How do I install the Books skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/books in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Books safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Books?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Books free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Books by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Books
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: modbender

File contents

Book Lookup

CLI for AI agents to search and lookup books for their humans. "What's that fantasy series about the magic university?" — now your agent can answer.

Uses Open Library API. No account or API key needed.

Usage

"Search for books called The Name of the Wind"
"Find books by Patrick Rothfuss"
"Tell me about work ID OL27448W"
"Who is author OL23919A?"

Commands

Action	Command
Search	`books search "query"`
Get book details	`books info <work_id>`
Get author info	`books author <author_id>`

Examples

books search "the name of the wind"     # Find books by title
books search "author:brandon sanderson" # Search by author
books info OL27448W                     # Get full details by work ID
books author OL23919A                   # Get author bio and works

Output

Search output:

[OL27448W] The Name of the Wind — Patrick Rothfuss, 2007, ⭐ 4.5

Info output:

📚 The Name of the Wind
   Work ID: OL27448W
   First Published: March 27, 2007
   Subjects: Fantasy, Magic, Coming of Age

📖 Description:
[Full description text]

🖼️ Cover: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12345-L.jpg

Author output:

👤 Patrick Rothfuss
   Born: June 6, 1973
   Author ID: OL23919A

📖 Bio:
[Author biography]

=== Works ===
[OL27448W] The Name of the Wind, 2007
[OL16313124W] The Wise Man's Fear, 2011

Notes

Uses Open Library API (openlibrary.org)
No authentication required
Work IDs look like: OL27448W
Author IDs look like: OL23919A
Search supports author:, title:, subject: prefixes
Cover images available in S, M, L sizes

Agent Implementation Notes

Script location: {skill_folder}/books (wrapper to scripts/books)

When user asks about books:

Run ./books search "title or author" to find work ID
Run ./books info <work_id> for full details
Run ./books author <author_id> for author info and bibliography

Search tips:

Use author:name to search specifically by author
Use title:name to search specifically by title
Use subject:topic to search by genre/subject

Don't use for: E-books, audiobooks, purchasing, or reading the actual content.

---name: booksdescription: CLI for AI agents to search and lookup books for their humans. Uses Open Library API. No auth required.--- # Book Lookup CLI for AI agents to search and lookup books for their humans. "What's that fantasy series about the magic university?" — now your agent can answer. Uses Open Library API. No account or API key needed. ## Usage ``` "Search for books called The Name of the Wind" "Find books by Patrick Rothfuss" "Tell me about work ID OL27448W" "Who is author OL23919A?" ``` ## Commands | Action | Command | |--------|---------| | Search | `books search "query"` | | Get book details | `books info <work_id>` | | Get author info | `books author <author_id>` | ### Examples ```bash books search "the name of the wind" # Find books by title books search "author:brandon sanderson" # Search by author books info OL27448W # Get full details by work ID books author OL23919A # Get author bio and works ``` ## Output **Search output:** ``` [OL27448W] The Name of the Wind — Patrick Rothfuss, 2007, ⭐ 4.5 ``` **Info output:** ``` 📚 The Name of the Wind Work ID: OL27448W First Published: March 27, 2007 Subjects: Fantasy, Magic, Coming of Age 📖 Description: [Full description text] 🖼️ Cover: https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12345-L.jpg ``` **Author output:** ``` 👤 Patrick Rothfuss Born: June 6, 1973 Author ID: OL23919A 📖 Bio: [Author biography] === Works === [OL27448W] The Name of the Wind, 2007 [OL16313124W] The Wise Man's Fear, 2011 ``` ## Notes - Uses Open Library API (openlibrary.org) - No authentication required - Work IDs look like: OL27448W - Author IDs look like: OL23919A - Search supports `author:`, `title:`, `subject:` prefixes - Cover images available in S, M, L sizes --- ## Agent Implementation Notes **Script location:** `{skill_folder}/books` (wrapper to `scripts/books`) **When user asks about books:** 1. Run `./books search "title or author"` to find work ID 2. Run `./books info <work_id>` for full details 3. Run `./books author <author_id>` for author info and bibliography **Search tips:** - Use `author:name` to search specifically by author - Use `title:name` to search specifically by title - Use `subject:topic` to search by genre/subject **Don't use for:** E-books, audiobooks, purchasing, or reading the actual content.

Frequently asked questions

Books