The Reader MCP Server integrates with Readwise Reader to enable MCP-compatible clients like Claude and VS Code to interact with your Reader library. It serves as a bridge between MCP clients and your content.
Key capabilities:
List documents from your Readwise Reader library
Filter documents by folder location (
new,later,shortlist,archive,feed)Filter documents by update time using ISO8601 timestamps
Navigate through large document collections via pagination
Optionally retrieve full HTML content along with metadata
Configure with a Readwise API access token and run locally using tools like
uv
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Reader MCP Server list documents in my shortlist folder from last week"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
Reader MCP Server
Overview
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that seamlessly integrates with your Readwise Reader library. This server enables MCP-compatible clients like Claude and VS Code to interact with your Reader library, providing capabilities for document listing, retrieval, and updates. It serves as a bridge between MCP clients and your personal knowledge repository in Readwise Reader.
Related MCP server: MCP Fetch
Components
Tools
list_documentsList documents from Reader with flexible filtering and pagination.
Input:
location(string, optional): Folder to filter by. One ofnew,later,shortlist,archive,feed.updatedAfter(string, optional): Only return documents updated after this ISO8601 timestamp.withContent(boolean, optional): If true, include HTML content in results (default: false).pageCursor(string, optional): Pagination cursor for fetching the next page.
Returns:
JSON object with a list of documents, each including metadata and (optionally) content, plus pagination info.
Usage with MCP Clients
Claude Desktop / VS Code / Other MCP Clients
To use this server with Claude Desktop, VS Code, or any MCP-compatible client, add the following configuration to your client settings (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or .vscode/mcp.json):
uv (local server)
Replace
/absolute/path/to/your/reader/serverwith the actual path to this project directory.Replace
your_readwise_access_tokenwith your actual Readwise Reader API access token.Alternatively, you can specify the
ACCESS_TOKENin an.envfile located in the project directory.
For more information, see the Readwise Reader API documentation and MCP documentation.