install":{"remoteUrl":"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/hathitrust/mcp"},"requirements":{"env":[],"upstreamMayCharge":false},"tools":null,"readme":"# @pipeworx/hathitrust\n\nHathiTrust's digitized-book holdings by standard identifier (OCLC, LCCN, ISSN,\nISBN, HathiTrust item id, catalog record number): the bibliographic record plus\nevery scanned copy, each flagged full-view (readable online) or limited\n(search-only).\n\nPart of [Pipeworx](https://pipeworx.io) — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1784+ live data sources. This is an independent, unofficial integration — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the upstream provider.\n\n## Tools\n\n- `lookup_by_identifier(id_type, id)`: records and scanned copies for one identifier.\n- `get_record(record_number)`: one catalog record with full bibliographic metadata.\n- `check_full_view(id_type, id)`: whether a readable copy exists, with reading URLs.\n\n## Auth\n\nKeyless upstream, but **accounts only on Pipeworx**. The manifest row carries\n`accountOnly: true`, so the gateway refuses anonymous callers and callers that\nsend only an `X-API-Key` (BYO with no account) with `account_required` and a\nlink to https://pipeworx.io/signup?via=hathitrust. OAuth and paid Bearer-token\naccounts, x402 payers and internal traffic (`X-Pipeworx-Internal`, so the\nmonitor) keep full access. The refusal happens before the pack runs, so no\nrequest reaches HathiTrust for a refused caller.\n\nWhy (Bruce ruled 2026-10-13, fleet #2964): a residential proxy pool of ~171k IPs\nwas enumerating HathiTrust's catalogue by OCLC number through REST\n`/v1/tools/lookup_by_identifier`, about 600k calls an hour, every IP kept under\nits per-IP limit. The pack had seen about 2 genuine calls a day. Per-IP limits\ncannot stop that shape, and an `X-API-Key` is never validated, so it is no\nidentity either. The risk was HathiTrust blocking our egress for every caller.\nAn account is the cheapest identity that cannot be minted in bulk.\n\nLifting it is a one-line manifest change (drop `accountOnly`), then\n`node scripts/sync-pack-manifest.mjs`. Ask Bruce first. The gate itself lives in\n`workers/gateway/src/account-only.ts`.\n\n## Data sources\n\n- HathiTrust Digital Library, Bibliographic API: catalog records and per-copy\n  rights codes.\n\n## Quick Start\n\nAdd to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"hathitrust\": {\n      \"url\": \"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/hathitrust/mcp\"\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\n### What this endpoint actually serves\n\n`tools/list` at `https://gateway.pipeworx.io/hathitrust/mcp` returns the tools in the table\nabove **plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools** — `ask_pipeworx`,\n`discover_tools`, `search_within`, `remember`/`recall` and the rest of the\ngateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a\nsingle-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the\npack's own. The connection's `initialize` response states its exact scope, and\nis the authoritative answer for a given day.\n\nThis is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a\nscoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via\n`ask_pipeworx`, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a\nsecond MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without\nthem; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,\nconnect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.\n\nOr connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed\ndirectly, instead of just this one's:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"pipeworx\": {\n      \"url\": \"https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp\"\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\nBoth URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1784+ data sources. The\nonly difference is which pack's tools are listed **directly**; `ask_pipeworx`\nreaches all of them from either one.\n\n## No MCP client? Call it over HTTP\n\n```bash\ncurl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/lookup_by_identifier \\\n  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \\\n  -d '{\"id_type\":\"isbn\",\"id\":\"9780030110405\"}'\n```\n\nNo account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: `GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/lookup_by_identifier`. Find one: `POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs` with `{\"query\":\"...\"}`.\n\n## Standalone (no gateway account)\n\nThis package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no\ngateway round-trip:\n\n```json\n{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"hathitrust\": {\n      \"command\": \"npx\",\n      \"args\": [\"-y\", \"@pipeworx/mcp-hathitrust\"]\n    }\n  }\n}\n```\n\nOr run it directly to confirm it starts:\n\n```bash\nnpx -y @pipeworx/mcp-hathitrust\n```\n\nIt speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers `initialize`/`tools/list`/`tools/call`\nfor **only** this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway\nconnection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.\n\n## Using with ask_pipeworx\n\nInstead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English —\nthis works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:\n\n```\nask_pipeworx({ question: \"your question about Hathitrust data\" })\n```\n\nThe gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.\n\n## More\n\n- [Docs and guides](https://pipeworx.io/docs)\n- [pipeworx.io](https://pipeworx.io)\n\n## License\n\nMIT\n"}