Unofficial MCP server for exploring classic poetry through PoetryDB.

At a glance

Metric	Value
Tools	12
Categories	3
Transport	stdio
Auth	none
MCP Registry name	`io.github.lacausecrypto/poetrydb`
npm package	`mcp-poetry`
Source API	`https://poetrydb.org`
Content	classic poetry by author, title, line text, and form

Install

bash

npm install -g mcp-poetry

Or from source:

bash

npm install
npm run build

MCP Registry

This server is published to the MCP Registry under:

text

io.github.lacausecrypto/poetrydb

Claude Desktop

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "poetrydb": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-poetry"]
    }
  }
}

For a local checkout, replace the command with:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "poetrydb": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-poetrydb/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

Catalog

catalog_overview: list categories and available tools
catalog_category: show tools for a specific category

Search

search_by_author: find poems by author name
search_by_title: find a poem by title
search_by_lines: search text inside poem lines
search_by_linecount: find poems by exact line count
search_combined: query multiple PoetryDB fields in one request
list_authors: list all available authors

Discovery

random_poem: fetch one or more random poems
get_sonnets: fetch 14-line poems
get_haikus: fetch 3-line poems
list_titles: list poem titles

Example requests

Simple

text

Random poem please.

Expected tool:

text

random_poem({ "count": 1 })

Browse

text

Show me the available poets.

Expected tool:

text

list_authors({})

Targeted search

text

Find Ozymandias.

Expected tool:

text

search_by_title({ "title": "Ozymandias" })

Text search

text

Show me poems containing the word "love".

Expected tool:

text

search_by_lines({ "text": "love" })

Form-based discovery

text

Give me 14-line poems by Shakespeare.

Expected tool:

text

search_combined({ "fields": "author,linecount", "values": "Shakespeare;14" })

More advanced

text

List Shakespeare results, but only return title and linecount.

Expected tool:

text

search_by_author({ "author": "Shakespeare", "fields": "title,linecount" })

Multi-step exploration

text

Start with the catalog, then show me the discovery tools, then give me a sonnet.

Typical tool sequence:

text

catalog_overview({})
catalog_category({ "category_id": "discovery" })
get_sonnets({})

Development

bash

npm run build
npm run test:ci
npm test
npm pack --dry-run

Environment variables:

POETRYDB_BASE_URL
POETRYDB_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS
POETRYDB_REQUEST_RETRIES

Notes

No API key is required.
This package is not affiliated with PoetryDB.
Built for MCP clients that prefer a compact stdio server over a custom PoetryDB integration.
MCP Registry identity: io.github.lacausecrypto/poetrydb